Muskingum Valley cross country runners punched their regional tickets on Saturday, October 24, at district meets in Cambridge and Rio Grande, the first step on the road that ends at Fortress Obetz.
In the Division II girls race at Cambridge, John Glenn’s Ashlynn Kuklica dominated a field of 34 runners, winning in 19:34.0 — 39 seconds ahead of runner-up Erin Hogue of Tri-Valley. Her teammate Addy Kent was fourth in a personal-best 21:28.9.
Tri-Valley placed Cam Cunningham sixth, Naomi Harris seventh and Jordyn Frost 16th, while Zanesville’s Miah Wilcox was 17th and Emma Wells 20th. The Scotties finished second in the team standings behind New Philadelphia among five teams, with John Glenn fourth.
On the boys side in Division II, Zanesville junior Kolton Darnes was the top local qualifier among 44 runners, finishing just two seconds behind runner-up Tyler Shuss of Dover. New Philadelphia’s Kevin Smith won the race in 16:53.0, and Dover, Carrollton and New Philadelphia took the team qualifying spots.
At Rio Grande, Sheridan advanced as a team from the Southeast races, led by Sheriden Glanemann in eighth and Adriana Pack in ninth among 59 runners. The Generals were third of nine teams, in a race where six teams and 12 individuals advanced.
The qualifiers now move on to the regional meet on Saturday, October 31 at Pickerington North, where state berths will be on the line. For the Muskingum Valley programs, Saturday’s district results turned a season of work into one more week of racing.