Mason Cross Country Invitational Preview

This meet appears to be shaping up to be one of the premier meets in the state of Ohio on Saturday.  Carmel, Mason, Centerville, St. X,  and Oak Hills will all be in attendance. As far as the girl’s race is concerned, it appears to be the Carmel Indiana show, with Mason, Dublin Scioto, McAuley, Sycamore, Oak Hills and others looking to break into that elusive top 3.  Both D1 races will be strong, and the D2 races will be solid as well.  Look for amazing races up front with 10 boys who have gone under 16:00 and about 10 girls who have gone under 19:00.   With 4 sets of hay bales, a creek crossing(very dry)  and a short steep hill, this race will test the mettle of every athlete on Saturday.    
 


Boys Preview:


This race looks to be one of the premier races in all of Ohio on Saturday.  You have the stacked Carmel team with their front runner who placed 11th at Foot Locker Nationals, (Chris Walden) the pre meet favorite Zach Wills (14:54 PR) and a host of other super stars all up front.  Jordan Redd of Fairborn is on fire this year, Travis Hawes and Co. from LaSalle look very tough, Sam Wharton of Tippecanoe (15:47 this year) and Cody Lacewell of Oak Hills will be up front for much of the race.    The team race looks to be a battle between LaSalle, Carmel and Mason.  It appears St. X will send a split squad, so they may not be in the mix, but you never know.  Lawerence North, IN is ranked top 10 in Indiana, they too could be a factor.  Carmel and Mason have the front runners, then their other runners will have to duke it out for the next 4 spots.  LaSalle brings a great pack, who have finished literally right next to one another in two consecutive weeks and look to be formidable foe.   Don’t count out Centerville, or Oak Hills as they look quite tough this year as well.  The top 5 spots may be anyone’s game, but for now the edge has to go to Mason, LaSalle or Carmel
 
 


Girls Preview:
 


This race may be a clinic put on by the Carmel Lady Greyhounds.  They look very similar to last year’s team from Magnificat. They have three girls already under 19:00 and 2 in the low 19:00s.  Many teams will have trouble putting anyone in front of Carmel’s  5th girl.  The teams that could be close behind are Mason, Dublin Scioto, McAuley and Oak Hills.  Heads up too for Sycamore and a strong Lakota East team as well.   The battle for second could be a nice preview of the State Meet.  Dublin Scioto and Mason have solid front runners, and a great pack.  Mason is lead by Monica Lake (18:49) and Dublin Scioto squad will be led by Minigawa (19:11.)  After those two, the packs of both teams will have to battle it out for the next four spots.  The race up front could be quite competitive like the boys race.  It appears that Bennett and Wellman from Carmel should be right up front, with Lake (Mas) Siler (Syc) and Landwehr from Tippecanoe all looking to go under 19:00 as well on this tough course.    If the weather cooperates, it could be a great battle and the best competition this meet has seen in it’s 36 year history.