For the Reynoldsburg cross-country skiing program this season, the aim was to create a basis for future success.
The boys’ team had a Division I sophomore regional qualification Jackson Powell, 12th (16 minutes, 48.5 seconds) in District 3 on October 23 in Hilliard Darby, and 90th (18: 56.5) in Regional 30th October in Pickerington was north.
“He didn’t have his best race (in the Regional League) but it was an achievement to get there,” said coach Leah Wallace. “I’ve really never seen such a muddy cross-country race in my entire life. The winner ran in the 16s and these guys usually run in the 15s, but for him as a sophomore he had a fantastic season. Almost all of my runners ran the entire season (personal bests). ”
At the OCC-Buckeye Division meeting on October 16, Powell finished sixth (16: 49.33) to help the Raiders finish third.
Wallace, who was in her first season, expects eight of the 12 entrants to return from the Boys’ League meeting, with the No. 5 runner’s biggest loss being Andrew Potter at the graduation ceremony.
Freshman Abdoul Bah emerged as the No. 2 runner, finishing 23rd (17: 47.83) at the league meeting and 53rd (17: 55.5) in the district, and runner-up Alex Begeny finished 62nd. (18: 22.5) in the district.
Juniors Cesar Equivel and Jacob Hinds were regulars in the team’s top 7, and Junior Cooper Price was another important contributor.
“We did really well with a young team,” said Wallace.
The top returner for the girls’ team would be sophomore Abigail Davison, who was number 2 on the team behind senior Paige Castello.
Castello was seventh (20: 36.73) and Davison was 13th (21: 16.33) at the league meeting, but Castello could not take part in the 3rd district due to injury. The Raiders had only three competitors in the district: Davison (42nd, 21: 23.5) and the runner-up Emma Hinds (66th, 22: 17.3) and Jenna Leach (86th, 23: 10.0).
“Abigail Davison had a great season,” said Wallace. “She is young and has a lot of potential. Abigail switched from Hartley and we were really excited to have her.
“Right now my biggest goal is to get numbers. If we can increase the number, we can increase our talent. As much as we have the talent and the potential, we will be in a pretty good position. ”
•The HartleyGirls’ team left Division II disappointed in the region, but hopeful for what lies ahead.
One of the biggest goals the Hawks had at the start of the season was to reach the state meeting for the first time since 2007, but they had to settle for ninth (253) of 21 teams in the Regionalliga. The top seven teams and individuals who ended up in the top 28 came to the state.
The second Piper Minnich was 37th (22: 02.6) and senior Rebecca Tepper was 38th (22: 05.2).
“We were kind of devastated,” said coach Jim McKay. “We felt we had a really good chance of making it. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but we were kind of swallowed up in the beginning. (The conditions) made it kind of wild out there. The course is notoriously muddy but we got there and were shocked. … If you don’t get out really quickly, in some places it is very tight and very difficult to pass. ”
Tepper, who was CCL champion in 20:36 and fifth (19: 53.3) at the District 2 meeting, was the only senior.
Minnich, who finished second in the CCL (20:42) and ninth in the district (20: 20.3), should be the top returner.
The other competitors in the postseason were juniors Jackie Radous, Anna Torrell and Cece Woods, the second Katie Morrow and the newcomer Maleah Ogden.
“Piper Minnich will be our # 1 next year,” McKay said. “She’s a very talented sophomore and she’s always improving and just being a very hard worker. We assume that she will be very well.
“Anna Torrell has been our number 3 runner almost every time and she is a junior. She had a huge improvement, so we’re excited about her future too. Probably the biggest surprise was Maleah Ogden, a newcomer who was consistently number 3 or 4 for us. That helped us a lot this year. ”
The top runner for the boys team was the newcomer Connor Caltrider, who was 13th (17:56) at the CCL meeting, but could not compete in the district.
In order for the Hawks to be able to post a team score in the district, McKay recruited the second Nick Gebbie from the boys’ golf program, and he became number 4 on the team.
Sophomores Andrew Bassetti and Nathan Ogden, as well as newcomer Ace Hoylman, are also eligible to return for the Hawks, who will lose a senior in Luke Eschmeyer.
“It was tough because we didn’t have a lot of guys,” McKay said. “Our star newcomer Connor Caltrider was one of our top runners as a newcomer of all time. Nathan Ogden was our runner-up most of the time, and then we have Andrew Bessetti and he’s another boy coming back who’s pretty good. ”
Ulrey this week
HARTLEY CROSS-COUNTRY
• CCL rating: guys – DeSales (29), Watterson (33), St. Charles (82), Hartley (123), Ready (128); girl – Hartley (26), DeSales (51), Watterson (55), Ready (96)
• Lost Seniors: guys – Lukas Eschmeyer; girl – Rebecca Tepper
• Key returners: guys – Andrew Bassetti, Connor Caltrider, Nick Gebbie, Ace Hoylman, Nathan Ogden; girl – Piper Minnich, Katie Morrow, Maleah Ogden, Jackie Radous, Anna Torrell, and Cece Woods
• Post season: guys – Ninth (260) in the district behind the Champion DeSales (45); girl – Second (65) in the district behind Granville (26), ninth (253) in the regional behind Champion Minerva (43)
• Recap: After finishing second in the district, the girls’ team finished ninth in the regional and missed advancing into the state by two places.
Tepper, the only senior on the team, was the CCL champion. Torrell, Radous, and Woods are juniors, and Minnich, Morrow, and Ogden are sophomores.
The boys’ team also had only one senior in Eschmeyer, who was number 4 for most of the season. Bassetti, Gebbie, and Ogden are sophomores and Caltrider and Hoylman are freshers.
REYNOLDSBURG CROSS-COUNTRY
• OCC Buckeye classification: boys – Lancaster (19), Pickerington Central (48), Reynoldsburg (94), Newark (95), Central Crossing (137), Groveport (174); girl – Newark (29), Lancaster (49), Central (66), Reynoldsburg (89)
• Lost Seniors: guys – Mike Bernay, Alex Kowalewski, Deion Martin and Andrew Potter; girl – Paige Castello and Abby Robinson
• Key returns: guys – Abdoul Bah, Alex Begeny, Cesar Esquivel, Jacob Hinds, Jackson Powell and Cooper Price; girl – Abigail Davison, Emma Hinds and Jenna Leach
• Post season: guys – Ninth (280) in the district behind Champion Dublin Coffman (25); girl – Didn’t score in the district
• Recap: The boys’ team had a regional qualifier at Powell, a sophomore year.
The Raiders’ next two runners in the district were Bah, a freshman, and Begeny, a sophomore, and their number five runner, Esquivel, is a junior.
The girls’ team only registered three runners in the district, but all three – Davison, Hinds and Leach – are in their sophomore year.
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