Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships. Written by Matt McGowan Monday, 01 December :45 -

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1 Hebron November 1 - A cold windy November day made for challenging cross country races for the 86th Boys and 37th Girls Ohio High School Athletic Association State Cross Country Championships. 438 boys from 136 schools and 428 girls from 145 schools toed the starting line at the National Trails Raceway. Over 10,000 fans braved the weather for the six races and perhaps the country s best High School State Cross Country Championships. The Boys Division III race was the first Championship of the day as runners started east of the grandstands and ran a half mile before running in front of the grandstands, the runners made a 180 turn at the start of the race track and ran on the west side of the track before looping for almost a mile in the field west of the grandstands. Then the runners returned to the northwest part of the grandstands before turning north and crossed the bridge/ramp put in place to cross over the race track. The runners then headed to the northeast woods. The runners would return from the area near the start and run the final 100 meters in front of the main grandstands. {ad}a pack of eleven boys in the Division III race hit the mile mark in 5:04 with four runners going thru the 2 mile mark in 10:34 with four more runners just one second back. Last year's runner up Maplewood's junior Tristan Dahmen won the individual title in 15:57 while Mineral Ridge senior Logan Smith who placed eighteenth last year finish less than a second behind for runner up honors. Junior Allen Sparks (16:06) who placed 10th in the Division II race last year while running at Warren Champion took home the bonze for his new Maplewood team. Cincinnati Summit County Day's senior John Murdock (16:09) moved up twenty six placed from 2013 to place fourth while Antwerp's junior Sam Williamson (16:13) moved up five sports from last year to finish fifth. Last year's runner up Cortland Maplewood captured their sixth Division III Boy's team championships with 67 points. Cincinnati Summit County Day moved up two spots from / 5

2 to take home the runner up trophy with 113 points. Last year's winner McDonald placed third with 142 points. Attica Seneca East (164) and St Thomas Aquinas (168) rounded out the top five teams. Chagrin Fall's junior Joseph Bistritz and Cuyahoga Falls CVCA senior Ryan Adams both hit the mile mark in 4:50 and the two mile in 10:14 before Bistritz who was runner up last year won the Division II crown in 15:44. Adams who was seventh last year hung on to finish second in 15:59. Tipp City Tippecanoe's junior Mitch Poynter moved up twenty four spots from 2103 to win the bonze in 16:00. Wauseon's senior Quintin Reiser moved up ten spots from last year to place fourth in 16:03 while Springfield Shawnee's senior Will Holmes drop two spots from last year to place fifth in 16:08. Last year's runner up Tipp City Tippecanoe who might have been Division I if it wasn't for their lower girls enrollment (cross country used the controversy combined enrollment to determine a schools division) won the Division II team title with 94 points. Chardon NDCL captured the runner up trophy with 111 points. Springfield Shawnee (131) moved up two spots from last year to finish third. Lexington moved up seven spots to place fourth with 147 points while Piketon was fifth with 177 points. Eleven runners were within two seconds of each other as the leaders hit the mile mark in 4:56 while eight runner were still within two seconds of each other at the two mile mark at 10:12 St Xavier's senior Michael Vitucci who placed eighth in 2013 won the Division I title in 15:34. Hilliard Davidson's senior Colin Burdette improved sixteen spots from last year to take home runner up honors in 15:38. Watkins Memorial junior Andrew Jordon improved thirty two spots from last year to capture the bronze in 15:40. Hudson's senior Kyle Mau moved down a spot from last year to place fourth in 15:43 while St Ignatius's junior Luke Wagner was fifth in 15:44. Mason which finished fifth in 2013 won the Boy's Division I team title with 121 points. Hilliard Davidson moved up a spot from last year to finish a close second with 124 points. Last year's winner Cincinnati St Xavier finished third with 141 points. Uniontown Lake (159) and Liberty Township Lakota East (174) rounded out the top five teams. Last year's Division III winner Liberty Center's senior Brittany Atkinson and 2012 winner Coldwater's senior Sarah Kanney ran side by side at the 5:34 first mile. Louisville St Thomas Aquinas' junior Athena Welsh join the leaders as they went thru the two mile mark in 11:39. Kanney who placed fourth last year pulled away in the final half mile to win in 18:00 with what 2 / 5

3 would be the girls fastest time of the day. Atkinson took home runner up honors in 18:05 and Welsh who was sixth in 2013 finished third in 18:07. Bellaire St John Central's senior Fallon Doyle moved up four spots to finish fourth in 18:51 and Sugarcreek Garaway's junior Rachel Wentworth (18:58) finished fifth for the second year in a row. McDonald and Sugarcreek Garaway both scored 113 points and McDonald won their first girls Division III team title on their sixth place runner's finish. (The McDonald boy team has won seven team title) Russia moved up four spots from last year to take home the bronze with 144 points. Minster moved up one spot from last year to finish fourth in 148 points while last year's winner Liberty Center was fifth with 151 points. Lexington's junior Dominique Clairmonte (who missed last year's cross country season with a stress fracture) went thru the first mile in 5:42 while Akron St Vincent St Mary's junior Rachel Iacofano was one second back. Clairmonte hit the two mile in 11:54 while Iacofano still trailed by one second. Clairmonte pulled away in the final mile to win in the Division II crown in 18:17. Last year's winner Wauseon's senior Taylort Vernot (18:37) took home the bronze. Lexington's sophomore Mackenna Curtis-Collins improved nineteen sports from last year to place fourth in 18:41. Cuyahoga Falls CVCA senior Sammy Bockoven moved up forty one spots from last year to finish fifth in 18:44. Granville(last year 10th) nipped Lexington (last year 4th) by one point to win their first team title with 86 points. Last year winner Akron St Vincent St Mary finished third with 127 points. Kettering Archbishop Alter improved ten spots from last year to finish fourth with 147 points while Athens moved up two spots from last year to place fifth with 158 points. Berea-Midpark's sophomore and Brunswick's sophomore Rebecca Craddock ran side by side at the mile mark in 5:33. Centerville's junior Lainey Studebaker who was four second back at the mile mark moved into the lead at the two mile mark as she ran 11:43. Studebaker who was third last year pulled away in the final mile to win the Division I title in 18:09. Scarton moved up thirty-six spot from 2013 to take home runner up honors in 18:14. Carddock who was 65th last year captured the bronze in 18:16. Mason's junior Maegan Murphy improved thirty seven spots from last year to finish fourth in 18:20. Worthington Kilbourne's senior Emily Stoodley who's family moved from England in 2013 and placed 87th last year captured fifth place in 18:22 Centerville improved three spot from 2013 to capture the Division I team title with 52 points. Last year team winner Mason captured the runner up trophy with 92 points. Hilliard Davidson 3 / 5

4 finished third with 153 points. Last year's runner up Beavercreek placed fourth with 171 points. Perrysburg (176) finished fifth for the second year in a row. Congratulations to everyone who ran and coached in the OHSAA State Cross Country Championships. A few race photos are posted on - Read Rod O Donnell s articles Life Lessons from Cross-Country The 2013 cross-country season has begun with athletes, coaches, and fans looking forward to competing once again during another beautiful Ohio autumn. ohio 2014 Championships - Other articles of interest Effects of Combined Enrollment on the 2014 Cross Country Tournament - try-tournament OHSAA New Cross Country Divisions Fair? - Equitable? 4 / 5

5 Why is the OHSAA Treating Cross Country Different than All of the Other Sponsored Sports? n-all-of-the-other-sponsored-sports Articles on / 5