First-year runners boost Springfield cross country

SPRINGFIELD – Providing assists is common this time of year for Springfield High School sophomore Katie Miller, the setter on the Wildcats' volleyball team. When the cross country team needed one too, Miller delivered.

The cross country team needed one more runner to field a team. Miller, who never ran before, obliged.

“I decided to run cross country for the first time because over quarantine I began to really enjoy running and started improving,” Miller said. “Cross country never crossed my mind because volleyball is during the same season. Deciding to do both was a decision I’m very happy with.”

Miller ran a personal-best 20:19 at the Beavercreek Invitational on Oct. 3 to finish 15th. Miller and the Wildcats return to Cedarville’s Elvin R. King cross country course on Saturday for the district championships.

“I’ve come to love running cross country this year,” Miller said. “Even though I don’t get the opportunity to train with the team, their energy every meet day makes it fun every time. And the feeling of happiness and accomplishment is one that never gets old.”

The Wildcats' boys team also received a boost from a first-year runner. Senior Drew Heims, an 800-meter specialist in track, decided to test his distance endurance. He ran a personal-best 17:01 to finish 11th at the Greater Western Ohio Conference meet last weekend.

“Drew is an awesome young man with a contagious personality,” Springfield coach Elliot Shuman said. "He works hard and is always trying to do a little more and incorporate the entire body in his fitness. His determined mindset is paying off. As a first-year cross country athlete he has a real chance to compete at the state meet and once you get there, anything can happen.

“Katie is one of sweetest and nicest people you could have the pleasure to meet. One she gets on the cross country course, the nice personality turns to determination. She always has a plan for the race and calculates everything. Her determination, hard work and natural talent allow her the satisfaction of beating her own expectations. There is no limit for this young runner.”

The top seven Division I girls teams at the district meet advance to the regional meet in Troy on Oct. 31. Seven girls teams also advance in D-II and D-III. For the boys the top nine teams in D-I, top seven in D-II and top eight in D-III qualify to regionals. To meet COVID-19 guidelines and limit the number of athletes per race, each boys and girls division will be split into two separate races instead of one large one.

* Shawnee junior Audrey DeSantis enters the D-II district meet with momentum after winning the Central Buckeye Conference meet in 18:28. The girls team has qualified for the state championships six straight seasons. The Braves boys, paced by junior CBC champ Jordyn Dillavou in 16:48, attempt to start a new streak. The program qualified for nine straight state meets before missing state last season.

* West Liberty-Salem’s girls have won all six of its meets this season, including a seventh consecutive Ohio Heritage Conference championship last week. The Big Orange scored a perfect 15 points with the top five finishers. Junior Megan Adams won in 18:52 and was followed by freshman Ashley Yoder, senior Katelyn Stapleton, freshman Addison McAuley and senior Madison Bahan.

The Big Orange enter the district meet ranked No. 1 in the D-III state poll with 239 points and 11 first-place votes. Liberty Center (223, 1), Minster (222) and Fort Loramie (197) follow.

The West Liberty-Salem boys, ranked No. 8 in the D-II state poll, are on pace to make their 11th straight regional appearance. The Big Orange won the OHC title behind junior Dylan Lauck’s school-record time of 15:42.4. That eclipsed Kevin Conkel’s 15:48 set in 1988.

* Cedarville edged West Liberty-Salem by three points (26-29) to win the boys' OHC title last weekend. It was the second time in 12 seasons (2017) that WL-S didn’t claim the OHC championship. The Indians placed its top five runners among the top nine overall. Ethan Wallis was second in 15:52.2 and was followed by Payton Herron (fourth), Caleb Sultan (fifth), Trent Koning (sixth) and Drew Mason (ninth).

Cedarville is ranked No. 1 in the D-3 state poll with 232 points and nine first-place votes. East Canton (220, 2) is No. 2.

* Yellow Springs sophomore Cheyan Sundell-Tuerner, who nearly lost her season due to an illness in September, battled back to win the Metro Buckeye Conference title in 20:22. Sundell-Tuerner was named MBC runner of the year and the Coachability Award.

* Urbana’s boys, led by senior Camden Weiss, saw six of its 10 runners post season PRs a the CBC meet last Saturday. Weiss ran a 17:39 to pace the Hillclimbers. Senior Jenny Zaborowski and sophomore Kayla Booze are frontrunners for the girls, who don’t have enough runners to field a team.

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