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Perfect November weather greeted 543 boys from 168 schools and 54841 girls from 166 schools in the 43rd Girls and 92nd Boys Ohio High School athletic Association State Cross Country Championships held at Fortress Obetz.  Tournament Manager Steve Adams of Fortress Obetz and Terry Oehrtman who has managed the State Championships for 20 year was Tournament Consultant.  The course was laid out so the fans could see the runners straight across the grand stands four times, the 400 meter mark, the one and two mile marks and the finish line.

The Boy’s Division III started the day of racing as Fredericktown’s senior Thomas Caputo had a one second lead (4:59.5) over Belpre’s senior Eli Fullerton at the mile mark. Fullerton would cross the two mile mark first in 10:01. Caputo who was sixth last year would take the lead in the final mile and hit the finish line in the middle of the field at 15:31.  Fullerton who was fifth last year took home runner up honors in 15:36.  Grandview Heights’ senior Derek Amicon 2019 champion captured the bronze in 15:43.  Canfield South Range’s senior Spencer Bush (15:43) and Canton Central Catholic’s senior Barrett Scheatzle (15:48) finished next.

East Canton moved up two spots from 2019 to capture the Boys Division III title with 126 points.  Summit County Day took home the runner up trophy with 131 points.  Last year’s runner up Mount Gilead finish third with 173 points.   Holgate nipped Canton Central Catholic based on their sixth runner finish as they both scored 200 points.

Carey’s junior Sarah Reinhart had less than a second lead over Cortland Maplewood’s freshman Caleigh Richards  as they hit the mile mark in 5:39 and the two mile mark in 11:43.  Richards pulled away the final 400 meters to win in 18:23.  Reinhart improved five spot from 2019 to take home runner yup honor in 18:24. Gilmour Academy freshman Amy Weybrecht finished third in 18:30.  Mount Gilead’s senior Allison Johnson (18:38) improved six spots from last year to finish fourth while last year’s bronze finisher West Liberty Salem’s junior Megan Adams (18:43)was fifth.

With three runners in the top ten team finishers last year’s runner up West Liberty Salem outran Minster (83) who has won the last four Division III girls crown to win with 55 points.  Liberty Center (115) and Ft Loramie (126) traded spot from last year to finish third and fourth.  Gates Mills Gilmour Academy (163) improved four spots from last year to place fifth.

Sixteen runners in the Boys Division II race hit the mile mark within a second of each other at 4:53.  Five runners were still together at the two mile mark in 9:59.  Peninsula Woodridge’s senior Ryan Champa improved six spot from 2019 to capture the individual title with his 15:42.  Cuyahoga Falls CVCA’s junior Drennan Akins improved eleven spots form last year to captured the silver in (15:49).  Alliance Marlington’s junior  Noah Graham finished third in 15:54.1 two tenth of a second ahead of  Dayton Carroll’s senior Kevin Agnew who moved up seven spot from last year to finish fourth.  Hamilton Badin’s senior Owen Mathews improved twenty-eight spots from last year to place fifth in 16:00.

Peninsula Woodridge defended their Boys Division II team title in winning their tenth team championships with 113 points.  Last year’s runner up Chillicothe Unioto and 2019 seventh place team Waynesville each scored 149 points with Waynesville taking home the runner up trophy as their sixth place finisher was four spots ahead of Unioto. Bay Village Bay repeated their 2019 fourth place finish with 163 points.  Warsaw River View placed fifth with 192 points.

Johnstown-Monroe freshman Reece Savage took the early lead with her 5:39 first mile while five runners were two seconds back.  Four runners where still within a second at the two mile mark (11:38). Last year champion Gates Mills Hawken’s senior Ella Gilson and last year’s runner up Oakwood’s junior Grace Hartman and entered the stadium side by side and sprinted to the finish line with Hartman nipping Gilson by one tenth of a second with her 18:04.1.  Lexington’s senior Halle Hamilton repeated her bronze finish from last year with her 18:25. Fairfield Union’s senior Madison Eyman improved ten spot from 2019 to place fourth in 18:34 less than a second ahead of Oakwood’s sophomore Bella Butler who finished fifth for the second year in a row.

Lexington won their fourth consecutive Girls Division II team title as they scored 113 points.  Last year’s fifth place team Dayton Oakwood placed three runners in the top five team finishers to finish second with 127 points.  Akron St Vincent St Mary’s improved one spot from 2019 to finish third with 135 points.   Peninsula Woodridge improved six spot from last year with their 139 points to finish fourth.  Waynesville placed fifth with 154 points.

In the Boys Division I race twenty runners were with n a second of each other at the mile mark with their 4:46.   Last year’s runner up Uniontown Lake’s senior Nathan Moore and St Xavier’s senior Nathan Mountain were side by side at the two mile mark in 9:42.  Moore would run a strong final mile to turn in the fastest time of the day to easily win the Boy’s Division I crown in 14:59.  Mountain would move up four spot to finish second in 15:26.  Bellbrook’s senior Takumi Ford improved twelve spots from last year to capture the bronze in 15:32.  St Xavier’s senior Conor Bohrer moved up twenty six spots from last year to place fourth in 15:34.  Beavercreek’s senior Connor Ewert improved thirty-one spots from 2019 to finish fifth in 15:34.

West Chester Lakota West did not qualify in 2019 yet they took the Boy’s Division I team title with 73 points edging last year winner Cincinnati St Xavier by two points (75).  Beavercreek moved up eight spots from 2019 to finish third with 143 points.  Cleveland St Ignatius improved six spots from last year to finish fourth with 161 points.  Chagrin Falls Kenston improved one spot from last year to place fifth with 175 points.

Toledo St Ursula Academy’s senior Annie Bennett and Gahanna Lincoln’s Junior Alyssa Shope lead a pack of Division I girls with their one mile of 5:30 and two mile of 11:27.  Centerville’s sophomore Mia Robillard and Centerville’s senior Emma Bucher pulled away from the pack with Robillard hitting the finish line first with her 17:58 while Bucher recorded a 17:59.  Beavercreek’s senior Juliann Williams improved seven spots from 2019 to take home the bronze in 18:04.  Cincinnati Turpin’s senior Ella Lambert edged Shope by a tenth of a second with her clocking of 18:10.0.

Centerville which didn’t qualify a team last year won the Girls Division I crown for the fifth time with their 128 points.  Hilliard Davidson improved a spot from 2019 to take home the runner up trophy with 138 points.  Shaker Heights moved up eight spots from last year to finish third with 156 points.  Mason repeated their last year fourth place finish with 175 points. Chagrin Falls Kenston placed fifth with 180 points.

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