Individuals

Connor Ackley has been on a mission since the word go this season.

An undefeated record over the course of seven starts with five of those efforts eclipsing the 15-minute benchmark for the 5-kilometer distance. He launched his season on the very same course he'll at in Obetz on Saturday, albeit under far difference circumstances, at the OHSAA Early Season Invitational. He's showcased Ohio's top-end firepower to fans beyond state lines with 1st place performances at the Chick-fil-A Classic in Tennessee and the MSU Spartan Invite in Michigan. At the former he blitzed a 14:45.60 career best, which stations him at the No. 20 spot in America. 

He was the second place finisher to William Zegarski (Little Miami) at the state meet a year ago, but this year he comes in as the prohibitive favorite. 

Hilliard Davidson's Ackley could see his stiffest competition come from fellow Region 3 elite Sam Ricchiuti (Dublin Jerome) and Region 1 champion Tommy Rice (GlenOak). 

Ricchiuti held Ackley to a 10-second range, which is no small feat this season, during his second place finish at regionals. The junior has tasted victory half a dozen times this fall and owns a personal best mark of 15:05.70. Interestingly, Ricciuti has beaten Ackley to the line on this course before. During the 2020 state, then a freshman, he went 15:48 flat for 9th overall while Ackley trailed two spots behind in 11th. 

In Rice's last outing he decisively earned his regional victory by a 9-second margin. Prior to that win, he hit the line first seven other times with a 15:06.19 on his familiar Stark County Championships course being his fastest showing. His lone occasion not earning meet title honors in 2022 was a 3rd place finish at Marlington in 16:00.30, which on paper and when reviewing his other results looks like an anomaly or possibly just a training centered run. Rice is a recent commit to the Tennessee Volunteers program. 

With career best races on Saturday, it's also plausible that Ryan Smith (Worthington Kilbourne) and Landon Kimmel (Tippecanoe) could find themselves at or near the top of the podium. 

Another member of the traditionally deep Region 3, Smith was third at Pickerington North last weekend in 15:13.60 and has the competitive sharpness gained from racing against the best of the greater Columbus area runners on a weekly basis. 

Kimmel has had a tremendous freshman season with six 1st place finishes and a 2022 best mark of 15:13.50. His latest showing at Region 4 (4th place) wasn't his strongest of the fall, but he obviously exhibits a ton of potential with his best racing, no doubt, ahead of him. One of the great qualities the newcomer has exhibited early on is a fearless racing style when often times encountering more seasoned, experienced opposition.

While not necessarily statistically favored to do so, Saturday has the potential for a breakthrough performance on Kimmel's part and possibly even an upset win. 

No shortage of observers feel that Mason is destined to repeat with another Division I victory at the 2022 state meet, but it's by no means a given and they'll certainly need to be on their A-game in order to do so. 

The pre-state meet coaches poll favors the Comets, as they swept the all 12 first place votes and MileSplit's Team Scores feature also falls in line with that trend by having them leading the Division I field by a significant margin. 

Beyond the subjective opinion and what the data suggests, however, Mason has just brought it each and every time they've lined-up. A statement win over the nationally renowned team from Rock Bridge High School (MO) at their home invite plus a high quality showing against a barrage of Illinois and Indiana high-end talent at the Twilight Invite are among their highlights. 

At 15:11.90, senior Isaac Schachleiter is a true No. 1 and has a very good chance of putting just a single digit on the board for the team in green and white. The program, as a whole, boasts tremendous depth with most of their junior varsity secondary 7 members running in the 16-minute range. 

Mason should expect a great test from a trio of standout Region 3 teams. The Lancaster Gales, the titlists, Hilliard Davidson and Dublin Coffman all reside within the top 7 on the OATCCC poll and in the top 9 via MileSplit Scores. 

Perhaps the best shot at dethroning Mason, the 2021 state champions, would be Lancaster. Their scoring average is 15:42.25 and, as mentioned, they're riding high by coming out of the notoriously tough Region 3 on top. Notably, the team leans heavily on three Lanoy brothers (Trevor, Kaiden and Isaiah), who've produced 2022 seasonal bests of 15:26.02, 15:31.50 and 15:46.03, respectively. 

The ultra-deep Division I start line will also feature stellar groups in Region 1 champions Massillon Jackson, Region 2 winners Toledo St. Francis and Mason's familiar counterpart from Region 4, the 2019 state champions, St. Xavier. 

The boys of Division I will kick-off the penultimate race of the day at 3:00 pm.