Members of the Lady Monarch cross-country team are from left, front row, Haylee Huffman, Bryn Hothem, Katie Krueger, Leanne Eichorn and Payton Pierce; second row, Haley Cook, Jacquelyn Witt, Kayla Michalak, Hannah Alice, Ellie Nichols, Jenna Rioch, Riley Sherick and Emilia Jost. (Photo submitted)
Ladies take third in district
A number of Marysville High School cross-country runners have advanced to next Saturday’s Division I regional meet at Pickerington North High School.
The Lady Monarchs placed third out of 14 squads at the Hilliard Darby district meet this past Saturday and moved on to the next level of competition.
Olentangy Liberty captured the team title with points, while Olentangy Orange was the runner-up with 71.
The Lady Monarchs tallied 81 points during the 14-team race.
MHS’ Tristan Karnes qualified for the boys regional as an individual as he placed seventh in 16:00.
Bryn Hothem led the Lady Monarchs with a third-place time of 19:15. That effort was good for all-district honors.
Jacquelyn Witt earned her fourth consecutive all-district ranking with a ninth-place finish in 19:47.
Katie Krueger also earned district accolades for the third year with her 18th place time of 20:23.
Others placing for the Lady Monarchs were Jenna Rioch, 23rd, 20:36; Leanne Eichorn, 28th, 20:49; Haley Cook, 33rd, 20:53; and Hannah Alice, 52nd, 21:38.
“The girls continued their inspired team running to advance to the Region 3 championships for the fourth consecutive year,” said coach Luke Sundermeier. “We finished a close third at the district behind state-ranked Olentangy Orange and Olentangy Liberty.
“Bryn was on a mission and did a great job applying pressure in the middle of the race to finish third,” he said. “Jacquelyn raced with poise to hold position in the top ten and secure all-district honors for the fourth year.
“Katie ran a determined race to finish 18th,” said the coach. “Back in the pack, everyone did a great job advancing positions throughout the race and moving the team from fifth at the mile marker to third at the end.
“There is still room to improve and the girls are excited for the chance to line up at Pickerington North on Saturday (12:30 p.m.) against the best teams in Region 3,” said Sundermeier. “This group has shifted the standard of excellence with their hard work and dedication to the task.”
The Monarch boys finished seventh in an 18-team field.
Pickerington North won the boys race with 67 points and Thomas Worthington was the runnerup with 88.
The Monarchs tallied 190.
Karnes earned all-district honors and advanced to the regional for the second straight year.
Other MHS runners placed as follows:
-Brian Boston (36th, 17:11), Riley Karnes (42nd, 17:19), Jack Flanagan (46th, 17:23), Nick Irving (59th, 17:45), Zach Paliga (70th, 18:08) and James Heap (76th, 18:23).
“The boys ran a tremendous race to cap off a fantastic season,” said Sundermeier. “Coming into the season we had several openings in the top seven and some uncertainty about which boys would step forward to fill varsity roles.
Tristan Karnes of MHS finishes his kick during the Division I district meet on Saturday. Karnes placed seventh and advanced to the regionla meet. (Photo submitted)
“All of those questions were answered by their hard work and dedication to improvement throughout the season,” he said. “They went for it and laid the foundation of excellence for many years to come.
“Their commitment to each other is what cross country is all about.”
Karnes will compete in the regional at Pickerington North at 3 p.m. on Saturday.