It's already been a month of cross-country season, and we are sitting here wondering how this all happened. Teams drove to compete with the best at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational in Kentucky; the long-standing Boardman Spartan Invitational brought some of the best, and the Celtic Clash brought bagpipers along the course, under the lights and through the thick mid. Here's everything you may have missed.
Personal bests emerged in Louisville, and the competition was heated. Teams from Indiana, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee also crossed state lines to race with the best, and the Ohio teams put themselves right in the mix.
Little Miami might have one of the best dynamic duos in the state with Ryne Reynolds and Ian Patrick. They finished second and seventh in this loaded field, and both cracked into the Ohio top-10 list. Reynolds dipped below the 15-minute barrier for the second time in his cross country career, running 14:58.66. Patrick surged down the stretch less than 100m later, finishing in 15:13.28.
Although Little Miami can pack a solid 1-2 punch, St. Xavier's depth allowed them to rank as the top Ohio team. They placed 5th overall with a team score of 202 points. Liam Holman ran 15:41.98 to lead the team. Aidan Dehring left no doubt about breaking the 16-minute barrier for the first time, running 15:50.22. What may have been most impressive was their pack running for their third through fifth runners, as Jamie Somers, William Louis and Carlo DiBattista were all separated by less than 0.2 of a second.
Here are the other Ohio teams that competed in the championship race: Milford (8th), Little Miami (10th), Olen. Orange (11th), Medina (12th).
The sibling duo from Chagrin Falls made the trek to compete in their respective championship races. Both came home with shiny new personal-best performances. Kelan Byrne finished 17th, running 15:34.92. Gabby Byrne placed 10th in 18:16.68 and was the second Ohioan to cross the line.
The Milford girls put on a show. They finished fourth overall, led by senior Elle Campbell, who ran a season-best time of 17:55.10. Maren Barnett also stepped up for Milford, running 18:54.63. Katie Reckman, Lauren Johnson and Nora Lindley rounded out the Eagles' top five.
Minster (9th), Cin. St. Ursula Acad. (14th), Olen. Orange (16th), Rittman (17th) and Medina (18th) rounded out the Ohio teams in the girls championship race.
Over 150 teams were eager to race in Youngstown for the 41st Annual Boardman Spartan Invitational. Four high school divisions made for epic showdowns.
The Pittsburgh-native North Allegheny teams did not disappoint. They swept both races in Division I, scoring 40 points (girls) and 47 points (boys).
Stow-Munroe Falls came in second on the girls' side with 47 points. Maddie O'Brien and Lillian Hartenburg led up front to place third and fourth for the Bulldogs. Alexis Schultz, the junior from Perrysburg, smashed the competition and took the individual title in 18:30.63.
Perrysburg took the runner-up spot for the boys. Their 15-second spread is one of the tightest in the state so far this year. Matt Scipione was Ohio's top individual, taking the runner-up spot with a time of 16:08.02.
Another week, another Aurora win in the girls DII section. They left no doubt on the course with a team score of 78 points and scoring three in the top 10. Audrey Miller took the win, running 17:51.19. This is her third time under the 18-minute mark this year. Maya Gonzalez, the sophomore from Bay, also had herself a day, running 18:09.86 to claim the runner-up spot.
Kenston's depth proved to be more impactful than Hoover's frontrunners for the boys DII title. Matthew Collins and Tyler Cingcade led up front for Kenston. Ian McCallin, Huck Rundo and Porter Fontana rounded out their top five and sealed their 33-second spread. Samuel Baker, the junior from Hoover, was the overall boys champion, running 16:07.75. His teammate, Alexander Hobe, finished third overall in 16:16.08.
When the Minerva and Woodridge girls toe the line, it's always a showdown. They finished six points apart at last year's state meet, taking fourth and fifth respectively. This year both teams returned every member of their lineup. Minerva claimed the top spot in the DIII section with 59 points. Tateum Richard led the way for the Lions, taking fourth place with a time of 19:41.14. Lola Mullen from Woodridge claimed fifth, running 19:45.36. But Luci Maschek, the freshman from Crestwood, took the top individual spot. Maschek clocked an impressive 18:49.02.
Woodridge, the defending DIII boys state champions, did not let anyone come close. They scored 41 points and placed all of their scorers in the top 20. Remington Griffiths and John Brock led the way for the Bulldogs, placing second and third overall. Eli White, Nathan Adams and Tyler Souza rounded out their top five. Landen Perdue, the senior from Bellaire, claimed the individual win with a time of 15:59.65.
McDonald took the team title in the girls' DIV section with 83 points. Naomi Sheesley dominated the field, clocking a season-best of 18:37.89. She finished fourth in the state last year. It was a tight race for the next three spots between Kirtland (106 points), Bellaire (110 points) and Maplewood (118 points).
Once again, the spread can change a race. Maplewood edged Independence by six points in the boys DIV section. Maplewood's 31-second spread led them to the win, even with both teams averaging the exact same time of 17:28 in their scoring five. Nigel Wenger snuck under the 16-minute mark, running 15:58.35 for the individual win.
Bagpipes amongst a mudfest made for an eventful evening at the Celtic Clash. Times were out the window, and teams focused on the race itself.
Avon took a big win in the girls' championship section with 69 points, led by Ava Melott in ninth place. Brooke Tindera, Molly Suter, Madison Colaizzi and Molly Pomfrey rounded out the top five for the Eagles, all placing in the top-20.
Second place went down to a tiebreaker between Dub. Jerome and Gah. Lincoln. Each team scored 99 points, but the depth of the sixth and seventh runners for Dub. Jerome propelled them into the runner-up spot, led by Emma Styn, who took fourth.
Gah. Lincoln claimed the title in the boys championship section with 56 points. Their impressive spread of less than 13 seconds gave them the edge over Dub. Jerome. Ethan Shultz, the junior from Big Walnut, took the individual title and led his team to a third-place finish.
It's already been a month of cross-country season, and we are sitting here wondering how this all happened. Teams drove to compete with the best at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational in Kentucky; the long-standing Boardman Spartan Invitational brought some of the best, and the Celtic Clash brought bagpipers along the course, under the lights and through the thick mid. Here's everything you may have missed.
Personal bests emerged in Louisville, and the competition was heated. Teams from Indiana, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee also crossed state lines to race with the best, and the Ohio teams put themselves right in the mix.
Little Miami might have one of the best dynamic duos in the state with Ryne Reynolds and Ian Patrick. They finished second and seventh in this loaded field, and both cracked into the Ohio top-10 list. Reynolds dipped below the 15-minute barrier for the second time in his cross country career, running 14:58.66. Patrick surged down the stretch less than 100m later, finishing in 15:13.28.