Marysville sophomore Ava Elliott finishes 32nd with a time of 13:41.96 in the Hillard Darby Dash on Wednesday. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Marysville’s boys cross-country team mustered a first-place finish at Wednesday’s Hilliard Darby Dash.
Marysville’s girls placed third, while Fairbanks’ boys took the ninth-place spot in their race.
Fairbanks’ girls did not place in the top seven, despite having a top five finishing runner in Rachael Hoover.
A looming cloudy day with some slight precipitation did not phase the runners.
Schools invited to the meet also included Bexley, Buckeye Valley, Canal Winchester, Central Crossing, Grove City, Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Darby, Hilliard Davidson, London and Westland.
The course was organized on Hilliard Darby’s high school campus with white lines dotting the direction for runners to travers accompanied by a multitude of fans eagerly waiting for the race to commence.
The Monarch boys won their race with a team score of 60.
The Panthers tallied 238.
Finishing in second place for the Monarchs was Preston Herring (10:09.96) followed in third by Jack Flanagan (10:17.50).
Marysville had three individuals place in the top 10 with the final spot earned by Brian Boston with a time of 10:31.55.
Contributing to the team’s victory included Levi Weithman (10:59.26), Tyler Heap (11:05.65), Cannon Moser (11:10.98), Lane Coil (11:22.82), Carter Stowell (11:33.41) and Aaron Schlemmer (12:00.50).
Fairbanks’ highest-placing runner was Zeke Gingerich, who was 31st with a time of 11:12.28.
Also running for the Panthers were Caleb Wenger (11:26.08), Cameron Nisly (12:19.89), Nicholas Powell (12:31.45), Nathan Parks (12:33.98), Bryce Nisly (12:52.66), Nicholas Johnson (13:14.12) and Tim Stanton (19:04.49).
Bryn Hothem of MHS claimed first place in the girls race with a time of 12:15.26.
She helped Marysville tally 58 points.
Hilliard Davidson won the girls meet with 55 points, followed by Bexley-57.
Lady Monarch Bailey Gross took second place with a time of 12:17.95.
Other Lady Monarchs who competed were Emerson Bautsch (12:41.75), Alyssa Rodman (13:27.33), Ava Elliott (13:41.96), Kaylee Morton (14:12.93) and Margaret Zweizig (14:18.24).
Hoover finished fourth with a time of 12:29.09. Other Lady Panther runners included Kinley Green (14:18.83), Kayden Fields (17:06.67) and Alondra Bosworth (19:24.19).
The Monarchs showed a plethora of numbers participating in both the boys and girls open 3,200-meter races after both varsity contests concluded. In the boys’ open race, Marysville once again claimed first place with a score of 23 — ladies taking third in the open race with a score of 51.
Fairbanks junior Kinley Green finishes 42nd with a time of 14:18.83 in the Hillard Darby cross country meet. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)