Monday, November 7th, 2016
Minster girls are golden again
2016 State Cross Country Championships
By Colin Foster
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
The Minster girls cross country team pose for a selfie after winning the Division III state championship on Saturday at National Trail Raceway in Hebron.
HEBRON - Three straight times - twice at the state track and field meet, once at the state cross country meet - the Minster girls stood on the podium in frustration after finishing runner-up behind St. Thomas Aquinas.
After Saturday, there's no more frustration. It's now all about the celebration.
At last, Minster is golden again!
Led by a trio of All-Ohioans (freshman Emma Watcke, sophomore Kaitlynn Albers and senior Morgan Pohl), the Wildcats became the first cross country program to win 10 state titles and tallied the lowest score ever in a Division III state meet with 38 points as they claimed their first championship since 2010.
"It's really awesome," Minster coach Jessie Magoto said. "For them, just winning one is big. We've been second in track and cross country for the last three seasons, so I just kept thinking somehow we've got to fall over the edge. I was hoping that really was true and that we'd be able to do it this year."
Minster was on top of the state poll since the beginning of the season and had not been defeated by a Division III team this season entering Saturday's race. It stayed that way thanks to a flawless effort by all hands on deck. Three runners posted times below 19 minutes, the final four were all under 20:15.
"This means everything," said Albers, who finished 14th in a time of 18:56.3. "It means that all the hard summer hours, all the sacrifices we made to be on this team, it's all paying off and everybody can see that."
"Words can't describe it," said Pohl, a 13th-place finisher with a run of 18:52.9. "It's my last year, and it's great to know that all this work the last four years has paid off. It's incredible."
Speaking of incredible, Watcke, a week removed from a fourth-place finish at regional, led the Wildcats with a fifth-place finish in a time of 18:36.9.
"I was definitely nervous, but I tried to forget all about it. I went out there and ran my hardest," Watcke said. "It definitely felt good."
Gwendolyn Meiring finished 25th in a time of 19:15.5 and Cassie Francis was 36th (19:31.9) were the final two scorers for Minster. They were followed by Mackenzie Bohman (40th, 19:39) and Madeline Magoto (80th, 20:14.5).
Coach Magoto has had some great teams during her tenure. That said, after witnessing what transpired on Saturday, the veteran coach admitted the 2016 team will probably go down as the best.
Behind Minster in the team standings was Aquinas (95 points). Gilmour Academy took third (154).
St. Henry, making its fourth straight trip to Hebron, earned the highest placement in school history with a ninth-place finish (280 points).
"We've come a long way from six, seven years ago," St. Henry coach Dan Hemmelgarn said. "Back then, just getting to the regional meet was exciting. To build upon it, to build upon it and finish ninth today, it's just a great thing."
Lauren Hemmelgarn was the top performer for the Redskins, running a time of 19:50 to earn 54th-place. Ashley Bruns (87th place, 20:21.4), Erin Clune (95th, 20:31.9), Breanna Schulze (101st, 20:35) and Alexis Heath (112th, 20:52) rounded out the top five. Brooke Speck was the sixth runner for the Redskins in 128th (21:16).
"It's a good feeling," Hemmelgarn said. "Senior Breanna Schulze came through big for us today. She was tough. She fought and clawed her way through the entire race. It was a real good day."
Marion Local freshman Kelsey Broering had a strong performance in her first state appearance. She placed 48th in a time of 19:43.8.
The individual championship belonged to Lima Central Catholic's Emly Sreenan, who ran an 18:01.8 - 23 seconds faster than runner-up Kyleigh Edwards of Lancaster Fairfield Christian.
Division III Boys
Parkway coach Ann Vian said she couldn't wipe the smile off her face all week as her boys team prepared for its first-ever trip to the state meet.
The group gave her much to smile about on Saturday, too.
The Panthers, who were ranked 18th in the final state poll, made their debut on the state stage with an 11th-place finish (277 points).
In a race where the pressure weighs on some, Parkway performed exceptional - with all five scoring runners crossing the finish line in under 17:43.
Ben Schlemmer's 56th-place finish (16:56) led the way for the Panthers. Matt Gaerke (79th place, 17:10.9), Kyle Roth (100th, 17:28), Aaron Bruns (110th, 17:35) and Reid Etzcorn (127th, 17:42.8) rounded out the top five.
Caleb Rollins was the sixth man, placing 140th with a time of 17:50.8. Bryce Lowery was seventh for Parkway in 169th (18:37.1).
"I don't think I stopped smiling all week," Vian said. "It's just awesome. I can't say enough about these kids and how hard they worked and how hard they tried. I give them all the credit in the world."
Last week's regional champion, St. Henry, finished 18th in the Division III boys with a score of 354.
Devin Huelskamp followed up his top-10 finish at the Tiffin regional with a 70th-place result at state in a time of 17:06.8 to lead the Redskins. Sean Muhlenkamp was the next man in (96th place, 17:25.5), followed by Braydon Hoying (115th, 17:37.2), Blake Ontrop (128th, 17:43.3) and Seth Brookhart (156th, 18:10).
Jared Hoying (18:44.5) and Brandon Dues (18:45.3) were 173rd and 174th, respectively.
Hemmelgarn admitted they didn't run their best race on Saturday but said he couldn't be more proud of his team and the season they had.
"There was a few moments this year where we could have easily folded, but we fought through it," Hemmelgarn said. "We wind up winning the region and then we come to state. It was a good way to finish the year off."
Fort Loramie - paced by a pair of top-10 finishers in Jake Rethman (eighth place, 16:07) and Tom Ballas (10th, 16:09) won the D-III state boys championship with 97 points. St. Thomas Aquinas was runner-up with 120. Colonel Crawford was the individual champion with a time of 15:18.5
Division II Girls
Kelly Wilker, St. Marys' top runner, wrote down a list of goals for her team on a poster board before the season began.
"At the very bottom of the board, she wrote: make it to state as a team," Roughrider coach Rob Cisco said.
Mission accomplished.
The Roughriders competed at the state meet for the first time since 1987 on Saturday and finished 20th with a score of 430.
"I'm so lucky to be able to get them there to experience it. It was awesome," Cisco said. "I'm really proud of the girls. They all had fun."
Wilker, a senior who was making her second straight appearance at state, had a memorable final race. She ran a personal best in a time of 18:57.7 to finish 22nd. Wilker barely missed out on her personal objectives, which were beating St. Marys' record of 18:40 and earning a top-20 finish, Cisco said. She did, however, improve on last year's placement by 62 spots.
"To get under 19 for the first time in her career and to PR at the state meet in your last race as a senior in high school, she looked at those things and was very happy," Cisco said.
Celina's Lauren McDonough was the second-highest area finisher in the Division II race, placing 60th in a time of 19:41.1. It was the first state appearance for McDonough, a two-time Mercer County champion.
Morgan Henschen was the second-best Roughrider finisher, taking 117th in a time of 20:43.9. Laura Wilker (149th, 21:44.3), Lauren Cisco (153rd, 21:50.3) and Lauren Donovan (159th, 22:05.7) also scored. Allison Jacobs (166th, 22:19.4) and Kelly Gayer (171st, 23:03.1) also competed for St. Marys.
Woodridge claimed the team title with 88 points. Lexington was second (123) and Tippecanoe third (139). Beachwood's Leah Roter ran a 17:55.1 to win the individual crown.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
The Minster girls cross country team pose with the Division III State Cross Country championship trophy on Saturday.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
Senior Morgan Pohl, in the middle of the pack, was one of three Minster runners who earned All-Ohio on Saturday.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
Kyle Roth helped the Parkway boys finish 11th place in the program's first ever trip to the state meet.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
Lauren Hemmelgarn and the St. Henry girls had their best finish ever in ninth place.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
Devin Huelskamp and the St. Henry boys placed 18th on Saturday.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
St. Marys' Kelly Wilker, center, ran a personal best to finish 22nd in the Division II race.
Photo by Colin Foster/The Daily Standard
Celina's Lauren McDonough, 886, finished 60th in Division II.
