MMOC takes center stage on Saturday, October 1, 2011
It's here! The 2011 Midwest Meet of Champions should present a smorgasbord of Ohio's top cross country teams and distance runners with several teams from neighboring states to add some regional flavor to the meet that many regard as Ohio's best regular season competition of the season. Many of the top programs in the state attend this meet because of the high level of competition that is found here each fall. This year should be no different.
Girls Competition:
It will be difficult to match last year's championship race. Only 7 points separated the top 4 teams a year ago. But….how is this for a field? Brunswick, Springboro, Mason, Beavercreek and Dublin Coffman represent the top 5 rated teams in D1 in Ohio and Akron St. Vincent St. Mary is the #1 team in D2. Throw in #14 Magnificat High School which has won this meet several times - and are the two-time defending state champions - and other ranked squads from Hudson (#9), Hilliard Davidson (#11), St Ursula Academy (#12), New Albany (#20) and Lakota West (#22) and it's easy to see how competitive this meet will be.
The individuals to watch on Saturday include Selena Pasadyn (Brunswick), Caroline Sauers (Hudson), Monica Lake (Mason), and Samantha Siler (Sycamore) all which placed in the top 10 at this meet in 2010. This race has no clear favorites, so we can throw in Sydney Leiher (Beavercreek), Caroline Hildebrand and Lauren Hoover (Davidson), Rachel Mahle (Springboro), Annie Heffernan (St. Ursula), Mirra Galbreath (New Albany) and Rosie Menyhert (Sycamore). It will be exciting to see which teams and individuals rise to the occasion this weekend.
Boys Competition:
Defending team champion Cincinnati LaSalle is back this year. They are ranked #17 in the state after graduating most of their scorers from last season and will find it difficult to repeat as champions. #1 ranked Cleveland St. Ignatius is the likely favorite in the team race but they will be challenged by several elite teams including #3 Hilliard Davidson, #4 Mason, #6 Olentangy Liberty, #8 Hilliard Bradley, #11 Centerville, #14 Dublin Coffman and #15 Toledo St John's Jesuit in D1 and the top 2 teams in D2 (#1 Akron St. Vincent St Mary and #2 Unioto). Other strong teams include #22 Lakota West, #26 Reynoldsburg and #7 (D2) Van Wert. Look for a tight team race and some very quick times from the deep field of runners.
Tsehaye Hiluf (Reynoldsburg) will be the favorite to win this race. He won state titles both indoor and outdoor in the 3200 and has not had a serious challenge this fall. He recently ran 15:05 at Galion which has him ranked #8 in the US. Other individuals that may challenge Hiluf this year include sub 16 minute runners Willy Fink (Maumee), Adrian Ross (Unioto), Nick Vogele (Anderson), Josh Steible (Centerville), Omar Khalid (Reynoldsburg), Sebastian Matt (New Albany), Troy Kelleher (Bradley), Brannon Kidder and Adam Wise (Lancaster), Ryan Cauley (Davidson), and Jacob Dumford (Westerville North).
General Information:
The venue for the 2011 MMOC has moved to Hilliard Bradley High School (Course Map) to a course that is flat, fast and spectator friendly. The course records for this fairly new course are 15:34 by Tsehaye Hiluf of Reynoldsburg and 18:57 by Alison Work of Sylvania Northview both established at the Asics Hot Summer Bash in early September where the 90+ degree temperatures halted the meet after the varsity races. The course features a long, straight start, a few trips through the woods, several loops around the fields of Bradley HS and a 350 meter straightaway to the finish.
The energy will be high, the crowds will be large and the runners will be ready to make the running of the 2011 MMOC a must see cross country event!
The races begin at 10:00 am on Saturday. Meet information can be found at www.bradleytrack.org under the MMOC meet index.
Schedule of Races:
10:00 AM Boys Freshman/Sophomore Race
10:30 AM Girls Freshman/Sophomore Race
11:00 AM Boys Varsity Race (Less Competitive)
11:30 AM Girls Varsity Race (Less Competitive)
12:00 PM Boys Race of Champions
12:30 PM Girls Race of Champions
01:00 PM Boys Open Race
01:30 PM Girls Open Race
02:00 PM Awards
Live results can be found at www.bradleytrack.org/mmoc/. Results will be updated soon after each race ends.
Teams Attending
| Boys | Girls | ||
| 1 | Anderson | 1 | Anderson |
| 2 | Beavercreek | 2 | Beavercreek |
| 3 | Brunswick | 3 | Brunswick |
| 4 | Centerville | 4 | Copley |
| 5 | Copley | 5 | Dublin Coffman |
| 6 | Dublin Coffman | 6 | Gallia Academy |
| 7 | Gallia Academy | 7 | Hilliard Bradley |
| 8 | Green | 8 | Hilliard Davidson |
| 9 | Hilliard Bradley | 9 | Hudson |
| 10 | Hilliard Davdison | 10 | Lakota West |
| 11 | Hurricane (WV) | 11 | Lexington |
| 12 | Lakota West | 12 | Magnificat |
| 13 | Lancaster | 13 | Mason |
| 14 | LaSalle | 14 | Maumee |
| 15 | Mason | 15 | New Albany |
| 16 | Maumee | 16 | Reynoldsburg |
| 17 | New Albany | 17 | Russia |
| 18 | Oak Hills | 18 | Sacred Heart (KY) |
| 19 | Olentangy Liberty | 19 | Salem |
| 20 | Paint Valley | 20 | Springboro |
| 21 | Parkersburg (WV) | 21 | St Vincent-St. Mary |
| 22 | Racine Southern | 22 | St. Ursula Academy |
| 23 | Reynoldsburg | 23 | Sycamore |
| 24 | Russia | 24 | Unioto |
| 25 | Springboro | 25 | Van Wert |
| 26 | St Vincent-St. Mary | 26 | Warren |
| 27 | St. Ignatius | ||
| 28 | St. John's Jesuit | ||
| 29 | Sylvania Northview | * Current as of 9.23.11 | |
| 30 | Unioto | ||
| 31 | Van Wert | ||
| 32 | Warren | ||
| 33 | Westerville North |