BY OLIVIA PORPORA
The boys and girls cross country championship meet was held this past weekend in Columbus. For the first time since 1991, the girls cross country team qualified all seven runners to States.
In order to make it to the state meet you must place at the district and regional meet. You can make it out as an individual, team, or both.
Clare Nicholas, 9, Rachel Murphy, 9, Laney Corell, 9, Emma Codding, 10, Michaela Davis, 10, Ashley Galek, 10, and Sammie Beddow, 12, were the seven runners that qualified to run for all three of these meets. Additionally, Abby Winkler ,12, acted as the alternate.
The girls teams stands outside of the school Friday morning before leaving for the meet and on Saturday, all girls rode in the same car. The only girl not photographed is Ashley Galek.
Photo Courtesy of Michaela Davis
“It was a great experience to be part of, and it was a super fun atmosphere with the whole the team,” said Nicholas.
The team placed 14th out of 20 teams, with Clare Nicholas finishing 1st for Wadsworth. She came in 22nd place overall with a time of 19:00.3 minutes. The others girls were not far behind and the whole team, coached by John Burton and Zach Humrichouser, averaged a time of 20.36 minutes.
All girls stand together after their race on Saturday. Photo Courtesy of Jacob Brown
The length of the race was 3.1 miles and the girls raced at the division one level. Running at the state meet is the furthest you can make it in cross country so to make it that far was an honor.
“It was a surreal experience everyone there is supporting one another and it’s crazy to see so many people all sharing the same love for running,” said Corell.
All of the girls plan on running track in the spring and to continue cross country in the summer.
