It may be an extremely close competition for the Division 3 Girls this weekend, as it's looking to potentially be a close team race between Minster and Rittman, teams who have been switching between 1-2 on the Coaches' Poll.

Minster will be looking to add to their fourth consecutive team state championship title, which could also be their 16th time in school history.

This year, they will only be returning with three from their last year's state championship team (Claire Bohman, Riley Hagens, Maria Niekamp) , with a handful of new faces to take to the line on Saturday (Madison Eilerman, Ellie Grieshop, Ava Stammen, and Joanna Topp). 

At OHSAA Division 3 Region 10 - Tiffin, they comfortably won the title 98 - 121 over Ash. Crestview.

Looking back at their seasons' performances, Niekamp (18:39.95) and Bowman (18:46.43) will be leading the group after making huge jumps since last fall; both are now within contention of finding themselves a spot on the podium for the first time.

This will not go unanswered however, as Rittman have been switching back and forth with them as the top team in the division.

From their group, Annabelle Snyder (also the sibling of current state champion, Luke Snyder), leads the group as an underclassman, followed by two more sophomores, Adyson Fosen and Ryver Ramsier, and then Brooke Bowlby, Selah Amos, Isabella Piciacchia, and Olivia Rufener to round out the lineup.

This comes after their dominant win at OHSAA Division 3 Region 9 - Youngstown (Boardman), which is also their second time ever winning a regional title; first being last year.

Individually, it may be an even closer race for the state title, as right now, it may be between three athletes:

Rebecca Geiss (Heartland Christian 2026) (defending champion)

Looking to add another title to her collection, Geiss has gone nearly undefeated this season, and currently leads the group with a 17:49.4 performance at Legends Meet 2024. Within the set of victories she has accumulated this season, asides from her previously mentioned win at Legends Meet 2024, she also won her respective race at Boardman Spartan XC Invitational, a meet that saw some of the best teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania toe the line across all divisions. Coming into this weekend, she won both her respective district and regional competition.

For Kaitlynn Carr, she is the only other athlete from Division 3 who has clocked under 18 minutes this season, with her 17:51.50, a race that saw he finish just a few seconds ahead of Geiss. This upcoming weekend will be the third time they have faced off against one another this season, with the other occasion being just recently at OHSAA Division 3 Region 9 - Youngstown (Boardman). Carr will be looking to improve upon her third-place finish from last year, with hopes of being on top of that podium at the conclusion of it all.

Lastly, likely one that we could deem as the incoming "dark horse" for this weekend, Caroline Hamilton has been making the most of her senior year, making huge leaps between last fall and this past season, both time wise and racing wise, as, just like Geiss, has taken victories at her respective district and regional competition. Looking back at her junior year, she took 26th at the 2023 state championships, but things might be completely different this weekend. Comparing her performances from last fall to this season, she has improved by nearly a minute (18:56.30 -> 18:07.11). To top it off, this has been showing in her racing as well, as she Hamilton has won all but two of her races this season.