Last Saturday, Sept. 4, the Highland Flying Scots held their second annual Cross Country Invitational. Competition was provided by 18 teams and nearly 800 total runners participating from various central Ohio schools in the 3.1-mile HS races and the 2-mile high school races. The meet also included a fun run for elementary students that had nearly 75 participants.
Leading most of the way in the Boys HS Division against 135 cross-country competitors, Utica’s Jay Figgins finished first in 16:30.70. In the Girls competition, Mount Vernon’s Sophie Zoldak finished second at 19:24.92, beaten only by Girls winner Reece Savage of Johnstown in 19:19.33.
Olentangy Berlin won the team Invitational competition in the Boys division with two top-10 finishers, four top-20 runners and an average time of 17:39.56. Among 16 competing schools, Utica finished fourth with an average of 18:00.22, led by the winning time of Figgins. Centerburg was fifth overall with an average of 18:19.64, paced by Alex Hayden, who finished 15th at 17:39.78. Host Highland came in seventh, averaging 18:16.67, led by Hunter Bolton, who finished ninth at 17:20.54. Fredericktown was eighth at 18:22.48 with Owen Krabill finishing in 20th place at 17:58.85, and Mount Vernon finished ninth among the 16 schools, averaging 18:38.09 as Logan Eggert came in 13th at 17:36.82, edging 17th-place Matt Salvucci at 17:45.94. Note: Average time does not set the team finish … total points of finishing positions tallies up the winning results.
In Girls competition, 116 runners entered and Big Walnut had the best team score, averaging 21:00.45, with three girls finishing in the top 10. The Fredericktown girls team finished fifth, averaging 22:02.50; Mount Vernon came in seventh, averaging 22:36.61; Centerburg averaged 24:19.94; and Highland finished 13th, averaging 26:10.04.
Mount Vernon was led by Zoldak’s second-place finish. Fredericktown’s Elisa Hoam finished third at 20:12.72, and teammate Natalie Vanmeter was sixth at 20:47.82. Centerburg was led by overall 10th-place finisher Abigal Dickhof at 20:58.87, and host Highland was paced by the 38th overall finisher, Jade Disbennett, with a time of 22:23.39.
The weather cooperated and provided almost perfect running conditions. All six race categories saw competitive fields, as the event has grown from 11 teams and just under 600 runners in 2020 to 18 teams and almost 800 runners this year. Race organizers made several course improvements since last year and received numerous compliments from attendees on how well laid out the course was and how interesting and challenging the course is for runners, as it now goes around the pond in the local community park, moves up and around the paths in the woods located behind the elementary school, and finishes off on the paths cut into a field behind the high school.
Race organizers report that they aim to grow the event in 2022 and add a few more teams to increase competition, and are looking for ways to improve the course further.
