That podium finish led to a nice hardware haul for the Miami Valley, which also celebrated a Midwest Athletic Conference sweep in D-III. Minster won a girls’ record eighth team title and Versailles sophomore Tammy Berger took the individual title.
In that D-I race, Springboro junior Carly Hamilton was expected to compete for a podium (top 15) finish. Instead the lingering effects of the flu sapped her strength near the two-mile mark of the 3.1-mile race. She finished 18th overall.
“I felt really good the first mile and a half, and all of a sudden I felt so weak,” Hamilton said. “It was such a huge struggle to finish the race.”
Freshman teammate Rachael Mahle led Springboro with 11th.
“I didn’t know what to expect my first time here so finishing on the podium is pretty good,” Mahle said. “This is an awesome atmosphere.”
Magnificat won the D-I title with a dominating 28 points (Springboro had 137) and had three runners already in before Mahle crossed the line.
Miamisburg senior Megan Wright finished 15th to earn All-Ohio honors along with Mahle.
Division II
Tippecanoe junior Katie Landwehr’s goal was to keep the leaders in site.
As it turns out, all she had to do was look around. Landwehr led the area with her third-place finish to improve three spots from 2008.
“It was so exciting. It made me want to go fast knowing I was with the top girls in the state,” she said. “It was like, ‘Wow I’m in third place.’ ”
Alter finished fifth as a team and Coldwater sixth.
Division III
Paced by freshman Natalie Fausey’s 15th-place finish, Minster won its second straight title and seventh in 11 years.
“We didn’t even mention it to the girls,” Minster coach Jessica Magoto said of breaking the seven-title tie with Cleveland Heights Beaumont. “It’s about what they’ve put into this year. It’s about their sacrifice and commitment. It’s about this year. But it is great.”
Versailles’ Berger was the Tigers first individual champ (18:47.94) with close to a seven-second cushion.
The Tigers are regulars at state with two team titles, but Berger was the only one to make it out of regionals. “I ran for myself but I mostly ran for Versailles and my team,” Berger said.
Russia junior Katie Borchers (3rd), Miami East senior Juli Accurso (7th) and Houston sophomore Allison Roeth (13th) joined Berger and Fausey on the podium for All-Ohio honors.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author