The Lancaster Gales boys’ cross country team qualified for state competition and placed 13th.  The girls’ cross country team sent two individual runners who placed and both teams won their respective Ohio Capital Conference championship meets.

The boys’ XC team had a phenomenal season winning six out of the seven invitationals they competed in and winning the OCC-Buckeye division for the fourth year in a row, district champions, placing fifth in the region and thirteenth in the state. Coach Koksal stated that cross country athletes train hard pushing themselves to extreme discomforts and stay there for multiple minutes until the finish line is reached. He also said that most of the work they do is designed to improve a runner’s  mental toughness as well as the physical.

 “There is a time in every race when you’re asked a question; ‘will I give in so the pain will stop now or will I keep racing and continue to hurt.’ You know you feel regret if you give in… you know you will feel pride if you give your best to the finish. We strive to train our mind and body so when we answer the question, we are willing to tolerate hardship in the short term so we can be proud of our achievements in the long term. This is a lesson for life after cross country,” stated Koksal. 

Senior Carter Schorr placed the highest out of the seven who competed in the state championship. Schorr placed 71st in the state and ran a time of 16:22. 

“I dropped my personal best time down to 15:59 in the 5k this season. This was a huge breakthrough for me, I can credit my success this year on my teammates pushing me in practice every day and the consistency of the day-to-day running journey,” stated Schorr. 

“It felt amazing to qualify for states as a team. Even though we did not get the result we wanted that day, I can still say we met the goal we set at the beginning of the year,” he said.

Senior and captain Wes Taylor placed 94th in the state with a timeof 16:36. Taylor’s PR from this season was 15:33 in 5k time he was also all-conference and an OCC champion as well he had multiple individual wins. Taylor said that his feelings going into states were strong and he was confident that all his training from the season led him to that point.

“I felt confident and excited to race against the best cross-country athletes in the state,” Taylor stated. 

The Lady Gales XC team had a fantastic season, emerging as OCC champions, securing the district runner-up position, and placing seventh in the region.  Head coach Theresa Tripp said that Winning OCC was a definite highlight. 

“To win your conference championship is a huge accomplishment. We had 5 of our athletes earn First Team OCC honors,” she said.

“ It is always exciting to have athletes compete at the State Championships. I am extremely proud of Harper and Marisa. They are very talented athletes and have put in the work- it was great to see them reap the benefits of such hard work,” said Tripp.

Marisa Heil and Harper Allen showcased their skills and qualified for the state championship. Heil placed sixth in the state with a time of eighteen minutes and twelve seconds. 

“My PR is 18:03. I placed first in four invitationals and runner up in three others during the regular season. Post season I was 1st place in the conference meet and district meet, third in regionals and sixth in the state D1 race,” Heil said.

“Going into the state championship I was very nervous but extremely excited. It’s a great experience and I tried to just remind myself I already did all the hard work to get to this point, and the state meet is just the victory lap.”

LHS sophomore Harper Allen ran a consistent race at the state competition and placed in the top 40.

 “My best time of the season was an 18:35 that I ran at regionals. I placed 39th in the state and ran a time of 18:59,” she said.

“I felt good, I knew my training was there and I just had to give it my all and trust myself and the training.”

HS seniors Carter Schorr and Wes Taylor reflected on their season and said that they will miss the camaraderie and training they experienced in their high school athletic careers. 

“I will always remember the memories we created as a team and all the opportunities I have had to race,” said Schorr.

“Winning the indoor nationals 4x800m relay with my teammates and training on the weekends and getting to stand on the podiums,” said Taylor.