COLUMBUS — Citing poor course conditions due to Thursday’s flooding at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has opted to postpone the state cross country championships, which were originally scheduled to take place Saturday, Nov. 3 at the drag strip.
Instead, OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass announced on Nov. 1 the associations plans of running the meet the following Saturday on Nov. 10.
“While I wholeheartedly understand the impact this move has for all those involved in the event, this is the best solution for the safety and well-being of our participating student-athletes,” Snodgrass said in an emailed statement. “National Trail Raceway has closed the course due to flooding with the on-going rain we have had in central Ohio, so the conditions will hopefully be much better by next weekend.”
Four Greene County area high schools have runners scheduled to compete in the state championships. The Beavercreek and Bellbrook girls programs, Cedarville’s boys team and Carroll runner Grant Arnold all qualified to state this season.
Cedarville’s boys contingent of Isaiah Estepp, Payton Herron, Ben Kinsinger, Trent Koning, Drew Mason, Jeffery Salisbury and Ethan Wallis will be the first scheduled area team to compete. The Boys Division III event is scheduled to start the day off at 11 a.m.
There are no D-II boys competing in this year’s state event, but Carroll’s Arnold will represent the Patriots in the boys D-I race, at 12:30 p.m.
Like the D-II boys event, there are no area runners competing in the girls D-III event this season. Bellbrook’s regional champion girls team of Amira and Avarie Faulkner, Minami Ford, Addie Hahn, Elise Kemper, Kayla Paul and Emily Pelfrey, is scheduled to compete at 2:15 p.m. at National Trail Raceway.
The area’s other regional champion, the Beavercreek Beavers girls team of Bently Barrett, Taylor Ewert, Kendall Hobbs, Emma Johnson, Jodie Pierce, Savannah Roark, and Juliann Williams, will compete in the final Nov. 10 event of the day at 3 p.m.
The OHSAA will continue to update information on the cross country tournament on its website (www.ohsaa.org) and Twitter and Facebook accounts.
