HEBRON — A pair of Ohio-shaped medals dangled from Carina Weaver’s neck, one for her All-Ohio finish and the other for Lexington’s Division II state championship.
And if the junior could only keep one, the decision would be a no-brainer.
“Definitely the team one,” said Weaver, who finished 14th in 18 minutes, 56.9 seconds to lead Lady Lex to its second state crown in three years Saturday at National Trail Raceway. “I’m so proud of my team.
“I don’t even know how to explain the euphoria of winning two state titles in three years.”
Neither did Olivia Wolfe, the lone senior among Lady Lex’s top seven runners.
“This feeling never gets old,” said Wolfe, who was 47th overall in 19:31.4. “You can’t take it for granted. This is by far the happiest I’ve ever been after a race.
“It took the whole team to win a state title.”
Lexington finished with a team score of 137. Fairfield Union was second with 147.
“It played out exactly how I thought. I knew it was going to be a battle,” Lady Lex coach Denise Benson said. “It was whoever wanted it the most today.
“Every girl knew it was a team effort. That’s why it’s so sweet.”
Halle Hamilton finished 26th for Lex in 19:15.9. Joanna Halfhill was 48th in 19:31.7, while Lily Weeks was 95th in 20:22.8. Ellie Hocker (20:59.5) was 122nd and Tessa Gerhardt (21:00.1) was 123rd.
“In 2015, it was kind of expected,” Benson said. “I just feel like of all the years, this is the sweetest because we didn’t know if our best was going to be enough.”
Ontario’s Grace Maurer was 31st in 19:19.2, while teammates Anna Gregg (20:03.7) and Becca Gregg (20:09.3) were 78th and 85th, respectively. Shelby’s Makenna Heimlich was 71st in 19:59.0.
Madison sophomore Emily Atwell was 36th in 19:23.9. Atwell is the first Madison girls runner to qualify for the state meet since 1991.
“It’s crazy. I’m really happy I got here,” Atwell said. “I get nervous before I run, but once the race started I was in my element.”
Like a lot of first-timers, Atwell was a little overwhelmed by the size of the crowd when she turned for home.
“I tried not to look at the crowd because I would psyche myself out,” Attwell said. “I didn’t look up, but I knew they were there.”
The experience should serve Atwell well.
“I hope I can get back her next year,” Atwell said, “and maybe get up on the podium.”
Division III: Mansfield Christian’s Carolina Trumpower finished 60th in the Division III race in 20:20.4 but given the circumstances, things could have been much worse.
A sophomore Trumpower lost a show about 800 meters into the race. She ran the final two-plus miles with one shoe on and one shoe off.
“Nothing like that has ever happened to me before,” Trumpower said. “I had it tied tight, but I was on the inside and I shouldn’t have been and a girl stepped on the back of my shoe and spiked it off me.”
So what’s it like running the state meet without a shoe?
“It hurt because there were some rocks out there,” Trumpower said. “I think my foot might be cut up.
“It’s not how I thought my first trip to the state meet would go, but it can only get better from here.”
Division I: The area’s lone representative in the Division I race was Ashland’s Emilie Lemon. The freshman was 120th in 20:10.1.
