»RELATED: Saturday’s high school scoreboard
»RELATED: Saturday’s high school roundup
And once he found room to maneuver Blazer picked up a few spots. Thirty-four of them.
“After the mile I tried to speed up because I knew guys were falling off,” Blazer said. “That’s how I train, to pick it up as the race goes. I thought I executed that pretty well tonight.”
Blazer, who was running in 34th place after the first mile, raced past the field in the second mile and into second place. He took the lead for good in the third mile and won the Varsity B race in 16:55.4.
“I was a bit boxed in the first mile. I stayed patient and made moves when I had more space,” Blazer said. “I’m more of a second-half racer anyway. It was a little frustrating but I PR’d, so I can’t complain.”
The event featured more than 4,100 high school and middle school runners competing in 13 races.
The course looped runners into Centerville’s football stadium three times – giving the spectators packing the bleachers an opportunity to follow the race – and also sent them on a mowed path through tall grass fields and through a tree line. All with limited lighting provided by portable generators.
“It felt pretty good. The crowd was into it,” said Blazer, who gave a fist pump crossing the line to a cheering crowd. “I felt good about the race. I think I could have ran a little faster but I still have time to improve.”
In the girls Varsity A race, the Springfield area was well represented among the top 10. Catholic Central junior Addie Engel battled for the win along with Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy freshman Avery Stewart, with Stewart winning by 0.9 seconds. Engel finished in 19:01.3.
“The competition was really good,” Engel said of a field of 393 runners. “I tried my hardest to keep up with her but she was really strong. … I was really hoping to get the experience of this meet. I haven’t been to this meet before and a lot of teams were telling me how nice the course is.”
It suited Northwestern junior Kassidy Carpenter and Catholic Central junior Bridget Engel, Addie’s sister, too.
Carpenter finished fifth in 19:27.5 and Engel was seventh in 19:40.
“I was just going for under 20-minutes today,” Carpenter said. “The course was really fast. It went by a lot quicker than I thought it was going to.”
Carpenter said she finished last season at 19:46, so dropping 19 seconds off that time this season has boosted her confidence entering the season’s home stretch.
“I was getting excited when I came past on my first mile because I was supposed to beat a 6:26 and I was at 6:23,” she said. “It was good because I was on pace. … I’m really happy with where I’m at. Hopefully I keep dropping more time.”
Catholic Central finished 10th out of 47 teams.
Shawnee’s girls competed in the Championship race that featured three defending state champions in Centerville (Division I), Minster (D-III) and Kentucky’s Dupont Manuel (3A).
The Braves finished 24th out of 28 teams and were led by freshman Audrey DeSantis, who finished 21st (out of 245 runners) in 18:23.3. Her time set a school record, topping the record previously held by teammate Olivia Warax by 28 seconds. DeSantis’ time ranks her as the fastest freshman in Ohio this season.
Shawnee’s boys also competed in the Championship division and finished 21st out of 24 teams. Keith Kaiser led the team with 60th in 16:42.5.
In the boys Varsity A race, Greenon sophomore Gavin Patrick finished 15th in 16:44.6, junior teammate Calvin Wise was 19 th in 16:46.9 and Northeastern senior Payton Chatfield 27th in 16:58.9.
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