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| Cedarville is spectator friendly course that will host some of Ohio's best talent this weekend |
This Saturday the Elvin R. King Cross Country Course on the campus of Cedarville University will host the OHSAA Southwest District Championships. The schedule of races begins at 10:00 a.m. with the D-III girls, where the top eight teams and 32 finishers will advance to the regional tournament the following weekend in Troy. While I scanned the list of girls competing in that opening event, one thing was blatantly obvious - this race has more talent than we've seen in a long time. Fans from the last ten years might argue my opinion and mention former stars like Chloe Flora of Botkins, Meghan Vogel of West Liberty-Salem, or Tammy Berger of Versailles. Those girls could blaze around a 5000 meter course in less that 19 minutes and for years had names more recognizable than the venues they ran at. However, this season there's a bumper crop of amazing young talent with a few established veterans that makes this district race as good as it gets. Here are a few names to learn before Saturday, along with a couple names you might already know:
Karmen Knepp, junior, Bradford - Karmen popped up on the radar of most fans last year during her sophomore season when she won four races, including the 2016 district meet. She continued her success through the state meet when she made podium finishing 10th in a personal record 18:44. Last Saturday, Karmen won the Cross County Conference Championships at Bethel High School in 19:06, which was her fastest time so far in 2017. She's slightly ahead of last year's times and that spells trouble for her opponents. She also ran this same Cedarville course back in September during the Friendship Invitational and finished 2nd to D-II Alter star Perri Bockrath. Karmen is having another fantastic season and that's why she's my pick to win back-to-back titles.
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| Karmen has four wins so far in 2017 and will be aiming for a fifth this Saturday |
Katelyn Stapleton, freshman, West Liberty-Salem - I watched Katelyn run the first race of her high school career back in August at the Bob Schul Invitational in West Milton. Fans could immediately tell she was talented and bold, taking the lead from a trio of Minster girls in the opening mile. Katelyn expended a lot of energy early and almost didn't finish, eventually stumbling across the line in 20th place. It's amazing how much a runner can mature in a couple months. Last Saturday Katelyn won the Ohio Heritage Conference Championships at Cedarville in 19:13. So, she'll be running the same course two weeks in a row and she's a much smarter runner now than back in August. She's also too much of a competitor not to go for the win and I fully expect to see that on Saturday.
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| Katelyn has been running up front all season and you can bet she will at Cedarville |
Addie Engel, sophomore, Catholic Central - Addie has been a star since she stepped on the high school cross country course her freshman year and won three big regular season meets. Then post season rolled around and skeptics asked Addie who? Folks quickly found out who Addie was when she won the southwest regional meet, then put an exclamation point on her season at state with a personal record 18:41 for 8th place. Last Saturday Addie finished runner-up to Katelyn Stapleton at the OHC in 19:32. That time was one of her slower performances this season, but ahead of where she was last year at this time. I believe Addie is one of three girls with a legitimate shot at winning the 3.1 mile race on Saturday and it might come down to that last .1 of a mile.
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| Addie has been one of the bright young stars in southwest Ohio the last two years |
Skipp Miller, freshman, Bradford - Karmen Knepp needed Skipp Miller this season and Skipp Miller needed Karmen Knepp. For a school that doesn't have enough runners to qualify as a team, a competitive teammate is always a good thing and that's what you get with this combo. While Karmen is winning races, Skipp has been following in her footsteps. Maybe stepping on her heels is a better way to put it. Skipp has one win this year, the Tri-Village Invitational in late September. Last week she finished 2nd at the CCC in a personal best 19:42, one spot behind Karmen. I expect Skipp to be in that second wave of runners this Saturday. However, I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to follow in the shadow of her teammate either.
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| Skipp has nine Top 10 finishes already this year and should get another one at districts |
Zoe Utsinger, sophomore, Twin Valley South - I consider myself a big cross country fan, but I'll admit, until last weekend I'd never heard of Zoe Utsinger. As a matter of fact, I searched through my photo archives and Zoe was always pictured far back in the distance. With good reason too. She was a 22-minute runner as a freshman and ran in the 21's for most of this season. Apparently she's figured out this running thing though, because on September 30th she finished 10th at the Buck Creek Invitational in an impressive 20:04. Then last Saturday she clocked a personal record 19:50 at the CCC for 3rd place. I'll be interested to see if Zoe can keep the momentum she's established these last few weeks and make a name for herself at the district meet.
Grace Adams, sophomore, West Liberty-Salem - Grace is one of those runners every coach would love to have. She's consistent and she's consistently good. Since the halfway point of her freshman year Grace almost always runs in the 19's and, outside of the state meet, she's always in the top ten finishers. She ran a 19:53 to finish 3rd at the OHC last Saturday and her best time ever is 19:16, which she clocked last season at the Anna Invitational. There's just too much talent in my opinion for Grace to win this weekend, but I wouldn't be going out on a limb to say she'll run another 19-something and finish with another top ten.
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| Grace (#7725) and Reghan Bieleski helped the Big Orange climb to #4 in the state poll |
Reghan Bieleski, senior, West Liberty-Salem - Finally, my first senior. Also, my third West Liberty-Salem runner. I've been a fan of Reghan Bieleski since she stepped foot on the high school cross country course in 2014. During her freshman and sophomore years she won several races. I'd argue Reghan's brightest moment was the victory she claimed at the district meet as a freshman, back when they used to run three separate D-III races at the Miami Valley CTC course. She ran a 19:31 that day and beat a senior star from Russia named Emily Borchers, who now runs for the University of Dayton. Reghan's PR is 19:26 and last Saturday she ran 19:47 to finish 4th at the OHC. She might not be the fastest runner for the Big Orange anymore, but she's one of the big reasons her team should win it all this weekend.
Danielle Berning, sophomore, Ft. Loramie - When you look at all the young talent in the district, Ft. Loramie is certainly one of the most notable teams in that department. Their top five is made up of all sophomores and freshman, and leading the pack right now is Danielle Berning. Two weeks ago Danielle ran the best time of her career at Coldwater in 19:45. Then, last Saturday, she won the Shelby County Athletic League Championships at Anna scoring the first individual victory of her career. She's peaking at the right time and I have to believe that win will give her confidence heading into this weekend. I'm picking Ft. Loramie to finish runner-up at the district and Danielle to have another sub-20 minute performance.
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| Danielle was patient at the SCAL last Saturday and didn't take the lead until mid-race |
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Following the D-III girls race will be the D-III boys at 10:45 a.m.. In this race the top nine teams and 36 individuals will advance. Apologies for not highlighting the top individual boys, but since I picked eight girls above, below are my top eight boys to watch for on Saturday:
1. Tanner Delk, junior, Arcanum
2. Jake Rethman, junior, Ft. Loramie
3. Max Pettit, senior, Greenon
4. Cole Good, junior, Franklin-Monroe
5. Ethan Wallis, freshman, Cedarville
6. Joe Ballas, junior, Ft. Loramie
7. Korey Hamlin, senior, Bethel
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