OBETZ, Ohio — Deja vu happened at Fortress Obetz Saturday — the Perrysburg girls cross country team proved the naysayers wrong and won a Division I state championship.
“This group of ladies, for the second time in three years, they pulled something off that they were not expected to do,” Perrysburg coach Jon Monheim said.
“They were ranked third going in with two teams that were getting all the love and the attention and much like two years ago they followed the race plan to a T.
“If you know anything about running, what they did in the middle of this race was — we were looking at the numbers on the way here, because collectively they passed somewhere between 50 and 60 people in the second mile,” Monheim continued.
“We were fifth at the 400-meter mark, and I’m not sure why they even care at that point. We were third at the mile, first at the two mile, and we hung on to be first at 3.1 miles (five kilometers).”
Perrysburg scored 102 points, followed by Hilliard Davidson (124), Mason (175), Shaker Heights (175), Wadsworth (197), Avon (202), Powell Olentangy Liberty (230), West Chester Lakota West (241), Cleveland St. Joseph (255), and Rocky River (261) in the top 10.
The second 10 teams were Loveland (262), Canton GlenOak (264), Dublin Jerome (302), Strongsville (303), Marysville (362), Westlake (366), Springboro (393), Toledo Notre Dame (407), Gahanna Lincoln (416), and Beavercreek (417).
“It’s been so amazing. I couldn’t believe that this happened not once, but twice,” said Perrysburg junior Ava Beeks, who was part of both state championships.
Perrysburg senior Hannah Kersten added, ““I think it says that the more we support each other, work together, we can literally accomplish anything. This was not expected to happen at all.
“We just ignored everyone saying about our ranking and all that. We were just going out there to have fun and that’s really what motivates us the most.”
Lakota West junior Evelyn Prodoehl won the individual championship with a time of 17:23.77, but Kersten, who said the whole experience “seemed unreal,” was the Yellow Jackets top runner, finishing in 18:19.4 to place eighth out of 182 state qualifiers, including those qualifying as an individual.
Beeks (18:22.2) was 10th, junior Natalie Sanders (18:39.1) was 22nd, senior Anna Dalton (19:28.5) was 63rd, sophomore Kaelyn Becken (19:29.5) was 65th, senior Aubrey Evans (20:19.6) was 113th, and senior Taylor Moody (20:25.1) was 123rd.
“I’m so proud of my team,” Beeks said. “We all worked so hard to get here. They worked their butts off each and every one of them, from the fastest girl all the way to our alternates. We all put in the work as a team collectively.”
Only the top five and their placement in the team race count toward meet points. Monheim said his team had a strategy and it worked.
“Truly, we talked about running the second mile as hard as posssible, and they absolutely did it to a T,” said Monheim.
“No team did what we did in the second mile and at that level, you’ve got to be in position at that point, and they just ran out of their minds.
“We just said you have to be in decent position at the mile. But as soon as you get to the mile, the race kind of starts there and attack it for a mile. Then, we figured if they got to two miles and are in good position, they are not going to fall apart with one mile to go.”
Beeks said the Yellow Jackets, in a manner of speaking, not only outran, but outsmarted their opponents.
“It just shows that we are really smart runners,” Beeks said. “I intentionally went out a little slower than most of the other girls because everyone was going to go fast. So, I planned on passing a bunch of people in the second mile. I’m glad it worked out.”
Beeks said the Yellow Jackets trained for this strategy.
“It took a lot of hard work in the two mile,” Beeks said. “We put in a lot of work all season, just not worrying too much about it and getting focused on winning. We weren’t even trying to win, just not letting any of the pressure get to us or anything.”
Kersten said it also took patience, so she suggests that the runners just have to enjoy the moment.
“Going into the race, I was feeling really motivated and I felt really good about it. I feel like through the whole weekend I just kept a really positive attitude,” Kersten said.
“I think that really helped me to not having any negative thoughts going on when we stepped up to the start line. I told myself to really utilize the middle of the race and then take off, kind of like what coach always says. It definitely worked out in our favor.”
Kersten said this team trains together on their own virtually year-round, and they include off-running team bonding events, too. She believes they have perfected their running and workout routines.
“We work really hard in practice, and then we know when to back off, and then we know when to push each other and when to work hard in workouts and stuff like that,” Kersten said.
“I think the way we perform in practice definitely works well with how we raced because we are hard workers.”
On the bus ride back from south of Columbus to Perrysburg, the team met up with the Perrysburg Fire Department at Saint John XXIII Catholic Church on Dixie Highway and was escorted, sirens blaring, to the high school, where several hundred fans awaited them for a celebration.
“Unbelievable community support and school support. Thank you so much for putting this together,” said Monheim, also thanking city officials, the fire department, the bus driver and others involved with the program.
