Let's talk Ohio HS XC

It looks like Jackson and Jerome are both running their front teams but Davidson doesn’t look to be. The Celtic Clash also seems to have changed their course to be a true 5k now. They have a different course map on their website. They’re probably trying to get more teams to come back after the whole “distance” debacle last year. Ricchiuti seems to be the clear front runner in his race.

If Saketh R is running and healthy, he's right there with Sam, per usual with those two. I foresee another mad sprint at the end with these two shoulder-to-shoulder.

St Xavier-
Jackson hasn’t raced since last XC season. Didn’t even run track.
Bohrer has yet to race.

Malone alum here. Ran track but not XC about 15 years ago there but overall the school has had a huge drop in enrollment within the past 5 or so years. They cut their football team recently and are on the decline. Probably has something to do with it.

Girls returning teams next year.. I looked at Avons team for this year, 1 Senior in their top 14..very young.. Hilliard Davidson is also strong with their young core and so is Mason and last year's State Champs (Perrysburg). P-Burg may win another State title again here soon. Dub Jerome has such a strong top 3 core that I could see them as the best chance as a contender for State Champs out of this list of top..thoughts?

Avon
147
4+22+26+46+49 (79+177)
1:30.16
19:09.74

2
Hil. Davidson
158
16+17+21+38+66 (161.5+193.5)
55.75
19:19.25

3
Mason
177
3+9+20+30+115 (152+168)
2:15.08
19:09.32

4
Perrysburg
205
10+31+36+41+87 (216+265)
1:20.40
19:29.24

5
Dub. Jerome
265
6+8+12+72+167 (187+199)
2:04.10
19:25.18

6
Shaker Hts.
332
34+54+63+89+92 (210+212)
50.30
19:55.22

7
Lak. West
369
2+47+70+123+127 (185+201)
2:32.12
19:42.80

8
Westlake
432
1+33+48+57+293 (328+361)
4:03.90
19:36.20

9
Marysville
447
7+58+69+132+181 (360+524)
2:05.10
19:58.60

10
Loveland
447
19+40+67+88+233 (289+332)
2:12.04
19:59.72

I have zero interest looking forward to next season when we are not even halfway through this season.

Connor Ackley is 15th for the guys.

I am more interested in the team stuff but it seems that most predict Ackley will easily win the individual title this season but the kid from Mason, Isaac Isaac Schachleiter, has vastly improved over last year and could contend. Tommy Rice should also be in the mix for the individual title.

Mason doesn't often have someone that is considered to a contender for the individual title. Zach Wills in the late 2000s-2010 is the last that I recall. Perhaps Nick Grismer in the mid-2010s. Schachleiter could be Mason's best finisher since Wills and with that really low stick they will be pretty much impossible to beat for the team title.

dyestatxcrankings.runnerspace.com

DyeStat XC RANKINGS - News - Individual Boys Top 30 - 9/22

By Doug Binder, DyeStat EditorThe Top 30, 9/221 (1). Leo Young, senior, Newbury Park CA: 2 (2). Lex Young, senior, Newbury Park CA: 3 (4). Tyrone Gorze, senior, Crater OR: 4 (6). Aidan Cox, senior, Coe-Brown Academy NH: 5 (12...

Link:dyestatxcrankings.runnerspace.com/gpro...

Thank you for your thoughts about the Malone program.

It seems like the retirement of Hazen had a lot to do with the decline of Malone's program. The quality has dropped a lot with Hazen being gone and since the Louisville guys, the Chaplik brothers and Zack Fresenko, are no longer with the program.

Also, and this is not intended to be personal, the Christian aspect of the school with madatory chapel and all of that can make it hard to recruit runners. I am not criticizing that but it certainly is not for everyone. Wheaton, Cedarville, Lee in TN, and a few others are similar and most of those schools have also had excellence in athlhletics over the years. Lee, in particular, is very strong in XC and distance. It's just that the "dry" aspect, chapel, and all of that can be a consideration and many athletes will rule a school out because of it.

In terms of the declining quality of the meet, I am not sure why that is. For a few years it was moved to Glen Oak when their was construction going on. It was moved back to Malone but the course is different than it once was. Perhaps that had something to do with it. Hazen was a tireless promoter of the event so perhaps his advancing age has something to do with it as well. He is still involved with the program but not to the extent that he was. Another consideration is increased competition from other meets. There are a few this upcoming weekend and there were some last weekend and next weekend. HS teams do not compete as much as they used to. It is unusual to run at big invitationals multiple weeks in a row.

He is clearly the favorite but I wonder how much pressure is on him since he has typically been the brides maid lately. Will he rise to the occasion or will he tighten up and open the door for someone else.

I looked it up, Schachleiter from Mason broke the neck of his hip at 2020 regionals. So whatever he's does is pretty impressive.

local12.com

Mason runner races back to starting line after gruesome injury

https://www.facebook.com/wkrctv/

MASON, Ohio (WKRC) - The high school cross country season is months away. In April, most distance runners are competing in track and field, but Mason High School sophomore distance runner Issac Schachleiter has his eyes fixed...

Link:local12.com/sports/high-school-sports/...

Looks like tomorrow should be a perfect morning for a race. It seems like Lancaster is probably the team that we know the least about at this point in the season, really interested to see the results from this one.

I'm not sure that I'm seeing what your seeing?!! I just looked at https://oh.milesplit.com/teamscores and Mason's 7 guy comes in before many of the teams 4 or 5th guy. I'm guessing by state that they will have their top 5 and maybe up to 7 all under 16min plus having a guy in the single digits.

There are plenty of variables between now and the post season, some guys are returning from injury, some just got injured so we've not seen them in a few weeks and who knows who gets sick.

Top 3 Boys Individual:
1. Ryan Smith: 15:35.1
2. Liam Shaughnessy: 15:38.9
3. Ben Gableman: 15:39.0

Top 3 Boys Varsity Team finishers:
1. Lancaster: 50
2. Dublin Coffman: 58
3. Westerville North: 87

I don’t know anything about the new course at Lancaster but those individual times would be extremely impressive on the usual course

7 individuals sub 16

JR Ryan smith 15:35

SR Liam Shaughnessy 15:38

JR Ben Gabelman 15:39

JR Weston Day 15:41

SR Andrew Bracken 15:41

SR William McGraw 15:48

SR Trevor Lanoy 15:58

I was at the meet and I saw that the start had been moved, but you still go up and down the large hill 2 times and most of the course is unchanged.

Mason put all 5 scorers ahead of Medina’s #1…Medina has a tight 1-5 but they’re clearly a level below. I was a bit surprised by the Lancaster results, it was a pretty big gap between the top 6 runners and the first Lancaster finisher. Springboro won their meet but looking at their placers I think they’re probably pretty close to Medina. At this point it’s hard to see anyone really challenging Mason.