“He’s team-first. He’s a class act,” West Liberty-Salem coach Mike Louden said. “We ran our best race of the year and we were close. That’s all we can ask.”
The top 16 runners and top four teams advanced to Saturday’s state championships at National Trail Raceway near Columbus.
“They all ran best they could today. Sometimes you come up short. It’s a life lesson,” Adams said. “Sometimes you give it everything you have and sometimes it’s not enough. But that’s incentive to keep working. If you really want something in life you’re going to keep working until you get it.”
For Adams, that means figuring out how to chase down Newton’s Brady McBride, who backed up his district championship with a regional title. Adams has finished second to McBride the last two races by about two seconds.
Adams, who finished shoulder-to-shoulder with McBride at last week’s district meet, couldn’t match McBride’s kick Saturday and finished 2.4 seconds behind in 16:08.
“I know my kick isn’t where I excel, especially with 200 meters to go,” Adams said. “I excel more with the endurance and maybe putting in some moves throughout the race, start going faster. Brady is a tough runner and he stuck with me. He earned the win. … I knew I could be up there in the mix and gave it my best shot. I’m not upset with second place.”
In the D-II boys meet, Shawnee senior Logan Griffith was all smiles about his third-place finish.
Griffith clocked his first sub-16-minute race in 15:59.5, becoming the third Braves runner in program history to accomplish that.
“It’s amazing. I was watching the timer and was like, ‘I gotta give it my all. I gotta go,’ ” Griffith said of that final sprint to the finish.
Shawnee also qualified the boys and girls teams for the second straight season. It’s the second time both teams have advanced. The boys finished third, the girls fourth.
Junior Sophie Smith (19:10) led the girls by finishing sixth overall.
“She ran great, especially that last mile,” Shawnee coach Brian DeSantis said. “She separated from the pack and tracked a couple girls down.
“I’m super proud of the work ethic by the boys and the girls team, and the coaching staff. To get two teams to state is a great accomplishment. Now the pressure is off. Just go to state, relax and run free.”
Northwestern junior Justin Prack (10th, 16:22) qualified as an individual in the D-II boys meet. West Liberty-Salem sophomore Reghan Bieleski (14th, 20:03) advanced in D-III girls.
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