Russ said mojo is “a word that means confidence,” and a runner earns the shirt by logging time — and that reflects the program standard.
“When they wear their shirts, I tell them that they should have the confidence that they can be successful,” Russ said. “Really, the summer sets the stage because no one forces them to come to conditioning, no one forces them to put in the mileage.”
Beavercreek’s cross country teams have consistently ranked among the top 10 in the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches polls this season.
The Beavers are returning home this week from their yearly trip this time to Chicago where they competed in the Palatine Elite Meet on Saturday. The Beavercreek boys placed 12th among 32 teams, according to MileSplitIL, and the girls placed 15th among 31.
The Beavercreek boys ranked No. 1 in the OATCCC poll Sept. 15, and Russ said the Beavers are “senior heavy.” Aiden Allen led the team and ran 15:13.01 in Chicago.
“We do have a couple of juniors and a freshman in there, but this group of seniors, it’s kind of been — a lot of them even ran varsity as a freshman,” Russ said. “They knew kind of we had a shot at being one of the better teams in the state, so it’s really been a four-year progression.”
For the girls, junior Julia Pochet led Beavercreek and ran 19:09.93 at the Palatine Elite Meet.
Beavercreek’s girls team didn’t qualify for the state meet last year. The team polled No. 10 Sept. 15, and Russ said “so many different athletes who could be leading us each week” are working to get the program back to the state meet.
“The end of the season last year was really rough for all of us because we didn’t know how to deal with it,” Russ said. “The senior leadership that we’ve had this year really helped as we try to get back to really the standard that this program has had on the girls side for a long time.”
Here’s a look at more prep sports around Dayton:
CROSS COUNTRY
GWOC: Fairmont freshman Lucia Schafer recorded a 10:03.80 time to finish second at the Northmont Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27.
At Saturday’s Richard & Iris Black Bellbrook Invitational, Miamisburg’s boys and girls teams both finished third while the Springboro boys team came in fourth.
MVL: Tippecanoe senior Landon Kimmel won the Northmont Invitational with a 15:10.10 time as the Red Devils finished second. Troy came in third and Butler eighth.
GCL: Alter junior Matthew Orlando’s 16:46.85 time at the Bellbrook Invitational won the boys race and sophomore Veronica Johnston’s 20:58.31 time finished third in the girls race.
BOYS SOCCER
GWOC: Centerville leads the conference at 5-0-0 while Beavercreek and Springboro are close behind at 4-1-0.
MVL: Troy, Tippecanoe, Butler and Piqua are over .714 in league play while Fairborn (8-5-1, 4-3-0 MVL) paces the Valley Division.
GCL: Carroll picked up a critical 1-0 GCL win over Alter Sept. 30 and pushed its win streak to five with a win Thursday over Covington Catholic.
GIRLS SOCCER
GWOC: Springboro earned a 3-1 nonconference win over Chaminade Julienne on Monday, Sept. 29 and improved to 11-1-1.
MVL: Troy beat Northmont 1-0 and Fairborn beat Wayne 5-1 on Monday night.
GCL: Badin leads the league with a 3-0-0 record and hasn’t lost a game since Aug. 25.
BOYS GOLF
PipeStone Golf Club hosted districts for Divisions II on Monday and Tuesday for Division III. Next Monday will start district play for Division I.
Wayne’s Braylen Haney finished tied for third at 73 and was the top individual qualifier during sectionals Monday at Yankee Trace.
GIRLS GOLF
Division II districts at PipeStone Golf Club are scheduled for Wednesday and Division is to be held next Tuesday, Oct. 7.
GIRLS TENNIS
Sectionals began Tuesday for several area teams at Centerville, Mason and Troy host sites.
Chaminade Julienne won the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed with a 5-0 record and Fenwick finished second behind its highest GCL finish in program history.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Tippecanoe maintained its perfect 17-0 record and swept league wins at Stebbins, West Carrollton and Piqua to move to 15-0 in the MVL.
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