FREDERICKTOWN — Fredericktown senior Elsa Hoam has learned from the best.
She has grown up in one of Ohio’s elite small-school distance-running sororities: that of the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference. It’s meant battling day-in and day-out against the likes of Allison Johnson (now at Penn State) and Michaela McGill (now at Toledo), among other all-state runners, at the top of a league that consistently sends multiple teams to Obetz.
Hoam has been a contender in the conference from the moment she stepped foot on campus. She placed seventh (20:07) at the KMAC cross country meet her freshman year, then finished fourth (19:14) her sophomore year. She narrowed the gap again last fall, taking second place (19:09) on a cold, muddy day in Mount Gilead.
But on Saturday, after all those years of close finishes amid cutthroat competition, Hoam emerged from the pack.
The Fredericktown senior had the KMAC title all to herself.
“It means a lot,” said Hoam, smiling while holding a plaque that read KMAC Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. “I haven’t really been up there for a while, and to win it at the home course, too, makes it even more special.”
Hoam won KMAC gold Saturday morning with a time of 18:51 at the Kokosing Dam in Fredericktown. She finished first in a field of 60 runners, nearly a full minute ahead of the next-closest competitor.
1. Elsa Hoam, Fredericktown senior (18:51)
2. Kate Lehman, Northmor freshman (19:47)
3. Loey Hallabrin, Cardington senior (19:51)
4. Taylor Severt, East Knox junior (19:58)
5. Magi Hallabrin, Cardington sophomore (20:11)
6. Payton Tucker, Centerburg freshman (20:16)
7. Natalie Hunter, Northmor sophomore (20:31)
8. Haley Pfeifer, Mount Gilead sophomore (20:37)
9. Adrian Clutter, East Knox sophomore (20:41)
10. Kimberly Staley, Mount Gilead sophomore (20:44)
For full race results, click here.
And she helped lead Fredericktown’s girls team to its second straight KMAC title. The Freddies finished with 51 points, outpacing Northmor (58), Mount Gilead (76), Cardington (80) and East Knox (97) on a brisk day on the levee.
“This group works really well together,” Hoam said. “Even though most of (us are) freshmen, we all get along really well. We’re all supportive of everybody and we’re just progressing really well, and I’m happy that they got to run with me in my last year here.”
It was Fredericktown’s middle-of-the-pack consistency that led to its victory Saturday. After Hoam, the rest of the Freddies’ scoring runners all finished together, occupying 11th through 14th place in the race.
Sophomore Ellie Kershner (20:52), freshman Micah Phillips (21:00), sophomore Taylor Brown (21:13) and junior Kelsey Scott (21:17) all finished within 30 seconds of each other Saturday.
Fredericktown’s top five runners all finished in the top 15 overall, while Northmor’s top five were dispersed throughout the race’s top 26.
Hoam dominated individually from start to finish. By the time she made it down the levee – just a half-mile in – she had already separated herself from the pack. That gap continued to widen as the race progressed, with Hoam clocking mile splits of 5:42, 6:10 and 7:01.
“The first mile, I just tried to keep pace. And when I came across the mile, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve gotta keep this pace all the way through the second mile,'” Hoam recalled afterwards.
“A lot of the time I just had to pace off of where the gator was, because I had no idea where the other girls were. … The people cheering for me (and) the gator really helped me keep up, to do what I needed to do.”
Hoam recorded her fastest time of the season on Saturday, despite the fact that she ran most of it alone. It was her first race under 19 minutes since the Division II state meet last year, when she finished 20th overall with a time of 18:58.
“It feels good to finish how I finished on this course,” said Hoam, following her final home race. “I wanted to finish first and I wanted to finish with a PR for the season, and I’m really happy that I got to do that.”
Hoam credited her longtime KMAC rivals – such as Mount Gilead’s Johnson and McGill – for her improvement over the years. The conference’s top runners have pushed each other to get better, Hoam said – resulting in not only state trips and college scholarships, but also PR performances like the one she exhibited Saturday.
“I’m really happy,” Hoam said after the race. “And I’m happy that I got to run up with them, to push me mentally and physically.”
Now, Hoam and the Freddies will shift to the postseason. The district meet will be held this Saturday at Hilliard Darby High School, ahead of regionals Oct. 29 at Pickerington North and state Nov. 5 at Fortress Obetz.
The Fredericktown girls are back down in Division III this year after three seasons in Division II (the OHSAA determines divisional assignments based on the number of boys or girls in each high school, and Fredericktown has long straddled the line).
Hoam believes her team has a shot at making some noise this fall, given its success in Division II in years prior. Fredericktown sent its full girls team to state in 2020, and sent two runners last year, despite being one of the smallest schools in the division.
“I think we’re gonna do really well, since we trained in D-II for three years,” Hoam said. “We’re gonna take all that training and what we learned in those races and put it into D-III and just dominate.”
Mount Gilead boys defend KMAC team title
The Mount Gilead boys repeated as KMAC champions Saturday as well.
Their team score of 19 points outpaced Fredericktown (52), Northmor (74), Centerburg (103), East Knox (137) and Cardington (152).
Much like the Fredericktown girls, the Mount Gilead boys did it Saturday with consistency at the top.
The Indians swept the top three, with sophomore Will Baker taking first (15:58), senior Reed Supplee claiming second (16:09) and junior Parker Bartlett placing third (16:21).
Freshman Owen Hershner took sixth (16:51) and senior Aaron Gannon placed seventh (16:59), rounding out Mount Gilead’s scoring five.
1. Will Baker, Mount Gilead sophomore (15:58)
2. Reed Supplee, Mount Gilead senior (16:09)
3. Parker Bartlett, Mount Gilead junior (16:21)
4. Ryan Lehman, Northmor junior (16:30)
5. Owen Krabill, Fredericktown senior (16:50)
6. Owen Hershner, Mount Gilead freshman (16:51)
7. Aaron Gannon, Mount Gilead senior (16:59)
8. David Blunk, Northmor freshman (17:10)
9. Aidan Reitmire, Cardington junior (17:11)
10. Kaleb Randall, Fredericktown junior (17:22)
For full race results, click here.
Mount Gilead’s five scoring runners all finished in the top seven overall, while Fredericktown’s scoring five were scattered throughout the race’s top 14.
“It’s awesome. It’s amazing … with so many seniors last year that we lost,” Baker said afterwards. “But we have so many young guys coming up. It’s coming together really well. (We) can still win these conference meets.”
Baker, Supplee and Bartlett distanced themselves from the rest of the pack early, and ran together for the first two miles of the race. The group’s next-closest competitor, Northmor junior Ryan Lehman, finished nine seconds behind Bartlett in fourth.
“We wanted to go out hard and keep our top three guys together as long as possible, really work that 1-2-3 spot. And I think we did a really good job of going out and working together. …” Baker said.
“And then towards the end, I knew I’d make my move to finish (at the front).”
While Saturday was not a season PR for Baker, the sophomore did say it was “one of my better races.” Baker finished all alone at the front of the pack after a breakneck third mile.
“I think it was the second mile that really (proved costly),” said Baker, noting that he’d hit 15:54 several times throughout the season. “But I’m still very happy with how I ran.”
And Baker was thrilled to see Mount Gilead repeat as team champions, having lost what it did to graduation this offseason. The Indians graduated nine seniors from last year’s team, including all-Ohioan Michael Snopik, who placed seventh overall at the 2021 Division III state meet.
Still, the program was able to reload and come out on top. Baker attributed this to the team’s talent and culture.
“We have wonderful guys coming in, and then just the coaching and the environment really helps,” Baker said. “It really pushes the other kids to really strive to be their best, and really continue the legacy of Mount Gilead (cross country).”
The Mount Gilead boys placed second as a team at state last year – just 15 points behind champion East Canton. They will look to make it back to the podium this November, Baker said, and that journey begins Saturday at Hilliard Darby.
“I think we’re in a really good position. We’ve still got lots of work to do going into districts, regionals (and) state. But our top three guys are working really well together,” said Baker, noting that Mount Gilead’s fourth and fifth runners are on the cusp of taking the team to the next level.
“I think we’re all working really well, so I feel like we’re doing good.”
