Ohio HS Girls XC

Perrysburg will win. They won last year and retain 6 runners.

Individuals- Clute, Peer, and Robillard to name a few

Clute and Peer were pretty close during the XC season but Clute seemed to really blossom last track season and should win the individual title.

Yeah Clute will come into the state meet with a chip on her shoulder after only getting second in this XC state meet last year and winning the 3200 state meet.

What is your top 5 at state prediction?

1. Katie Clute
2. Sarah Peer
3. Julia Isham
4. Dillon Sweetman
5. Mia Robillard

Does anybody know where Clute is looking to go to school? She looks like someone that Coach Henes at NC State would recruit + Henes seems to like Ohio talent.

Actually, in thinking about it, I wonder if Clute might consider Oregon. The only reason I’m even saying that is Clute’s coach, Rae Alexander, is Colby Alexander’s mom. Colby is quasi-Oregon royalty. Oregon has had some coaching turnover so that it is all more than likely a non factor

I doubt she would ever make top 7 for NC state. There are tons of girls in the nation who ran faster track times than her.

I suppose that means that you think that incoming freshman Grace Hartman will never make the top 7 at NC State?

Here is a comparison between Hartman's & Clute's PRs...

Hartman - 800 2:11.94, 1600 4:46.59, 1 mile 4:46.11, 3200 10:36.34 (i), 2 mile 10:43.14 (i), 5K XC 17:01.03

Clute - 800 2:16.05, 1600 4:49.55, 4:46.57, 3200 10:19.47 (i), 2 mile 10:17.14 (i), 5k XC 17:14.69

Since comparing XC times is relatively meaningless, on a common course at Fort Obetz last year at the state championship meet, Hartman ran 17:31.6 to win D2 and Clute ran 17:39.4 to take 2nd in D1. There may have been other common courses that the two of them have run but I did not bother to check. Keep in mind that some of those PRs were set last season when Hartman was a senior and Clute was a junior. Coach Henes must have thought enough of Hartman to recruit her.

Just for fun, let's see how other Ohioans that have/had run at NC State compare against Grace Hartman & Katie Clute. Sam Bush who went to Turpin high school in Cincinnati is one of the runners. The other is Dominique Clairmonte of Lexington high school who recently graduated from NC State. Both have won ACC championships, NCAA championships, and have been all-Americans.

Let's look at the HS PRs of Bush & Clairmonte...

Bush - 800 2:10.81, 1600 4:47.23, 1 mile 4:52.82, 3200 10:36.70, 2 mile 11:02.62, 5K XC 17:30.10

Clairmonte - 800 2:16.05, 1600 4:53.08, 1 mile 5:06.57 (i), 3200 10:43.69, 5K XC 17:29.90

I could go on with past & present NC State runners but you get the idea. Clute compares favorably to the type of runners that Laurie Henes recruits.

I'm not saying that Clute can run at NC State and I will concede that there are a lot of athletes with faster track times than Clute. When Bush & Clairmonte came out of high school there were a lot of other athletes also coming out of high school faster than them as well yet both have had very successful careers at NC State. Coach Henes is excellent and can get the most out of her runners. To totally dismiss Clute is ridiculous.

Actually, Hartman and Clute will have a shot at making top 7 for nc state at some point after Tuohy/Starliper are gone

Clute and Hartman are very much projected to redshirt their first year.

so that will give them more time to improve

I also hinted that Oregon was a possibility in the post that I made here.

I was hoping Clute would commit to NC State, Oklahoma State, or some other top women’s program other than Oregon. I’m not the biggest fan of coaches Jerry Schumacher & Shalane Flanagan.

When Gabriela DeBues-Stafford decided to leave BTC due to the Shelby Houlihan debacle, Flanagan acted like an immature high schooler with the way she bullied GDS on social media. I was not impressed.

I hope all works out well for Clute at Oregon but it’s not the same Oregon that it was when Rae Alexander’s son was there.

I'm not sure Perrysburg will be top 2 right now. Mason, Hilliard Davidson, and Westlake all look like better teams to me right now.

Then again, it wasn't until the very end of the year that it looked like Perrysburg had what it took to win in 2021, so who knows.

Clute looks like a very powerful runner. I'm not going to compare her to Katelyn Tuohy but neither of them would ever be considered to be dainty & lithe. I'm not saying it in a bad way but she seems atypical of most womens distance runners. Touhy's strength serves her well in cross country. Not may are as powerful. Hopefully Clute also finds great success at the collegiate level.

I don’t think a single MileSplit predictor picked the Mason girls to win. Seems silly looking back on it.