Beavercreek’s girls are the favorites to repeat as the Division I state champions, as is Beavers’ senior defending individual champ Taylor Ewert. The Beavers won last year’s title by 23 points over Centerville.
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Beavercreek enters ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation by both Milesplit and Dyestat. Ewert, a University of Arkansas recruit, holds the state’s fastest time this season in 17:03. Seniors Savannah Roark (Syracuse), Jodie Pierce (Cincinnati) and Kendall Hobbs are joined by junior Juliann Williams and sophomores Megan Nowe and Grace Dailey.
The Beavercreek boys will make their first trip to state since 2016. Junior Connor Ewert, who finished fourth at the regional, is the third member of his family to run at state joining sister Taylor and older brother Ben (Louisville).
Bellbrook: Junior Takumi Ford finished 16th at the regional meet to represent the Golden Eagles.
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Brookville: Senior Justin Bland didn't let a fall on the final muddy hill stop him at the D-II regional. Bland, coach Jon Bland's son, scrambled to finish ninth. He makes his third state appearance.
Carroll: The Patriots won the D-II regional behind individual champ and junior Kevin Agnew. His father John Agnew qualified for state at Carroll in 1978-79. Senior Andrew Connair is the fifth sibling to compete at state.
Miamisburg: Senior Corey Reese returns after helping the Vikings make history last season. He was the only non-senior among the top seven on Miamisburg's firs state qualifying team in 2018. He's posted times of 16:12 or faster in five of seven races.
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Lebanon: School-record holder and senior Sam Duncan leads the Warriors into their second appearance in three seasons. Jesus Trejo (16:52) and Jacob Fleig (16:58) are the two fastest freshmen in program history. For the girls, school-record holder and junior Faith Duncan (Sam's sister) makes her second trip. She finished fifth her freshman year.
Minster: The girls won their third straight and state-record 12th championship last season. The Wildcats, led by junior Ella Boate's runner-up finish, scored a 29-point victory over fourth-ranked Liberty Center at regional.
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Oakwood: The Jills, making their sixth appearance in eight years, are led by D-II state runner-up and sophomore Grace Hartman. Senior Elizabeth Vaughn finished 10th the past two seasons. The team's best finish at state is eighth, and the Jills are on pace to better that after last week's first regional championship. Freshman Bella Butler is also in the running for a top-10 finish.
For the Lumberjacks, senior Kyle Lethander qualified for the third straight season.
Springboro: The Panthers girls feature three seniors — Jenna Schwinghamer, Manon Blackman and Zoe Chappelle — who have all run in the 18-minute range. Chappelle makes her fourth state appearance. For the boys, senior Alex Berardi — who has led the boys team every race — caps his prep career with his second straight trip.
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Tippecanoe: The Red Devils were bumped up to D-I, making them one of the smallest schools competing.
Senior Bryce Conley leads the team as a four-time state qualifier.
Tipp’s girls, who compete in D-II, qualified for the seventh consecutive season. Five underclassmen, including three freshmen, have helped offset the graduation of five seniors from last season’s team that finished fourth.
Troy: Junior Dinah Gigandet qualified for the third straight season, finishing sixth in a tough regional. She's the sister of 2017 state champ Morgan Gigandet.
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Troy Christian: Senior Robin Ventura grabbed the 16th and final state qualifying spot at the regional meet the past two seasons.
Twin Valley South: Senior Kyle Saul is the first boys runner to compete at state since 2010. His sister, Abbi, was a member of the lone TVS team to qualify for state back in 2014.
Waynesville: Last season junior Colin Amato became the Spartans' first state qualifier. This season he has company. Waynesville's boys make the program's first team appearance behind six juniors and a sophomore. The group of juniors – Amato, Kaden Harvey, Trevor Camp, Denver Johnson and Levi Morgan – have two junior high state titles, three league titles and a pair of district runner-ups.
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