The hills are alive and the first weekend of the 2026 cross country season in Ohio is now complete. It spanned from sunrise bus rides to late nights on the course under the lights. Here's everything that went down.
The girls from Massillon Jackson grabbed the top spot with 49 points, scoring four athletes (Abby Parsons, Bryn Ball, Liv Ziders and Cameron Lusk) in the top 11. The Polar Bears are still a young team with no seniors in their top seven. Minerva took second place, led by Tateum Richard, who placed fifth. The Lions won back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024. Logan Romanini and Grace Gunyula from CVCA also had strong top-10 performances and guided their team to a third-place finish.
The two-hour bus drive home from Canton was one to celebrate for Olentangy Liberty. They sealed the win with 54 points and were led by Vansh Sethi and Micah Ballinger going 3-4 in the varsity field. It was a close race for second between Massillon Jackson and Medina, just separated by eight points. Baron Memmer and Liam Berry were Massillon Jackson's top two scorers in their runner-up finish and contributed to their 36-second spread. Zach Sohar from Medina claimed the top spot in the varsity field running 16:22.51 and will be a key low-stick for the Battling Bees.
Jackson Spitzer picked up right where he left off. Maybe even better. The senior from Versailles dominated the field, running 15:13.30, exactly 45 seconds faster than the next finisher. Then, it was a battle against the clock as three more athletes slid under the 16-minute barrier. Samuel Philpot and Paxson Bixler represented the definition of teamwork, running within 0.2 seconds of each other, going 2-3 for Russia, and solidifying the team's third-place finish. But it was the depth of Lebanon (98 points) and Granville (106 points) that allowed them to take the top two team spots.
The Bellbrook girls should be heading into week #2 with beaming confidence. They took the win over Oakwood and Minster, both of which are teams that have state titles to their name from the past two years. Bellbrook placed five athletes (Allison High, Morgan Dalton, Elsie Bruckart, Embri Lloyd and Laura Hnatiuk) in the top 30, all crossing the line under 21 minutes. It was the freshman from Summit Country Day, Emma McCormick, who claimed the top spot on the individual side, running 19:08.10.
Beth Baker from Upper Arlington sealed the deal for both a team and individual win, running 18:22.40. Teammate Josie Cox also cracked the 19-minute barrier in 18:56.10. Both will be highly impactful up-front for the Golden Bears as the season progresses. Upper Arlington scored 54 points and were able to top Hilliard Davidson's team score by 20 points. Mackenzie Kline, Olivia Tartaglia and Sophia Tartaglia were able to all crack the 20-minute barrier and place in the top-10 for the Wildcats. Seeing these two teams continue to compete against each other will be an impactful storyline of this season. Gahanna Lincoln ran the night and no one could catch them. They scored five in the top 13 and took the victory by almost 100 points. Gavin Swain led the way for the Lions, running 16:03.15. Brayden Storch, Talen Barnes-Bell, Liam Irvin and Finn Swain rounded out the top five. Olentangy Orange, New Albany and Dublin Coffman rounded out the top four scoring teams. Defending state champion Brice Fuller from Fairless had the fastest time of the evening, running 15:26.07.
Big Walnut Eagle Twilight
It's a pretty good way to lead your team to victory, going 1-2. That's exactly what Calvin Watson and Wesley Nash did for Thomas Worthington. They clocked in at 15:45.98 and 15:56.27 respectively. Surging down the finishing stretch just behind them was Rishi Jha running 16:07.83 for fourth-place. Riley Greco and Weston Mehl rounded out their top-five, scoring an impressive 33 points. Big Walnut finished runner-up on their home course with 53 points. Ethan Shultz, Jalen Jones and Frank Evener all placed in the top-10.
The girls from Big Walnut claimed the victory on their home course. Grace Buskirk led their scoring, running 18:56.31 for a runner-up finish. They placed five inside the top-15. Lancaster placed second as a team, with Hadley Allen and Brooke Derringer leading things up front for the Golden Gales. Both of these girls were a part of their state team title two years ago. Kate Michael from Watkins Memorial took the individual victory, running 18:46.52.
Obie Mouser Defiance Early Bird
The Tinora Rams led the charge with 43 points as a team. Nolan Rittenhouse, Noah Meyer, Graham Hammon and Wesley Maxwell all placed within the top-10. Defiance took the runner-up spot with 63 points, as Xavier Gonzales and Grady Schaffer were their top two scorers. Malaki Neilson from Sherwood Fairview was the lone runner to break 16-minutes in the field.
Ottawa-Glandorf showed up to dominate on the girls' side. They finished with a strong 28 points and a 43-second spread. They put five (Maci Maag, Brea Recker, Kayt Croy, Liana Fortman and Carly Siefker) in the top-10. Isabella Stueve from Maumee Valley Country Day School took a commanding win over the rest of the field, running 19:14.80.
Teams traveled across state lines to compete with the best in Northeast Ohio. It's safe to say that Norwin's trip home back to east Pittsburgh was a good one. They captured the win in the Hoka Showcase section, placing three runners (Benjamin McBride, Alexander Barrett and Declan Odonnell) in the top four and scoring 92 points. Mentor claimed the runner-up spot, just edging North Allegheny by two points. Jack Steineman from North Catholic had a moment of his own, breaking the tape under the lights and running 15:27.15.
It was the same story on the girls' side. Norwin's depth allowed them to take the team title in the Hoka Showcase section scoring 14-17-22-40-43 for 136 points. They edged Fox Chapel by 18 points, another Pittsburgh area team. Aurora took the top spot amongst Ohio teams for third place overall, led by Audrey Miller who ran 17:42.75.