It's that time of year again when cross country fanatics drive for hours across the state to watch postseason races. Last Saturday, I got to one of my favorite cross country courses of all time in Troy, Ohio. It's an ideal course for both runners and spectators alike, which makes for an exciting annual meet. The starting line is located on a long, narrow grass field that runs along a the Great Miami River. A spectator watching the Regional Meet for the first time would think that the field is sacred, because no one ever goes down to it except for the runners, coaches and officials. Runners run two loops by the river, accounting for almost two miles, and then make their way up the only hill, which is no more than fifteen feet of elevation change. Troy's course then weaves its way behind the Troy High School football stadium and the runners finish on a straightaway near the stadium's entrance.
Entering Saturday, most of the talk had been about the fierce competition among the Division I boys individual contenders. Some of Southwestern Ohio's elite runners such as Nick Vogele, who was once again at full strength after a rollercoaster season, Antony Parnigoni, and Jesse Moreno were all competing for the top spot on the podium at Troy. However, quite ironically, it was the Division III winner Samuel Prakel from Versailles who stole the show with a blazing 15:32. After watching the DI race, part of me wished that Prakel could have ran two divisions higher and obliterated the rest of the field. Moreno, from Riverside Stebbins, was leading for most of the race and appeared to be in control in the final stretch, but made the terrible mistake of turning around and looking behind every few strides. Although, high school cross country races are 5 kilometers, not three miles, so Vogele, with a phenomenal kick at the end, was able to pass Moreno with about thirty yards left and managed to win by one second. I was very pleased for the Anderson runner on his victory after his challenging season. In September, he was leading the varsity race at Lebanon and was about to finish, when he collapsed and was taken to the hospital. A few weeks later, he dropped a 15:20 at the Trinity/Valkerie meet, which was among the most competitive cross country meets in the Midwest. He injured his ankle a few weeks later at an extremely sloppy Harrison Invitational, but apparently has made a full recovery.
After watching all of the boys races at Troy, I walked away with the realization that the winning team of each division is remarkably better than its competition in the region. In Division III, Mariemont, a team that has had its best cross country seasons ever in the past three years, came in first by sixty-two points, having a team score of fifty-nine. What is most impressive about Mariemont is that they run as a pack towards the front of the race. Their top seven all finished in the top sixteen at districts and their top three runners of Nate Kuck, Emmett Saulnier, and Ben Gorman had podium finishes at regionals. Their top six are all under 17:30 and they have great support from their school at their meets. Mariemont was good enough that they would have placed second in the DII race, which brings us to the Division II champion: Springfield Shawnee. Shawnee won with a score of thirty-three, which was less than one-third of the second place team Wyoming. Similar to Mariemont, they succeed because of a close pack. Their top four runners were in the top seven places overall, which meant that their fifth man could have crab-walked the last mile and they still would have won the race. With a team average of 16:43, they were the most impressive team in the Division II race and were well-deserving of first place. The Division I winner was St. Xavier. Many cross country fans were unsure of St. X's success in the post-season because of the mysterious loss of top runner Jake Grabowski. How could a team recover from such a blow? The answer is bring in secret weapon Michael Hall who didn't start racing until over half way through the season. Hall, a sophomore, placed fifth with a time of 16:02, and was the biggest contributor to the Bombers' victory. While St. X's top five runners were more spread out than those of the DII and DIII champions, they succeeded in matching Mason man-for-man, which allowed them to edge out the Comets by fourteen points for first place. The consensus seems to be that St. Ignatius in Cleveland is the front runner for the State Meet next Saturday, but if Grabowski comes back healthy, St. Xavier is a clear favorite to win state.
I predict St. Xavier to win State, with Grabowski returning, two podium finishers, and a team score in the neighborhood of 95. St. Ignatius will be a close second, finishing ten to fifteen point behind the Bombers. The Mason Comets will come in third place for the boys and will win the girls race.
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