What a weekend for the regional championships. Teams and individuals fought to the line to earn themselves a trip to Fortress Obetz this upcoming weekend. For all team and individual winners, click here. Here are five storylines that stood out from the 30 races contested.
Close Battles
Who wants it more? Sometimes out kicking your biggest competitor is the ticket to a regional win.
It was a sophomore battle in the Youngstown DII girls regional race. Audrey Miller ran 17:46.30 to outlast Maya Gonzalez by less than two seconds. They battled on the same course over a month ago, where Miller won comfortably.
Everyone knew the first season matchup between Elle Miesse and Julia Bocik would be close. These two were separated by just over a second in the Tiffin DII girls regional race. Miesse took the title, running 17:32.00.
Coming into the Troy DI girls regional race, Elle Campbell was the clear favorite. But little did she know, Atalia Hawkins would be a strong challenger. Campbell leaned at the line, running 18:11.00, claiming the 0.3-second win over Hawkins.
Ian Res and Anderson Seredick were predicted to be close in the Youngstown DII boys regional race. Seredick won by just over two seconds at the district meet. At regionals, Res said it was his turn and ran 15:32.30, winning by over a second.
Team Domination
Some teams let things come down to the wire for a trip to the state meet. Others leave no chance at even losing their region. The Woodridge and Mount Gilead boys teams were two examples of this.
There is no typo here. Woodridge won the Youngstown DIII boys regional race by 187 points. They finished with five in the top-14 and scored 37 points. John Brock and Remington Griffiths both slid under the 16-minute barrier. Eli White, Nathan Adams and Devin Pietrowski left zero doubt and rounded out the Bulldog scorers.
Mount Gilead took the weekend’s lowest score with 27 points in the Pickerington DIV boys regional race. They scored five in the single digits with a 39-second spread. Henry Bartlett took the overall win, running 16:04.00. Brycen Gabriel, Ethan Turner, Aiden McLain and Andrew Gannon quickly crossed the line to complete the scoring.
Fast Boys Times
This past weekend, the DIII boys shook up the rankings.
Brice Fuller regained the new OH #1 mark, the first to crack the 14:50 mark all season, running 14:49.40 at the Pickerington DIII boys regional race. He continues his unbeaten streak in all Ohio races.
Joel Smelcer didn’t let his winning streak go. Even to Cole Zang. Smelcer obliterated the 15-minute barrier for the first time at the Tiffin DIII boys regional race, running 14:56.70. Zang crossed the line in 14:59.30. Both have only gotten better as the season has gone on.
Add Jackson Spitzer to the mix and these are the four runners to watch at the DIII state meet next weekend. They will all have a tough battle ahead of themselves.
Upset Alert
Ring ring ring. Liberty Center just won their region.
Liberty Center delivered a major upset to Ottawa Hills in the Tiffin DIV girls regional race, winning by more than 30 points. Even though Natalie Nixon from Ottawa Hills won by over a minute, Liberty Center squeezed in their entire top five before Ottawa Hills could get both their fourth and fifth runners across the line. Ottawa Hills has raced without their typical third scorer, Molly Mullan, for over a month. Meanwhile, Liberty Center has only gotten stronger with everyone in their top seven running a personal best at districts or regionals.
Tie of the Weekend
This was tight. The Youngstown DIII girls regional race ended in a tiebreaker, with Marlington and Crestwood each having 127 points. Marlington scored 1-26-29-33-38 as Irelyn Johnson became the regional champion. Crestwood placed four scorers ahead of Marlington’s second runner, scoring 4-8-9-24-82. But Marlington found a way to let it all come down to the sixth runner and ultimately win the region.
