Greater Akron’s cross country season comes down to one fast course on Saturday, November 7, when area runners line up at Fortress Obetz for the OHSAA state championships. The Akron Beacon Journal reported November 5 that Greater Akron schools will have a big presence at the meet. At the center of it is Peninsula Woodridge, whose boys arrive as the favorite to win a second straight Division III state title.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Woodridge won the 2025 Division III championship by nearly 100 points. A victory Saturday would give the Bulldogs a 12th OHSAA state title, adding to their own state record — and every one of those championships has come since 2005. That two-decade run has made Woodridge the standard against which every other Division III program in Ohio measures itself each fall.
This year’s chase is notable for how much Woodridge had to replace. The Beacon Journal reported the Bulldogs lost three of their top runners from last year’s title team to graduation, turnover that usually opens the door for the rest of the state. Instead, a new lead pack has stepped forward: John Brock, an All-Ohioan who finished runner-up at the Boardman regional, has been the Bulldogs’ top runner, with Remington Griffiths stride for stride with him all season. Eli White and Nathan Adams could also contend for All-Ohio spots.
The challengers are familiar. According to the Beacon Journal, Navarre Fairless could present the strongest test, led by defending Division III individual champion Brice Fuller, while defending state runner-up West Liberty-Salem is also back. In team cross country, where a title depends on five scorers rather than one star, Woodridge’s depth has traditionally been its separator.
If Division III has a clear favorite, Division II is where Greater Akron’s numbers are — and where the individual races look wide open. The Beacon Journal reported Division II is where the bulk of Greater Akron runners reside, and the boys opportunity is real: the top five Division II boys finishers from 2025 all graduated, leaving the crown without a returning favorite. Tallmadge’s Donevan Noah, eighth at state last year, could take advantage — although he missed the first half of this fall with an injury and may be rounding into form at the right time.
Noah is not the only Division II boy with a podium within reach. The Beacon Journal reported Nordonia’s Anderson Seredick finished just off the podium at state last year and came within a few steps of winning the Boardman regional title, and that he and teammate Aiden Flynn could both contend for top-10 finishes. CVCA’s Isaac Solomon is another name to watch — the Beacon Journal described the Royals’ leader as a big-race runner — and CVCA’s athletics site confirmed the Royals race in Division II Saturday, girls at 11:50 a.m. and boys at 12:30 p.m.
On the Division II girls side, Tallmadge supplies the top returner too. According to the Beacon Journal, Makayla Martuccio finished seventh at state in 2025, although, like Noah, she has been dealing with injury this fall. Wadsworth’s Maggie Gershutz also finished in the top 10 last fall and will look to rebound from an off day at Boardman, while Highland’s Katherine Schuler and Copley’s Kaylee Ingratta are among the other area girls to watch late Saturday morning.
The day will look different this year. According to the OHSAA, all eight races at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park, 4175 Alum Creek Drive in Obetz, are 5,000 meters, and the schedule has flipped, with the big schools starting first, the Beacon Journal reported. The official OHSAA schedule runs: 10 a.m. Division I girls, 10:40 a.m. Division I boys, 11:50 a.m. Division II girls, 12:30 p.m. Division II boys, 1:40 p.m. Division III girls, 2:20 p.m. Division III boys, 3:30 p.m. Division IV girls and 4:10 p.m. Division IV boys.
The course could produce the day’s biggest numbers. The Beacon Journal cautioned against reading too much into Boardman regional times, noting Boardman’s opening hill and many turns make it one of Ohio’s slowest courses. Fortress Obetz, by contrast, has been one of the state’s fastest courses in its short history hosting the meet — Fuller broke the 15-minute barrier there last year, a time the Beacon Journal said would be unthinkable at Boardman. If the weather cooperates, personal records could fall all day.
Saturday’s meet is the 98th annual boys and 49th annual girls OHSAA state championships, closing a postseason that ran from districts October 24 through regionals October 31. OHSAA meet information says gates open 90 minutes before the first race, the course is open for a walk-through preview from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, November 6, and tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for students through ohsaa.org/tickets. All eight races stream on the NFHS Network, with live results on the OHSAA site.
What happens next is simple and final: there is no next round. Saturday’s races settle Ohio’s team and individual titles in all four divisions — whether Greater Akron’s deep Division II contingent can turn experience into individual titles, and whether Woodridge, at 2:20 p.m., can hold off Fairless and West Liberty-Salem for a second straight title and a record 12th overall. For the area’s seniors, it is the last high school cross country race of their careers.
Photo: Jonathan Schilling, CC BY-SA 4.0