OBETZ, Ohio — Ridgedale junior Elliot Weston finally got his race at Fortress Obetz, and he made it count. Weston finished 17th in the Division IV boys race at the OHSAA state cross country meet on Nov. 7, running 16 minutes, 18 seconds to become the lone Marion County athlete to earn a first-team All-Ohio spot, which goes to the top 24 finishers, the Marion Star reported.
Getting to that starting line took Weston three tries. As a freshman, he missed qualifying for the state meet by four seconds — and that was after a disqualification from the preseason race at the Obetz complex over a uniform infraction, according to the Marion Star. His sophomore preseason meet was called off for heat and a stress fracture ended that postseason; this year’s preseason event was postponed for flooding, the Marion Star reported.
Even this fall’s run came with an asterisk. Weston carried a hip injury through the end of the season, running in the low 17-minute range at the district and regional meets after a personal-best 15:45 earlier in the year, according to the Marion Star. “I came into this feeling a lot of pressure when I wasn’t running my best,” Weston told the Marion Star. “I realized I’ve just got to let it go. It’s my junior year, and I have another year. Either way, it’s a gift to be here. I did a lot of mental preparation more than physical, just being thankful for everything I’ve been blessed with to be able to run like I can.”
On race day, the course itself was the last obstacle. Weston told the Marion Star the nerves hit at the start, that he went out in fifth or sixth place before fading, and that the course’s signature hill looked worse in his head than it felt — until it didn’t. “Then you’re running it and it looks like you’re going to run into a wall. That kind of killed me at the end,” he told the Marion Star.
Still, Weston left Obetz upbeat, and generous toward the neighbors who beat him. “It was great to be here. Lots of great guys,” he told the Marion Star. “Super happy for Mount Gilead who was able to get the win. I’ve gotten close to some of them this season. It’s a good day even if I didn’t run my best. I’ve run better than I have been (the last few weeks). I’m thankful for that.” He is hopeful for a return trip next year, the Marion Star reported.
Weston headlined the haul, but Marion County’s day at state went well beyond one runner. River Valley senior Kael Swartz made his state-meet debut in the Division III boys race and picked up All-Ohio honors in 32nd place at 16:19.8, the Marion Star reported. Swartz’s personal record as a freshman was north of 19 minutes; as a senior he dropped to a personal record of 16:18, according to the Marion Star.
River Valley coach Aric Smith credited that patience when he spoke with the Marion Star. “He’s a throwback to when we were in school in that era of just keep grinding away, and at some point, it’s going to pay off. It has and it did,” Smith told the Marion Star. “There was none of that, ‘I’m not very good now. I’m not going to keep doing it.’ He stayed after it.”
On the girls side, Pleasant freshman Madisyn Ruhe ran like anything but a rookie. Ruhe finished 27th in the Division III race in 19:18.6 to earn second-team All-Ohio, missing the podium and first team by nine seconds and three spots, the Marion Star reported. “I’m just really happy with my season,” Ruhe told the Marion Star. “This is good. I wanted to make the podium and be top 24, but I was close, and I still have a couple more years to try.”
Two more county runners earned their All-Ohio spots by fractions of a second. Pleasant senior Joey Dietsch claimed the final All-Ohio spot in the boys Division III race by a half-second with a closing kick, the Marion Star reported. “I didn’t think I got it, but it’s great. It’s awesome. Every second matters. I’m glad I kicked and found it in me,” Dietsch told the Marion Star. Cardington-Lincoln sophomore Mickenzie White did the same in the Division IV girls race, finishing 47th in 19:40.8 to claim the next-to-last All-Ohio spot by three-tenths of a second, according to the Marion Star.
Northmor put two runners on the second team: Vada Walters was 32nd in the girls Division III race in 19:28, and Jack Dean was 42nd in the boys Division IV race in 16:42.1, the Marion Star reported. Mount Gilead placed five runners on the All-Ohio list on the way to the Division IV team title, according to the Marion Star: Brycen Gabriel (15th, 16:16.6), Ethan Turner (37th, 16:38), Aiden McLain (38th, 16:31.1), Grayson Smith (39th, 16:40) and Henry Bartlett (45th, 16:43.4).
Marion County’s fall sports season is still producing headlines elsewhere. Read more in our coverage of Hudson’s unbeaten girls soccer team carrying a 20-0 mark into the state semifinal and of Marion Tech’s Laura Emerick, the college’s “North Star” for students.
What happens next is a winter of healing and base-building. Weston, who told the Marion Star he has another year, gets one more shot at the Obetz hill as a senior — this time, if the pattern of three hard years finally breaks, at full strength.
Photo: Rcalhoun, CC BY-SA