MARENGO – Last season, the Mount Vernon girls cross country team reached regionals for the first time in 10 years.
Lucy Rush was there. As a freshman, she finished 31st and helped the Yellow Jackets finish seventh overall.
Saturday, Rush ran as her team’s top runner. She placed third at the Highland Flying Scots Cross Country Invitational – by far the top finish among local runners.
“The second mile was the toughest for me,” Rush said. “I was a little tired after the first mile, and I knew I had more of the race left, so I think it wore on me.”
Mount Vernon placed sixth among the 14 teams at Saturday’s meet. The Jackets were topped locally only by Fredericktown, which came in third.
The boys’ race saw the Freddies, a qualifier for the state tournament last season, finish a respectable fourth, followed by Centerburg (sixth), host Highland (10th), Mount Vernon (12th) and Clear Fork (14th).
Logan Eggert led all local boys with a 12th-place finish (16:52.85). The Jackets lost their lone regional qualifier from last season, but Eggert believes bigger dreams can be fulfilled soon.
“I went out too conservative to start out,” Eggert said. “I tried to make up for it in the end. But, I can’t complain about a top 15 finish. They’re giving me a medal. I’ll take it.
“This team has a lot of grit that I’ve never seen on a team before. I’m very interested to see what they can do. We’re really young, with five freshmen and four sophomores. There’s a lot of room for growth.”
Eggert welcomes top teams like Olentangy Liberty and Fredericktown to meets like this one. He said he wants to see the sport grow, and the best way is for his team to meet with other great teams, as well as potential future teammates.
“I know there are guys here that can run faster than me, but, shoot, I love this sport so much,” Eggert said. “That’s why I encourage my teammates to make friends after each race. Because this sport is a growing sport. It’s a little niche, but I’d love to see it grow more.”
The Freddies were led by Aiden McManus, who finished 16th overall with a time of 17:05.85. Fredericktown lost three seniors from last year, including the top two runners on a team that finished 14th at state. McManus’ time Saturday was 45 seconds better than his state run.
Teammate Brandon Hogg finished 20th with a time of 17:40.17. Noah Smith (18:04.44) and Kaleb Randall (18:06.26) finished in the top 50.
As per tradition, Fredericktown lined up along the pipe behind the finish line to greet every runner as they crossed.
“This is a team effort,” McManus said. “We just love to help the people out, making sure they don’t fall. It’s all about togetherness.”
Nathan Dickhof and Alex Riegel led Centerburg to sixth place. The pair finished 33rd and 37th, respectively. Greg Beard and Ethan Jackson were also in the top 50.
The race was dominated by Big Walnut – Eli Lengl and Emil Stanford were the first two to finish – and Olentangy Liberty, which earned the next five slots.
In the girls’ race, Sarah Koker placed eighth overall at 21:08.99. Centerburg sophomore Peyton Tucker was 11th at 21:16.26. Angelina Overholt, Peyton Blakesley and Taylor Brown wrapped up their race in a mini cluster, coming in 23rd through 26th.
Johnstown’s Reece Savage blew by the competition, winning by more than 20 seconds over Leighton Coey of Big Walnut. The Eagles, however, won the team title by claiming four of the top six spots.
Rush’s Yellow Jackets aren’t at that level – yet. But she hopes to inspire her teammates to take that next step.
“I love getting to spend time with my teammates,” Rush said. “We’re hopeful to get to regionals. We’re hoping to replicate that from last year.”
Jayden Marcum of Highland was the top local runner among middle school boys, placing 11th. Highland’s Veronica Ballard led all local girls, coming in third.
