Advertisement

Richland County wins gold on conference cross country day with five team titles

jake furr, mansfield news journal
·4 min read
Lexington's Emma Wise was the individual champion at the OCC meet on Saturday.
Lexington's Emma Wise was the individual champion at the OCC meet on Saturday.

Saturday was a golden day for Richland County cross country teams.

In all, five schools won league championships, three runners won individual titles and one broke a school record.

Let's check out how the Richland County teams did in their respective conference cross country meets.

Lexington wins 14th consecutive Ohio Cardinal Conference title

Make it 14 straight Ohio Cardinal Conference titles for Lady Lex. Lexington went into the OCC meet expecting to dominate, and the team met its own expectations. Lex claimed the top four spots in the meet, headlined by individual champion Emma Wise, who clocked an 18:44.2. Brailey Slone was second with an 18:52.8 as the lone two runners to go sub 19 minutes.

Elyana Weaver was third in 19:00.01 and Kenley Miller fourth in 19:04.01. Maddie Haring also finished eighth in 19:59.71 as Lady Lex scored just 18 total points to post the low score of the day.

Mount Vernon was second with 66, followed by Wooster (67), West Holmes (72), Ashland (143), New Philadelphia (170) and Madison (202).

Abby Moeglin (20th, 21:04.36) and Sarah Thatcher (25th, 21:41.44) also competed for Lexington.

Madison was led by Victoria Freeman, who was 29th in 22:13.37.

Lexington's Latrell Hughes helped the Minutemen win their first OCC championship since 2018.
Lexington's Latrell Hughes helped the Minutemen win their first OCC championship since 2018.

Lexington boys win first OCC title since 2018

The Minutemen returned to their rightful place in the OCC cross country with their first league championship since 2018. Lex scored just 58 points to easily top runner-up Wooster (72) and third-place Ashland (73), followed by Mount Vernon (82), New Philadelphia (101) West Holmes (116) and Madison (214).

Latrell Hughes led the Minutemen with a third-place finish in 16:16.86, well behind champion Zeke Galbraith of West Holmes (15:54.74) and runner-up Marcus Adelman of New Philadelphia (15:56.48).

Chance Basilone was sixth for Lex in 16:27.41, followed by Joey Aquino (ninth, 16:39.85) and Lincoln Rice (17th, 17:01.43) and Alexander Heichel (23rd, 17:36.13). Gage Devaney (24th, 17:38.11) and Ethan Slone (28th, 17:47.39) also competed for Lexington.

Madison's Wyatt Rivers was 32nd in 17:55.50 to lead the Rams.

The OCC title is the ninth for Lex since 2005.

Shelby's Kayla Gonzales broke her own school record during the MOAC XC championships on Saturday.
Shelby's Kayla Gonzales broke her own school record during the MOAC XC championships on Saturday.

Shelby's Kayla Gonzales sets school record, leads Whippets to MOAC team title

It was a career day for Shelby senior Kayla Gonzales. Then again, it almost always is when she toes the line for a race.

At Saturday's Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championships, Gonzales broke her own school record with an 18:23.60 to win the individual championship. She also led Shelby to the team title with just 39 points, ahead of Highland (76), Galion (89), Ontario (100), Pleasant (107), Harding (135), Clear Fork (176) and River Valley (177).

Emma Montgomery gave the Whippets a nice second score with a third-place finish in 19:57.90, while Ontario's Maylee Black was fourth in 20:28.90 and Galion's Raygann Campbell fifth in 20:32.80. Channon Cundiff was seventh in 21:20.60 and Kaylin Mahon 12th in 22:02.50 for Shelby. Claire Blubaugh was the top runner for Clear Fork, finishing 13th in 22:04.60.

Shelby's Huck Finnegan nearly went sub-16 minutes in the MOAC championship meet on Saturday.
Shelby's Huck Finnegan nearly went sub-16 minutes in the MOAC championship meet on Saturday.

Shelby's Huck Finnegan nearly breaks 15 minutes as Whippets cruise to MOAC team title

Shelby senior Huck Finnegan has had his sights set on breaking into the 15-minute time this season, and he nearly did it in his first postseason race Saturday when he ran a 16:00.90 to place first by nearly 41 full seconds and lead the Whippets to the MOAC team championship with 24 points.

The Whippets finished ahead of Highland (61), Pleasant (87), Ontario (92), Hading (143), Clear Fork (167) and Galion (177).

Indy Mayer was second in 16:41.70 and Luke Dininger third in 16:44.10 to give Shelby the top three spots. Ontario's Miles Meisse was fourth in 16:53.30, while Shelby's Marshall Moore was eighth in 17:07.00 and Carson Perkins 10th in 17:12.40.

Ontario's Xavier Trent finished 11th in 17:12.80.

Plymouth's Morgan Follett finished in fourth place at the Firelands Conference meet on Saturday.
Plymouth's Morgan Follett finished in fourth place at the Firelands Conference meet on Saturday.

Crestview wins Firelands Conference girls championship

The Cougars rolled to a Firelands Conference girls championship behind a balanced team effort. Crestview had just 37 points, placing ahead of New London (49), St. Paul (79), Mapleton (88), Western Reserve (93) and Monroeville (189).

Leyna Gerich was the top runner for the Cougars with a second-place finish in 20:18.89. Plymouth freshman Morgan Follett was fourth in 21:03.98, Crestview's Emmie Kemp sixth in 21:08.52 and Georgia McFarland seventh in 21:14.09.

Crestview's Cooper Brockway takes fourth at Firelands Conference meet

Crestview sophomore Cooper Brockway had a nice showing at the FC championships, finishing fourth in 17:25.09 as the top Richland County runner in the race.

Plymouth's Colton Sundstrom was 21st in 19:09.67 for the Big Red.

The Cougars were fifth as a team with 122 points, and Plymouth sixth with 147.

*The Mid-Buckeye Conference did not post results online.*

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County sees gold on conference cross country day with five team titles