The 2021 cross-country season has ended. Many of the high school athletes who competed are making plans to continue their careers on the collegiate level. This can be a tremendous experience, if the runners understand several things:
1) They will now be competing against the best runners in this country and the world, not just within their own division in their respective states; 2) They must be patient and understand that it take time to achieve what is required to reach the elite collegiate level; 3) These athletes will find themselves doing more difficult workouts that are necessary to excel at 8K or 10K races. Those who adapt will have careers that are fulfilling and fun.
The following are lists of males athletes who reached high levels of success in Ohio or on the national scene and competed in the 2021 Division I NCAA National Championships:
OHIO ATHLETES
Name Year School Div I NCAA Place H. S.
Ryan Adkins Fr Butler DNR Twinsburg
Lucas Bons Fr BYU 102 Dublin Coffman
Alec Sandusky Sr Cincinnati 136 Marysville
Arjun Jha Jr Indiana 176 Th Worthington
Chad Johnson Jr Iowa State 116 Col Crawford
Caleb Brown Fr Oregon 212 Shelby
Elliot Cook Fr Oregon DNR Dublin Jerome
Zac Kirk Jr Portland 52 Maumee
Matt Scrape So Syracuse 121 Pickerington Central
- P Trojan Sr Syracuse 78 University
Steve Jones Sr Colorado 62 Troy
TOP 2019 OUTSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE RUNNERS
Name Place in National HS Meet College 2021 NCAA PL
Josh Methner FL – 1 Notre Dame 171
Carter Solomon FL – 2 Notre Dame DNR
Patrick Anderson FL – 3 North Carolilna 108
Grayden Morris FL – 4 Texas DNR
Evan Bishop FL – 6 Wisconsin 138
Daniel O’Brien FL – 7 Princeton DNR
Kevin Antezak FL – 8 N. C. State DNR
Jack Jennings FL – 9 Villanova 73
Caleb Brown NXN – 3 Oregon 212
Matt Strangiu NXN – 4 Portland DNR
Connor Ohlson NXN – 5 Air Force DNR
- J. Holland NXN – 6 Oregon DNR
Cole Sprout NXN – 7 Stanford 81
Liam Murphy NXN – 8 Villanova DNR
Carson Belnap NXN – 9 BYU Not on Roster
Wil Smith NXN – 10 Gonzaga 241
Ahmed Ibrahim FL – 11 Boise State 150
Nico Young NXN – 1 N. Arizona 11
Matthew Ferrell FL – 13 Princeton 151
Zach Stewart FL – 26 Michigan 130
Coen Roberts FL – 40 Wake Forest 191
Brendan Favazza FL – 20 Michigan State 200
FL = Footlocker NXN = Nike Cross-Country Nationals
Each of these runners would tell you that the adjustment to collegiate running requires a total commitment to training at a very high level.
Yours in track,
Rod O’Donnell
X x x
Read more of Rod O’Donnell’s articles on: www.runohio.com
KEEPING TRACK - Remembering By Rod O’Donnell –
http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/211-keeping-track-remembering-by-rod-o-donnell
Life Lessons from Cross-Country - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/10-life-lessons-from-cross-country-updated-2020
2021 Track & Field - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/200-keeping-track-2021-track-field
2020 OHSAA State Cross Country Championships - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/134-keeping-track-by-rod-o-donnell-2020-ohsaa-state-cross-country-championships
Keeping Track - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/173-keeping-track-2
COVID 19 and Sports - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/120-keeping-track-covid-19-and-sports-by-rod-o-donnell
Critical Time for Cross Country and Track & Field - http://www.runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/96-track
Facts - http://www.runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/100-keeping-track-facts
Track - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/67-keeping-track
Football and Track & Field - http://www.runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/78-keeping-track-football-and-track-field
Marc Bloom’s Amazing Racers - http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/features/43-keeping-track-marc-bloom-s-amazing-racers-by-rod-o-donnel
College of William & Mary – http://runohio.com/index.php/news-features/news/121-keeping-track-college-of-william-mary-by-rod-o-donnel
Take care and I hope to see you at a race soon.
Matt McGowan