GALION — Lady Lex learned a valuable lesson Saturday at the Galion Cross Country Festival and coach Denise Benson hopes it will serve her inexperienced runners well.
Competing in the Division I race, Lexington finished third with a score of 139. Granville and Olentangy Liberty both finished with 56 and Granville won via tiebreaker.
Like the Lexington boys, Lady Lex is the top-ranked Division II team in the most recent coaches state poll. Unlike the veteran boys team, Lady Lex boasts two freshmen and two sophomores in its top seven.
“I think the freshmen girls were a little surprised by how many people were in front of them, being in D1,” Benson said. “They’ve never experienced that before.
“A few girls couldn’t handle the intensity, but that’s the point of today. You can’t go for a state title until you toughen up.”
Senior Olivia Wolfe, a holdover from last year’s state runner-up team, finished 11th in 19:37.2.
“We have more competition, which will help push us further,” Wolfe said. “Plus, if we make it to state we won’t be so overwhelmed by the competition.”
Freshman Joanna Halfhill finished 13th in 19:44.2. She was followed by junior Carina Weaver (20:12.9) in 25th, freshman Halle Hamilton (20:34.6) in 36th and sophomore Tessa Gerhardt (21:00.3) in 54th.
“You hope (racing up a division) makes them mentally tougher,” Benson said. “They learn how to be further back in the pack so they can handle that at the state meet.
“The negative is, if it’s too overwhelming it can traumatize them a little bit.”
Ashland finished 18th with a score of 455. Freshman Emilie Lemon finished a team-best 71st for the Arrows in 21:31.8.
Madison was 21st with a score of 591. Sophomore Emily Atwell (20:05.8) was 24th for the Rams.
Division II: Ontario led the charge among local teams in the Division II race. The Warriors were eighth with a score of 234. Grace Maurer paced Ontario, finishing ninth overall in 19:52.7.
Shelby finished 15th with a total of 368. Junior Maddie Heimlich took 37th overall in 21:22.9.
Galion finished 20th with a score of 509. Sophomore Airyona Nichels led the Tigers, finishing 41st in 21:30.5.
Mansfield Senior was 22nd with a score of 695. Sophomore Madeline Hamilton was Senior High’s top finisher (25:38.5).
Division III: Crestview took 19th in the Division III race with a score of 510. Sophomore Brooke Barnes (23:34.1) led the Cougars.
Sophomore Olivia Fidler finished in 23:45 to lead Plymouth. The Big Red were 22nd in the team standings with a score of 592.
St. Peter’s finished 25th with a score of 700. Freshman Katie Elliott led the Spartans, finishing in 25:37.5.
Mansfield Christian didn’t have enough runners to compete in the varsity races, but still had a strong showing in the Division II/III open.
In the girls open, sophomore Carolina Trumpower finished third in 20:58.2.
“I’ve had a cold and I just didn’t have that third gear,” Trumpower said. “I couldn’t stay with the girls who finished in front of me.”
Clay Reynolds was 22nd for the MCS boys. The sophomore finished in 18:36.3.
