MARION – It took a minute for Ontario junior Liam Hershberger to catch his breath after finishing fifth at the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship.
He didn’t wander far, alternating between his hands on his knees and his head. Family and friends surrounded him. Some of his teammates, filing in after, fell flat on the ground after learning their placements, rolling onto their backs and taking a moment to breathe.
MOAC boys cross country
Final standings are listed below, ranked by points.
- Marion Harding 46
- Ontario 55
- Shelby 78
- Pleasant 103
- Highland 105
- River Valley 110
- Galion 215
“I’m feeling really gassed out,” Hershberger said, still catching his breath minutes after the run. “I went out with the front pack in that first mile and just tried to hang on.”
Ontario finished second in the boys’ championships with 55 points, nine behind titlist Marion Harding at 46. Shelby was third with 78 points.
Hershberger’s 17:13.21 time was a personal best, which would become a trend as his teammates continued to come in at record pace.
“Almost everyone (on our team) PR’d,” said Logan Sesco, an Ontario sophomore. “Marion Harding is such a good course. I’m just so happy for everyone.”
Sesco cut his previous best of 17:45 by almost half a minute, finishing eighth for a time of 17:19.76. Sesco surprised himself with the time.
“I was not expecting that at all,” Sesco said. “This week has been kind of iffy, and all this pressure; I didn’t know how I was gonna do, but I think it really drove me to perform well.
“I’ve been on a really bad plateau all season. I PR’d my first race; I haven’t PR’d since. I think this was a breakout race.”
Sesco was followed by his teammate Alex Simmering at ninth, with a time of 17:21.74. Ontario rounded out the top 15 with Jackson Buttil at 18:02.14.
Shelby also had two runners finish in the top 15: Jake Frangella (7th, 17:17.31) and Isaac Friebel (14th, 17:55.37).
Clear Fork’s Peyton Freitag finished 10th (17:25.94), but the Colts did not post a team score.
