Each year OHRunner tries to interview some of the best Cross Country and Track & Field athletes in Ohio from all of the divisions. The 2011 Cross Country and the 2012 Track & Field seasons were memorable. In CC we saw the move to National Trails Raceway for the State meet. We saw six new course records, but it was the races themselves and the individual champions that were most memorable.
Liberty Center freshman Brittany Atkinson defeated the defending state champion Sr. Tammy Berger of Versailles and beat out Coldwater sophomore Christina Seas by two seconds to claim the Division III state title. Eight underclassmen finished in the top ten. Atkinson’s run helped Liberty Center claim the team crown, breaking Minster’s run of three consecutive state titles.
The Division II girls race also saw a battle of underclassmen as London sophomore Sarah Taylor beat out Cuyahoga Falls Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy freshman Samantha Bockoven by nine seconds.
Claudia Saunders (Sr., Cincinnati Princeton), the 2010 seventh place finisher, finished her career with a four-second win over Elyse Bierut (Sr., Rocky River) to bring home her first Division I state crown.
On the boys side, Versailles junior Samuel Prakel, the 2010 seventh-place finisher, defeated Independence senior Ryan Polman for the Division III individual state title.
Division II 2010 runner-up Steven Weaver (Sr., Napoleon) claimed the 2011 individual state title over Defiance junior Abel Flores. Chillicothe Unioto senior Adrian Ross also repeated his 2010 third-place finish.
In the last race of the day, Reynoldsburg senior Tsehaye Hiluf beat Sam Wharton (Jr., Tipp City Tippecanoe) by three seconds to claim the boys Division I individual title. Hiluf was the only top 15 finisher to return from last year’s top 15.
What can we expect this season? We’ve put together some stats from last year, that give us a glimpse at the individuals and teams to watch for this year, but the statistics are just that, indicators of what happened in the past and what may occur. Which runners, which teams, will rise to the top? Will some of our champions repeat? Will there be some new freshman stars? That’s to be determined. What we can predict is that if the 2012 season is like many of our past seasons, it will be as exciting as ever!
Here are the first of our statistics - The top 10 returning runners from each grade based strictly on their best time from the 2011 season.
Seniors
| 1. | 15:19.34 | Samuel Prakel | OH Versailles | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 2. | 15:24.98 | Sam Wharton | OH Tippecanoe | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 3. | 15:33.00 | Josh Steible | OH Centerville | 2013 | 09/16/2011 | Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational |
| 4. | 15:41.53 | Abel Flores | OH Defiance | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 5. | 15:42.28 | Adam Davidson | OH Dublin Coffman | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 6. | 15:42.30 | Jacob Dumford | OH Westerville North | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 7. | 15:43.93 | Jim Pappas | OH Olentangy Liberty | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 8. | 15:46.70 | Clayton Murphy | OH Tri-Village | 2013 | 10/08/2011 | Anna Rocket Invitational |
| 9. | 15:50.03 | Dan Zupan | OH Berea | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 10. | 15:50.89 | Jack Miller | OH St. Ignatius | 2013 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
Complete rankings of all Senior Boys
Juniors
| 1. | 15:31.48 | Mark Hadley | OH Boardman | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 2. | 15:31.94 | Andrew Johnston | OH Olentangy Liberty | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 3. | 15:47.13 | Jake Mandel | OH Dublin Jerome | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 4. | 15:49.74 | Garrett Crichlow | OH Twinsburg | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 5. | 15:52.70 | Adam Wise | OH Lancaster | 2014 | 09/17/2011 | Galion Cross Country Festival |
| 6. | 15:52.70 | Michael Hall | OH St. Xavier | 2014 | 10/22/2011 | OHSAA District Cross Country - Voice of America Park |
| 7. | 16:02.00 | Mitchell Leitch | OH Dublin Jerome | 2014 | 09/24/2011 | Otterbein Invitational |
| 8. | 16:04.81 | Jacob Brumfield | OH Vandalia-Butler | 2014 | 10/01/2011 | Buck Creek Invitational |
| 9. | 16:05.17 | Kevin Blank | OH Solon | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 10. | 16:09.59 | Jason Willman | OH Seneca East | 2014 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championshiph |
Complete rankings of all Junior Boys
Sophomores
| 1. | 16:10.80 | Zack Buck | OH New Albany | 2015 | 09/10/2011 | McGowan Invitational |
| 2. | 16:12.48 | J.t Mackay | OH Northmont | 2015 | 10/15/2011 | Greater Western Ohio Conference Championship |
| 3. | 16:13.10 | Tevin Brown | OH St. John's Jesuit | 2015 | 09/17/2011 | Galion Cross Country Festival |
| 4. | 16:17.88 | Troy Schultz | OH Troy | 2015 | 10/15/2011 | Greater Western Ohio Conference Championship |
| 5. | 16:18.26 | David St. John | OH St. Francis De Sales-Toledo | 2015 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 6. | 16:23.62 | Colin Burdette | OH Hilliard Davidson | 2015 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 7. | 16:32.83 | Jon Wenning | OH Coldwater | 2015 | 10/13/2011 | Midwest Athletic Conference Championship |
| 8. | 16:36.08 | Kyle Mau | OH Hudson | 2015 | 11/05/2011 | OHSAA Ohio State Cross Country Championship |
| 9. | 16:36.10 | Connor Holiday | OH Van Wert | 2015 | 10/06/2011 | Coldwater Lions Invitational |
| 10. | 16:37.36 | Wade Hodges | OH Wauseon | 2015 | 10/29/2011 | OHSAA Cross Country Regions 2, 6 & 10 |