Some things in sports are as constant as the sun rising in the East every morning, while others are as fickle as spring weather in Ohio. The Northwest Ohio Athletics League could be characterized as the former with its traditional powerhouses of Archbold, Bryan, Liberty Center, and Wauseon rotating as the predominant threat to the conference and by extension region for both Cross Country and Track & Field.
Last year it was Archbold on top of the league for the boys as a team with Bryan having the top duo as they went 1-3 at the league meet but finished fourth as a team. The girls saw a dynamic Liberty Center win the team title with a trio of ladies going 1-2-3. Now we are left to wonder as we enter into championship season where the NOAL is poised.
For the boys, Ohio MileSplit team predictor has it that Archbold should be able to retain their team title as they are projected to fend of Liberty Center and Wauseon who are meant to be close behind them in team standings. Xander Fackler of Bryan will look to replace his graduated teammate and keep the individual title in Bryan. Xander has run sub 16 twice this year, PRing at Columbus Grove with a 15:32.17 early in the season. His closest competition is, on paper, a duo from Wauseon in Aidan Pena and Jack Callan. The duo has times in the mid 16's meaning that Xander may simply be in a league of his own this season for the conference.
The talented duo from Wauseon though will need help to unseat Archbold, the team's fourth and fifth are in the mix with dozens time wise as they sit at the top end of 18 minutes. What sets Archbold apart in this year's league competition is their spread, in a conference where the talent may drop off and create large five man spreads (the conference average is near 2:30) Archbold keeps it small in comparison at 1:42.19. This type of spread may be a death note in a D1 conference but in predominantly D3 NOAL teams can survive with this spread especially when the outlier is on the fast side. That outlier for Archbold is actually a duo of Caleb Harrow and Aden McCarty who have season PR's of 16:30.
In a season like this for the league there really is not guarantee but that is the fun part of small school conferences, teams can rise and fall from year to year it only takes a small group of kids to change the outcome.
The girls of the NOAL are not as open for debate. Liberty Center appears to have the Midas touch for small school girls in Northwest Ohio. Ranker top five the entire season the team has already stood the test of Ft. Loramie and Minster with eyes now on continuing the success into the postseason. If Ohio MileSplit has correct records and accurate predictions, then we should see more of the same. It is predicted that Liberty Center wins with a decent lead over a Patrick Henry team that in each of the last two seasons has improved its conference finish. If the trend continues then second place or higher is where the Patriots are set to be. They may have enough talent in their five deep to unseat the Tigers.
In the five deep on both team the lowest seed is a sixteen, what this means is that for the bulk of point scorers they are in a group only fifty seconds wide and with only seven girls to move around. Switches in that pack will prove critical if it comes down to a close race, as it should. The individual title will most likely stay with the Tigers as well if things prove to be as they are on paper. Last year Gracie Miller was third in the conference but this year she has the fastest PR at 18:49.65 and is looking to be the champion and set herself up as the favorite her senior year as well.
In a conference where the programs are all quality but the numbers on teams are small there are bound to be fireworks as nothing can be set in stone. If you are in the area this weekend and looking for a high quality meet but where anything can happen, swing by the NOAL meet and take in the best the far Northwest has to offer.