OBETZ — Kayla Gonzales capped her high school career in style.
Shelby’s senior distance ace, Gonzales finished fourth overall in the Division II girls race at Saturday’s cross country state championships at Fortress Obetz. Gonzales finished in 18 minutes, 35.8 seconds, more than 10 seconds faster than her state finishing time as a junior (18:46.5) when she finished 15th.
“I was a little disappointed I didn’t PR. The wind was a factor,” Gonzales said of the 40 mph wind gusts that swept across the course. “I just really wanted to improve from last year and see what I could do.
“I’m still happy with the placing.”
Gonzales was part of a big lead pack that crossed the mile mark at the same time. The group began to thin out during the second mile.
“The first mile-and-a-half is pretty crazy because everyone is trying to get their placement,” Gonzales said. “I tried staying behind people because of the wind. Once you get to mile two it usually calms down a bit.”
Oakwood’s Bella Butler won the individual title in 18:09.8. She was followed across the finish line by Waynesville’s Samantha Erbach (18:24), Woodridge’s Reese Reaman (18:32.8) and Gonzales.
Lexington finished third in the team standings with a score of 164. Granville (130) won the team title and Kenston (155) was runner-up.
Lady Lex was led to the line by freshman Bailey Slone, who earned a podium finish by placing 18th in 19:19.8. Senior Kenley Miller also earned All-Ohio status, placing 28th in 19:43.4.
The top 20 finishers make the podium. The top 30 runners are All-Ohioans.
“I’m happy with the place. I was just hoping to get All-Ohio,” Slone said. “It’s nice to see what my hard work has done.”
Emma Wise finished 31st for Lady Lex in 19:49.2. Elyana Weaver (20:40.5) was 87th, followed by Maddie Haring (21:00.1), Abby Moeglin (21:20) and Micayla Delamater (21:24.3).
Galion’s Raygann Campbell finished 33rd in 19:53.8.
Division II Boys
Shelby finished 10th in the team standing in the Division II boys race with a score of 242.
The Whippets were led by Huck Finnegan, who finished as an All-Ohioan with a 30th-place finish in 16:38.8. Finnegan entered the stadium for the final time in eighth place but fell on the turf before eventually getting to his feet and staggering to the finish line. He laid on the grass for several minutes and was eventually taken to the medical tent.
“Huck looked great,” Shelby coach Chris Zuercher said. “Sometimes those things happen when you’re on the edge.
“Quite a few guys went down in that last quarter-mile. It’s a tough sport. There’s no timeouts on a day like today.”
Zuercher said Finnegan should be back in time for next week’s Nike NXR Midwest Regional meet in Indiana.
“He got light-headed,” Zuercher said. “It’a tough thing that happens to good runners. You don’t have too many bad runners that this happens to because they don’t put themselves out there.”
Luke Dininger finished 50th for the Whippets in 17:00.4, while Indy Master (17:27.9) was 91st. Marshall Moore (17:32.9) was 102, followed by Carson Perkins (17:37.4) in 108th, Luke Lesser (17:59.8) in 140th and Ian Finnegan (18:18.3) in 155th.
Marlington won the Division II team title with a score of 56. Carroll (149) was second and Woodridge (156) was third.
Marlington’s Colin Cernansky won the individual title in 15:26. Carroll’s Jack Agnew (15:29.7) was second and Fairfield Union’s Marcus Runkle (15:36.3) was third.
