GALION — The rubber match will have to wait.
Shelby’s Caleb Brown and Lexington’s Kyle Johnston both won at the Galion Cross Country Festival on a steamy Saturday at Amann Reservoir Park after splitting a pair of head-to-head matchups earlier this season.
Shelby ran in the Division I race and Brown outdueled Ashland’s Daniel Arimi to take the individual title in 15:58.2. Arimi was second in 16:10.7.
The Division II Whippets also sent a statement to the rest of the state by winning the team title with a score of 83. Ashland (114) was runner-up.
“Coach wanted to see what we could do in Division I,” Brown said. “It’s definitely a lot tougher competition, but we were up to the challenge.”
Lexington competed in the Division II race and Johnston held off Thornville Sheridan’s William Wilke for the individual crown. Johnston finished in 16:05.7, while Wilke was second in 16:07.4.
Sheridan won the team title with 81 points. Lexington, the defending Division II team champ, was a distant fifth with 140.
The Minutemen lost a wealth of talent off last year’s team, including Johnston’s older brother, Ryan, who is running for Louisville.
“It’s definitely a challenge to put all the pieces we have together and it’s definitely different for me to be running alone,” Johnston said. “We lost some of our top guys from last year, but I think we’re starting to put it all together. I’m excited to see what happens.”
Brown and the Whippets can’t help but to be excited after Saturday’s effort. Sam Logan was seventh overall in 16:33.3, while Sam Swanger was 16th in 17:01.0. Blake Lucius (17:24.5) and Corbin Osborne (17:25.2) were 29th and 30th, respectively.
“For me and the team, we are focused on racing hard each week,” Brown said. “We are enjoying the process.”
In the Division III race, Crestview’s Leo Ringler was fourth in 17:05.1. Plymouth’s Levin Robinson (17:13.0) was seventh and Lucas’ Gavin Shindeldecker (17:15.2) was eighth.
Mansfield Christian’s Clay Reynolds finished second in the Division II/III open race. Reynolds finished in 17:54.6.
