For Northmor, both David Blunk (l) and Ryan Lehman were able to advance through regionals to the state cross country meet on Saturday.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
The Mount Gilead boys’ cross country team will enter the Division III state meet as regional champions in its bid to defend its state title.
The Indians finished with 61 points at Pickerington North on Saturday. Second-place Fredericktown had 136 in the 17-team meet.
MG finished their morning with three of the top 11 runners in the competition. Will Baker ran third overall with a time of 16:03.57 to lead the way. Parker Bartlett placed sixth with a time of 16:13.21 and Owen Hershner was 11th in 16:25.62. Nolan Hershner took 37th place in 17:15.62 and Tommy Emberg ran 38th in 17:15.76. Also, Nathan Smith finished 80th in 18:21.05 and Collin Gabriel was 96th in 19:03.26.
Both of Northmor’s runners in the boys’ Division III race advanced to the state meet by placing in the top 20 as individuals. David Blunk ran 14th in 16:33.31, while Ryan Lehman advanced in 16th place. His time was 16:34.05.
Aidan Reitmire finished a handful of places out of state qualification. The Cardington senior came in 23rd place in the meet with a time of 16:50.42.
In the Division III girls’ race, Kimberly Staley of Mount Gilead advanced to the state meet. The top 24 runners in the race moved on as individuals and she was 19th in 20:00.64.
As a team, the Indians finished 10th with 257 points. Danielle Pohlkotte finished 87th in 22:39.32, while Haley Pfeifer finished 89th in 22:40.86 and Ava Baker took 93rd in 22:54.41. Sophie Mosher followed in 99th place with a time of 23:12.08. Adriana Hershner took 118th in 24:11.17 and Natalie Jagger ran 121st in 24:20.26.
Northmor took eighth place with 176 points in a race where the top six teams made it to state. Kate Lehman came close to reaching the state meet by finishing 26th in 20:18.36. Ryann Brinkman finished 43rd in 21:16.84 and Natalie Hunter took 46th in 21:19.23. Haylee Walker claimed 78th with a time of 22:21.15, while Macie Witherall placed 86th in 22:37.97. Also, Elizabeth Ruhl was 101st in 23:13.68 and Shelby Cooper took 102nd place with a time of 23:18.46.
For Cardington, Magi Hallabrin barely missed out on getting to state. She took 25th place with a time of 20:15.46. Gracie Meade was 35th on the day. Her time of 21:03.57.
Highland had two boys and one girl run in the Division II races. In the boys’ race, Matthew Miller barely missed out on a trip to state. He took 25th place in 16:30.31, but only the top 24 advanced. Cael Gilmore placed 32nd with a time of 16:51.82.
For the Lady Scots, Kindylle Mallow placed 76th in her race with a time of 21:39.89.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
