“We already have big goals next year to go undefeated and win state,” Leiher said soon after outkicking her Medina counterpart by two seconds to finish in 18:10.21. “This year was our year to go to state and have fun.”
Beavercreek and Mason — which beat ’Creek at the regional meet last weekend — tied with 118 points after the first five runners were scored. Beavercreek sophomore Maxine Simpson finished 59th among team participants (95th overall), edging Mason’s No. 6 runner by five spots and 4.47 seconds.
“I love that it came down to our sixth runner because every time I coach now I can say the reason we got a trophy at state is because of our sixth runner,” head coach Howard Russ said.
Beavercreek — which finished just five points behind champ Brunswick — was joined by fellow Greater Western Ohio Conference teams Springboro (4th, led by junior Rachael Mahle in 19th) and Centerville (12th, led by sophomore Meredith Rintoul in 51st).
Lebanon placed a pair of runners in the top 10 with sophomore Jacquelyn Crow (8th) and senior Hayley Stegemiller (10th).
“We take it as an achievement. The GWOC is the best league in the state,” Leiher said.
Father knows best: Alter senior Olivia Albers trailed the main pack late, but remembered some advice from her father that catapulted her to fifth overall in D-II.
“He told me if you’re at the 800 mark and you’re not with the leaders, you need to kick like you have 400 left. You need to at least be in the race to have a shot at anything,” said Albers, who finished 67th last year.
Albers’ third-place finish and sophomore Alex Groene’s finish (17th) helped the Knights come in third, just one point out of second and 12 out of first.
“I’m disappointed the girls aren’t up on the podium,” coach John Davalos said. “They ran their hearts out and there was not a lot of gas left in the tank, which I like to see. They ran a good race.”
Also in D-II, junior Courtney Swain finished 35th to help Bellbrook finish 8th and Oakwood sophomore Erin Kennedy finished 24th as an individual participant.
Strong finish: Coldwater’s runner-up finish in D-III snapped the Midwest Athletic League’s streak of four straight titles. Sophomore Christina Seas finished second overall (18:29.92), about 2.4 seconds out of first.
“I didn’t really have any expectations,” said Seas, who finished 18th in D-II last year.
Freshman Sarah Kanney finished 9th and junior Jill Kanney 16th on a team that returns its top five runners.
“This is history for us,” said Coldwater coach Dan Pohlman. “We finished 6th and 7th in D-II and we’re very happy to be in D-III now. We’ve never brought home a trophy in girls cross country.”
Versailles senior and two-time defending champion Tammy Berger, who looked like she was battling a cold Saturday, finished fifth. The Tigers finished 4th as a team.
“I tried to stay with them but it just wasn’t my day,” said Berger, who is drawing considerable interest from Big Ten programs. “I feel like I’ve already proven myself, but things can’t always go your way.”
Defending champ Minster finished 8th.
About the Author