Jonathan Alder’s Luke Malone, left, nears the finish line at Saturday’s state championship cross- country race. Malone finished in 19th place and led the Pioneers to a 14th-place team finish.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Mac Cordell)
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The Jonathan Alder boys cross country teams proved its mental toughness Saturday at the OSHAA state championship meet at National Trails Raceway in Hebron.
As a team, the Pioneers finished in 14th place in Division II.
“We are a team without any seniors so obviously, today was about getting experienced for all of our kids,” Jonathan Alder head coach Justin Creps said.
The coach said his squad competed like veterans.
“They really wanted it. They really worked for it. They stayed mentally tough and they went hard for what they wanted,” Creps said.
The mental toughness showed Saturday. The meet, which was rescheduled from one week earlier, was run on a course that changed just hours before runners took to it. Additionally, temperatures for the first race were in the 20s with a stiff wind.
“I think we were fine because it is a part of what we do all season long, it is the way we train all season long,” Creps said.
The coach explained that he will change routes and routines often to keep his team engaged and prepare them for the shifting conditions that define cross country. He said he is working to create “a culture of mental toughness.”
Luke Malone, a junior, paced the Pioneer boys and finished 19th in the state. He said the changes are not difficult unless you let them get into your head.
Malone said he had a plan going into the race and was pleased he had the discipline to stay with it.
“It is the state meet and everybody had to wait an extra week. I knew people would be really excited and go out stupid,” Malone said. “I just wanted to be smart. It wasn’t so much about holding back as letting them go and focusing on running my race.”
Malone was 18 seconds off the lead with nearly 70 runners ahead of him at the mile mark. Teammate Gavin Frick, who finished 64th in 17:35, was one of those runners ahead of Malone.
“I just knew that I wanted to run the way I could and just start picking people off the last mile,” Malone said.
Following the race he said he felt “great.”
“I am really pleased with how I did today,” Malone said. “I really do, I feel great. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
Malone said each night, for the past two weeks, he ran the race, the course in his head.
“I feel so good. This has been my goal all season. I have focused all of my energy on this one goal and that paid off,” Malone said.
The Pioneer boys finished 14th with a score of 330 points.
“I think we would have liked to finish higher as a team, but I think we all just enjoyed the race,” Malone said. Alder finished 50 points behind 13th place Milan Edison and 35 points ahead of Chardon. In cross country, the lowest score wins.
Creps said the team is young and the middle school program is also strong so the future looks bright for Pioneer running.
“We plan on continuing to improve,” he said.
In addition to Malone in 19th place and Frick, a junior, in 64th place, Pioneer Michael Gray finished in 17:48 for 91st place. Zach Hicks finished in 130th place with a time of 18:19. Freshman Colyn McDaniel finished in 150th place with a time of 18:50. Grant Welsch, another freshman, finished in 18:58 for 155th place. Brady Corbett, a sophomore, finished in 19:18 for 164th place.
Woodridge took the team title with 109 points. Kyle Johnston, a senior from Lexington, finished in first place with a time of 15:52.