The West Liberty-Salem girls cross country team capped off one of the program’s most successful seasons placing third at the OHSAA DIII State Championships Saturday at The Fortress in Obetz.
This is the sixth consecutive top 5 state finish for the Big Orange.
Sophomore Malia Miller earned All-Ohio honors placing 16th in a career PR of 18:55.0.
Big Orange placers:
- Breece Gullett 64th (20:04.70)
- Ashley Yoder 72nd (20:12.10)
- Addie McAuley 82nd (20:19.30)
- Gwen McCullough 106th (20:43.80)
- Hattie Jacobs 127th (21:18.60)
- Mallory Bostick 150th (21:48.20)
“These athletes make it look easy year in and year out, but what people don’t see is the relentless hard work, the resilience, and the physical and mental investments they make all year to be at the top,” said WLS Head Coach, Ann Vogel. “Saying I’m proud of them doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of how I feel about this team. They truly understand that running is so much more than times, wins, and losses. It’s about challenging yourself, supporting your teammates, and building lifelong friendships. It’s been an honor for me to be on this journey with them.”
WLS finishes the season 107-16, winning OHC, District and Regional titles.
The West Liberty-Salem boys finished 4th at the OHSAA D3 State Meet.
It marks the best finish for the Big Orange since the last state championship in 1979.
- Jr. Asher Knox 16:21.46 21st (All Ohioan)
- So. Caleb Larson 17:00.04 63rd
- Jr. Troy Bradley 17:02.23 64th (PR)
- So. Dylan King 17:18.36 83rd
- So. Brevin Louden 17:40.99 113th
- Jr. Quentin Rudolph 17:45.20 116th
- So. Garrett Wallen 17:55.79 124th
- Final Season Record: 136-12
“Emotions are all over the place with the final result. The bottom line is that I’m proud of every one of these young men for the effort they put forth today! Finishing with the program’s best finish in the 5k Era, and the best team finish since the last state title in 1979, is definitely something to celebrate. I applaud all 14 guys and the contributions they gave to the program this year. Congratulations to Asher Knox for earning All-Ohioan honors and finishing in the top 30. I especially want to say thank you to our three departing seniors, Mason Barger, Joey LaRoche, and Maxwell McCombs. They’ve given so much over their careers, and they will be greatly missed next season.
Bellefontaine’s Grace Brown’s outstanding freshman season came to a close Saturday with a 37th-place finish in the Division II OHSAA State Meet. There were 179 runners in the race. Grace ran the state course in a time of 19:29.
Hayden Maus from Bellefontaine raced to a 73rd place finish out of the 183 runners in the Division 2 State XC Meet Saturday. It was the 4th consecutive race Hayden ran in the 16’s. He was 102nd at the mile mark moving up to 78th at the 2 before finishing in 73rd. “This will serve as a valuable experience for Hayden setting the tone for another year of training heading into postseason next year.”
Indian Lake‘s Regan Rash finished her season Saturday placing 98th with a time of 20.31.
