PICKERINGTON — Sixteen runners from three Knox County schools will race in the OHSAA state cross country meet on Saturday at Fortress Obetz, having qualified at last weekend’s regional meet at Pickerington North High School.
At the Division III level, the Fredericktown boys team qualified for the eighth time in nine years.
The Freddies finished third out of 17 teams, with the top five moving on to state. They tallied 135 team points, finishing 7 points behind second-place Belpre (128) and 17 points ahead of fourth-place Tuscarawas Valley (152).
Fredericktown was led by senior Owen Krabill, who placed 19th overall with a time of 16:54. Sophomore Brandon Hogg finished 35th at 17:26, while junior Kaleb Randall placed 40th at 17:37. Sophomore Aiden McManis (48th, 17:46), senior Peyton Hogg (50th, 17:48), sophomore Noah Smith (63rd, 18:08) and senior Evan Hogg (81st, 18:32) rounded out the Freddies’ varsity seven.
“Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve made it to state. And I’ve been running cross country since sixth grade, so it’s pretty awesome,” Krabill said after last Saturday’s regional race.
“We’ve battled through injuries, but we stuck together as a team the whole way, and pushed each other in practice, and each meet we push each other to get better.”
The Fredericktown boys placed second at districts on Oct. 22 to qualify for regionals. Now, after another strong performance, they’re headed back to state.
“It means a lot. I mean, me and Peyton, we’re seniors and we ran with Thomas (Caputo),” said Krabill, referencing the 2020 Division III state champion. “So it means a lot to be able to carry his tradition on.”
Fredericktown will look to improve Saturday on its 18th-place finish last year. The Freddies will race at 11 a.m.
“The biggest thing is to not let the nerves get to you,” said Krabill, a three-time state participant. “The state meet is really, really intimidating. Being there on the line, you see all the teams. But I feel like going into my third year, it’ll help me have a better understanding of how things go.”
The Fredericktown girls team also qualified for state last weekend at Pickerington North.
The Freddies, who have made the state cut six out of the last nine years, placed second at regionals with 132 team points. They finished 23 points behind first-place Grandview Heights (109) and 4 points ahead of third-place Fort Frye (136). The top six teams advanced to the Division III state meet.
The Freddies were led by senior Elsa Hoam, who finished second overall with a time of 19:17. Junior Kelsey Scott finished 48th at 21:28, while sophomore Ellie Kershner placed 49th at 21:29. Freshman Angelina Overholt (63rd, 22:01), sophomore Taylor Brown (67th, 22:04), junior Kacie Rook (71st, 22:09) and freshman Micah Phillips (76th, 22:18) rounded out the Freddies’ varsity seven.
“It feels really good. It’s our first time, I think, in all of my high school career that we’ve actually placed top-three (at regionals), going back to the state meet,” Hoam said. “The weather really served us well and we trained well this week, and I’m just really glad that we all get to go together, because we’ve all been working hard for it.”
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).
They won the district meet on Oct. 22 before finishing second last weekend. Hoam, who qualified for state individually last year and finished 20th, said she has high hopes for her team Saturday.
“I know the course really well. I really like it. There’s one hill on it – one hill,” the senior said. “It’s a big hill, but a lot of girls always die on it, and I know that we can push past that and finish strong, and just set an example for the years to come.”
The Freddies will run at 11:45 a.m., and so will Centerburg freshman Payton Tucker, who qualified individually last weekend in Pickerington.
Tucker finished 10th overall at regionals with a time of 19:54. The top 24 individuals in the Division III girls race advanced to state.
This followed a fifth-place finish from Tucker at districts the weekend prior.
The freshman, whose older sisters Elise and Avery both qualified for state multiple times, said last Saturday she was proud to carry on the family tradition.
“It feels good because my sisters did it. They got to state as freshmen,” Tucker said. “And it’s just like I’m carrying that on, I guess.”
Mount Vernon senior Sophie Zoldak will serve as Knox County’s lone representative at the Division I level.
She finished 14th overall at regionals last weekend with a time of 18:55. The top 20 individuals in the Division I girls race advanced to state.
Zoldak, who won districts the weekend prior, said after regionals that she felt fortunate to advance.
“I’m really grateful because in the past 20 minutes of my life, I thought I was not going to (qualify),” the senior said. “But I’m excited because this year is the farthest the team has ever gone. I just love running with my team. It’s so motivational, just to know they’re in the race with me and they’ve gotta go through this, too. It’s a really mental race.”
Zoldak, a three-time state qualifier, finished 28th at Fortress Obetz last year. She said after regionals that she’s looking to close her high school career out in style Saturday.
“I’m really excited for next week. This cross country season has definitely been unique compared to others. I’ve missed a lot of meets, just moving in and out of things. But I’m really excited,” said the senior, who will race at 3:45 p.m.
“No matter what I place, I love cross country because there’s so many people crazy enough to spend their Saturdays racing in 75-degree weather, when you could be doing anything else in the world.”
The OHSAA state cross country meet will take place Saturday at Fortress Obetz, located at 2015 Recreation Trail in Obetz, OH. Click here for more information on this year’s state competition.
