OBETZ — Lexington’s Latrell Hughes made history Saturday afternoon.
A junior, Hughes took second in the Division II boys race at the state cross country meet at Fortress Obetz. He finished in 15 minutes, 13.46 seconds, breaking the school record of 15:14.28 set by teammate Chance Basilone at last week’s Tiffin regional.
“It was a really good race,” Hughes said. “Our team had high expectations for this meet and I think we showed out.”
Lexington finished second in the team standings with a score of 123. Fairfield Union won the team title with a score of 88.
“It is so special,” longtime Lex coach Denise Benson said. “This men’s team, with only one senior, just went out there and did incredible things.
“Everyone is throwing down.”
The Ohio State-bound Basilone finished 10th in 15:40.64, capping a sensational prep career with a second All-Ohio citation. He was 27th in last year’s Division I race in 15:50.
“You just saw the top two boys in Lexington history,” Benson said. “It was great stuff today.”
Lincoln Rice finished 38th in 15:58.56 for Lex, followed by Gage Devaney (16:03.61) in 45th and John Bartone (16:29.35) in 83rd. Luke Haring (16:59.05) was 128th and Will Hooper (17:00.33) was 131st.
Ontario’s Xavier Trent finished 33rd in 15:51.63. He missed out on an All-Ohio citation by three spots — the top 30 finishers earned All-Ohio status.
“I missed out on All-Ohio but I’m not really upset by that because I got a personal record,” said Trent, whose previous best was 16:10. “I kind of smashed it.”
In the Division II girls race, Lexington took fifth with a score of 194. Katya Prykhodko was 12th individually in 18:30.94.
A junior, Prykhodko finished 94th at last year’s state meet.
“Last year was not a very good year for me,” Prykhodko said. “I didn’t put it together. I got injured toward the end. This year I just wanted to do it for my team.”
Jenna Halfhill finished 28th in 18:50.15 to earn All-Ohio status. Brailey Sone, who has battled injuries all season, was 40th in 19:05.05.
Brynn Bruner (20:27.69) was 110th, followed by Jacie Foster (20:37.38, 117th), Hallie Durbin (20:42.07, 121st) and Abby Moeglin (21:20.91, 147th).
Galion’s Makayla Halbisen was 34th in 18:59.75. Shelby’s Anna Will took 48th in 19:10.39.
Mansfield Christian’s Riley Patrick and Meagan Them both earned podium finishes in the Division III girls race. Patrick was 14th in 18:41.48, while Them was 16th in 18:46.44.
“It was a hard race, for sure,” said Patrick, who set a personal record. “It was amazing to have a teammate with me the whole time. It was kind of calming.”
A senior, Them was 70th at state last year.
“My personal goal was to place in the top 30 at state and that was a far stretch because I placed 70th last year,” Them said. “Last year I came here alone so having (Patrick) at the start line helped calm me.”
Crestview finished seventh in the team standings with a score of 220.
The Cougars were led by Leyna Gerich, was was 28th overall in 18:59.41. Alina Durbin was 44th in 19:17.50, while Emmie Kemp was 98th in 20:27.31 and Laynie Kemp was 102nd in 20:30.34. Audrey Wolford (20:55.25) was 119th, followed by Mia Humrichouser (21:31.07) in 141st and Georgie McFarland (21:52.51) in 153rd.
Lucas’ Chloe Sturts was 47th in 19:20.42.
Crestview’s Cooper Brockway placed 49th in the Division III boys race. The senior finished in 16:25.87.