OBETZ – Christian Estep smiled at the podium, hiding shivers beneath waves to friends and family in the stands. The Minutemen’s top finisher was sidelined two months ago.
Estep finished 18th of 216 in the OHSAA Division II cross country state championships. The junior’s time of 15:54.5 led Lexington to a second-place finish with 182 points, just 1 point behind first-place Bowling Green.
He achieved the feat after having his appendix removed in August.
“I didn’t run that entire month,” Estep said. “I had a rocky start to the season … just to be back and to be able to (run) … I’m so grateful for every moment.
“I love running more than anything, so every second’s a blessing.”
Estep didn’t have the easiest recovery. A plateau turned into a trend, before a sudden breakout he still doesn’t know how to explain.
“The start of the season was really rough,” he said. “I wasn’t running what I wanted to run. I just like got stuck. It was 16:40, 16:40, 16:40, then one week, I don’t know what changed. I don’t know if I just gained back my confidence, or if my fitness was finally there, but I dropped like 20 seconds.
“I was just confident in my abilities and just started dropping time and got down to a PR last week. And this week, I just knew I had to come here and knew what I had to do.”
Lexington’s trip to the podium marks the third consecutive state-qualifying season. Head coach Denise Benson, while disappointed with the 1-point loss, is proud of her team.
“They definitely persevered,” Benson said. “After being state champions last year, we didn’t start the season with any specific goal because of how many have never been to this level.
“Week by week, we just got closer, and their chemistry was amazing this year, and they really started to want it. They let go of their fear and went after it, and that’s the most fun part of it. Getting second by 1 point isn’t necessarily fun, but getting on that podium is incredible from where we started the season.”
Estep was followed by seniors John Bartone and Will Hooper at 33rd and 49th, sophomore Mathias Bender at 73rd, junior Chidalu Ezike at 126th, and sophomores Jace Dawson and Caden Henry at 192nd and 209th.
“The secret is tradition, and wanting to defend tradition,” Benson said. “All the runners before them paved the path, and success breeds success. So that’s what the secret is.”
Team and Individual Finishers
Division II Boys
- Lexington: 2nd, 182 points
Division IV Boys
- Colton Keller, Crestline: 82nd, 17:09.8
- Isaac McFarland, Crestview: 88th, 17:12.6
