PLAIN TWP. — They will be college teammates at this time next year.
For now, Lake Center Christian’s Gianna Ritchie and Heartland Christian’s Rebecca Geiss are battling their way through the high school cross country postseason. Don’t be surprised if they see a lot of each other ahead of the pack in the coming weeks.
Ritchie won the Division IV girls race and Geiss was runner-up in the OHSAA district meet at GlenOak on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Palm Beach Atlantic University recruits entered the meet as heavy favorites. The only drama was who would come out on top.
Ritchie won in 18:44.49. Geiss came in second at 18:48.17. The rest of the field finished almost two minutes behind them.
“I think we both had the same idea to run together, just push each other and have fun with it,” Ritchie said. “We kind of knew we were going to qualify. We just wanted to have fun.”
Ritchie and Geiss themselves way ahead of the pack on their second trip through Bob Commings Field. The race was still up for grabs as they approached the stadium for the final time.
“She’s a great girl,” Ritchie said. “We definitely push each other. It’s nice to have another competitor, especially in our district.”
Ritchie hopes to add another state title to her impressive high school résumé. She won a Division III track state championship in the 800 in June.
“It definitely gave me a lot of confidence coming into cross country season and just a bigger trust in the Lord,” Ritchie said. “He carries me through every race. I’ve been reading my Bible a lot lately and just growing closer to my Lord and Savior. That’s what running is about for me.”
Louisville’s Kylah Meyer, Canton South’s Logan Howard win first cross country district titles
The long wait is finally over for Kylah Meyer.
The Louisville senior’s previous Stark County and district meet races at GlenOak were won by former Lake state champion Daniela Scheffler. With Scheffler now running at North Carolina State, this was Meyer’s moment to shine.
Meyer won the Division II girls race in 18:30.15. She finished just over four seconds ahead of Wadsworth’s Maggie Gerschutz to capture her first district title.
Meyer said Scheffler was her influence.
“I love her so much,” Meyer said. ” … Seeing her up there reminded me ‘You can do that next year, too.’ It was great racing with her and great to almost follow in her footsteps.
“This was my last time running at GlenOak. It’s really sad to me, and I wanted to win this. To have that chance was really awesome.”
Meyer fell behind Gerschutz at one point. She sprinted the final meters inside the stadium to wrap up the win.
“I was like ‘No, I’m not letting this go this time,'” Meyer said. “I’ve had many ‘fails’ on this course. I told myself ‘You can do this if you catch up.’ I stayed with her.”
Canton South’s Logan Howard also won his first district title after finishing runner-up as a freshman a year ago. He recorded a decisive win in the Division III boys race in 16:30.42.
“I just wanted to go out hard and try to finish hard,” Howard said.
Howard spoke about the GlenOak course’s challenges at last year’s district meet. He knew what awaited him this time.
“It’s all about mentality,” Howard said. “There are so many hills, and it’s always hot here. A lot of people hate it, but I love it.”
Marlington’s Irelyn Johnson defends district cross country title
Marlington’s Irelyn Johnson was favored to win a second straight district title. She had little trouble doing it.
Johnson won the Division III girls race in 18:39.82. She earned a Division II district title as a sophomore last year.
Johnson’s second straight district win helped lead the Dukes to the team title.
“I was just trying to come in with a positive mindset,” Johnson said. “I wanted to come out here, do my best and push myself. I was just going to go with what the race gave me and work with it.”
Johnson has a great shot at a second straight state meet appearnace. She was runner-up at the Boardman regional and finished 14th at state last year.
“I’m really excited,” Johnson said. “I hope I can continue to improve and get better each and every day.”
Several area cross country teams advance to Boardman regional
The Stark County area will have several area teams competing in next week’s Boardman regional.
Lake Center Christian’s boys and girls and East Canton’s girls teams advanced in Division IV. Canton South’s boys and girls, the Manchester and West Branch boys and the Marlington and Northwest girls advanced in Division III. Perry’s boys and girls, the Hoover and Northwest boys and the Green, Lake and Louisville girls moved on in Division II.
There were no Division I district races due to cross country’s expansion to four divisions this year. Division I runners will enter the postseason at the regional meet.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: OHSAA district cross country winners, area team regional qualifiers
