TIFFIN – Where a cross country runner places in a race doesn’t always tell the whole story.
The Fremont Ross cross country teams were one of dozens of teams from across the state to run at the Tiffin Carnival on Saturday. And while the places most of the Little and Lady Giants finished may not appear especially high, the fact that more than 20 runners posted personal-record times more than qualified the day as a success.
“I was really surprised how fast the kids ran in pretty muddy conditions,” said assistant coach Mark Sheidler, who filled in for head coach John Elder who was attending a funeral. “We had 11 PRs for girls and 10 best-times for the guys.”
The day’s best finish came from McKela Elder who placed second overall in the Division I-B race, as she crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 35 seconds, just 12 seconds behind first place.
“She ran really, really well,” Sheidler said. “Last year she was disappointed with her regional effort on the same course, so she was excited to get on that course and kind of redeem herself.”
As a team, the Lady Giants placed 20th out of 26 teams in their race. Allison Taylor ran a time of 22:08, placing her 65th. Grace Egbert clocked in at 24:06, Ashanti Elkins ran in 25:00 and Nadia Kirksey came in at 26:07.
“The girls also took a step forward, getting people back healthy, like Ashanti Elkins, she ran her first race,” Sheidler said.
The boys teams places 27th out of 32 teams in the Division I-A race, a field that included some of the top programs in the state.
“If you take the boys out of the A race, and we run the B race, we finish like fourth,” Sheidler said. “Obviously, we would have liked to finish higher in the A race, but I definitely think the boys are progressing really well.”
Ethan McClory led the way for the Little Giants, placing 28th with a time of 16:47 while Zach Edmonds followed in 89th, crossing the finish line in 17:25. Brayden Darr (18:14), Jayden Scott (18:21) and Noah Egbert (18:35) also gave Sheidler a positive takeaway from the day.
“I think the boys did pretty good, they had a lot of PRs for the season, they ran in a very competitive field. I’m sure there’s not a race in Ohio that was more competitive,” he said.
“Zach Edmonds had a real good day, even though he came in 89th, he was only two seconds off his lifetime PR. Noah Egbert has taken a big chunk of time off.”
The cross country teams are back in action Saturday morning when they take part in the Myron Cline Invitational hosted by Lakota High School.
GIRLS RESULTS
Div I-B Varsity Race
TEAM RESULT: Fremont Ross finished 20th out of 26 teams.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
McKela Elder, 2nd overall, 19:35
Allison Taylor, 65th overall, 22:08
Grace Egbert, 145th overall, 24:06
Ashanti Elkins, 167th overall, 25:00 first race
Nadia Kirksey, 177th overall, 26:07
Bryanna Schermerhorn, 179th overall, 26:15
Kayla Glotzbecker, 182nd overall, 26:29
Girls Division I OPEN
AnneMarie Moses, 156th overall, 25:13
Mara Brown, 253rd overall, 26:51
Kiera Swaisgood, 255rd overall, 26:55
Aileana Jones, 398th overall, 32:08
Hailey Young, 399th overall, 32:14
BOYS RESULTS
Boys Div I-A Varsity
TEAM RESULT: Fremont Ross finished 27th out of 32 teams.
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
Ethan McClory, 28th overall, 16:47
Zach Edmonds, 89th overall, 17:25
Brayden Darr, 170th overall, 18:14
Jayden Scott, 181st overall, 18:21
Noah Egbert, 194th overall, 18:35
Isaias Ortiz, 205th overall, 18:57
Evan Starkweather, 213th overall, 19:54
Boys Div I-B Varsity
Jake Thompson, 133rd, 19:10
Ivan Starkweather, 151st, 19:19
Zach McNutt, 163rd overall, 19:30
Trenton Ward, 186th overall, 19:53
Kavon Martin, 216th overall, 21:12.
Zach Glotzbecker, 223rd overall, 21:50
Roman Contreras, 234th overall, 23:36