Three Patriots nabbed top-10 finishes as the Olentangy Liberty boys cross country team took top honors in the Division I, Section I district championship race Saturday at Hilliard Darby.
Louis Perry led the charge, crossing the line sixth among individuals in 15:51.20. Zeid Rabi and Gordon Kimberly weren’t far behind, finishing ninth and 10th in respective times of 16:02.46 and 16:05.70.
Sheridan’s Tate Ruthers won the individual crown with an effort of 15:17.96. Liberty had 64 points to top the team standings while DeSales and Marysville smoothed out the top three with totals of 90 and 110, respectively.
Delaware Hayes and Olentangy also competed in the Section 1 race. The Braves, who finished 14th, got a boost from Braydon Nix (48th in 17:06.45) while the 15th-place Pacers were powered by Alex Boey (32nd in 16:40.27).
In the Section 2 race, Olentangy Orange’s Matthew Schroff finished third in 15:42.64 while Olentangy Berlin’s Vansh Sethi was fourth in 15:52.15.
Overall, the Pioneers were second as a team with 60 points — a mark bettered only by Westerville North’s 58. The Bears, meanwhile, finished sixth with 160 points.
Other Orange standouts included Bradyn Allender (sixth in 16:00.64), Rushil Gaddam (14th in 16:22.83) and Sid Sivakumar (16th in 16:25.64).
Eli Baxter (17th in 16:26.64) backed Sethi for Berlin.
Big Walnut, competing in the Section 3 race, finished eighth with 219 points. Nathan Ward and Austyn Fox led the Golden Eagles, crossing the line 30th and 31st in respective times of 17:05.41 and 17:11.16.
Division II
In the D-II, Section 1 championship race Saturday at Hilliard Darby, Vander Webb finished 26th (18:01.83) and Nicholas Johnson closed 29th to lead Buckeye Valley to a seventh-place finish.
BV had 182 points. Watterson won the team title with 33 while Hartley and London smoothed out the top three with respective totals of 76 and 96.
Division III
Delaware Christian’s Nate Tranel nabbed a top-20 finish to highlight the Eagles in the D-III, Section 2 championship race Saturday at Darby.
Tranel finished 18th overall in 17:45.40 while DCS closed 11th in the final team standings.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Liberty’s Elena Aldrink and Orange’s Brooke Chapman won championships to lead their respective teams at Saturday’s district showcase in Hilliard.
Aldrink won the Division I, Section 2 race in 17:32.47. The Patriots, who finished second as a team with 63 points — a total just behind the 61 posted by first-place Dublin Jerome — also got solid showings from Katie Boettcher (13th in 19:32.50) and Madeline Pohmer (14th in 19:34.21).
Berlin competed in the Section 2 race as well, finishing fourth thanks to standout showings from Grace Heitkamp (eighth in 19:08.37) and Georgia Speelman (19th in 19:51.70).
Olentangy was in action, too, closing 10th. Ava Alexander finished 15th in 19:36.46 to boost the Braves.
As for Chapman, the junior cruised to the individual title in the Section 3 race, crossing the line in 17:48.65 — a mark 11 seconds better than the one teammate Bella Conforti posted en route to nabbing runner-up honors.
Cecelia Pachko (19th in 20:05.40) also earned a top-20 finish for the Pioneers, who closed third as a team with 83 points.
Big Walnut and Delaware Hayes competed in the Section 1 race, finishing fifth and seventh with respective point totals of 148 and 166.
Grace Buskirk (15th in 19:23.03) and Leigha Kay (19th in 19:39.29) led the Eagles while Cali Kent (16th in 19:28.54) and Addie Reed (21st in 19:47.03) paced the Pacers.
Division II
Brookelynn Hedges earned a top-10 finish, closing ninth in 21:07.57 to lead Buckeye Valley in the Division II, Section 1 race over the weekend in Hilliard.
Teagan Kanode (36th in 23:19.83) was also steady for the Barons, who finished eighth in the final team standings.
Division III
Zoe Gyde finished 45th in 23:34.51 to lead Delaware Christian in the Division III, Section 2 district championship race Saturday at Darby.
The Eagles’ Moriah Mulligan was also in action, closing 56th in 25:22.50.
