2013 OHSAA State Cross-Country Preview: Lions reach goal by qualifying as a team
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the Fairfield Lions boys cross-country team, this season has been one for the record books.
The group of seven runners became the first cross-country team in school history to advance to the Division III State Cross-Country Championships.
For seniors Michael Mangus and Blake Hildebrant, this was the third time they each qualified for the state meet, but for Trent Swisher, Wyatt Evans, Dustin Willey, Mason Cain and Matthew Leach, this is their first trip to the highest level of competition the OHSAA has to offer.
[[In-content Ad]]For Hildebrant, though, he will be unable to race in the event, as he has suffered injuries that have left him unable to compete this Saturday at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron. This fall, Hildebrant was also a part of the district runner-up soccer team.
"I am very lucky to be part of the best soccer and cross-country teams to date," Hildebrant said. "It's a great start to my senior year. I hope we can carry our success over to the basketball and baseball seasons."
Mangus reached the podium last season, and this year, his goals are even higher than the 14th-place finish with a time of 16:11.67 he had one year ago.
Each year, both Mangus and Hildebrant said they wanted to see their teammates reach the state level with them before they graduated, and that goal was accomplished with a team finish of third place at the regional meet.
"I was really happy to see the team make it before I graduated," Mangus said. "I wanted to help them as much as I could, and I'm just proud of how they ran and glad they could make it. They accomplished all their goals."
Hildebrant also spoke about the team's accomplishment.
"When I found out that the team had qualified (they called me on my way to the soccer game), I felt overwhelmed," he said. "As a team, we overcame a lot of injuries, and the younger guys really stepped up and ran a great race.
"I have an overall sense of accomplishment (qualifying for state three times). It's proof that hard work and dedication pay off."
Mangus spoke about what he wants to accomplish in his final state meet.
"Last year, I sat at the podium, and this year, I want to stand on the podium," Mangus said. "To get that, I have to finish in the top eight, but my goal is the top five.
"My times don't really show it this year, but we've trained a lot through the season. We've sacrificed the early meets to practice hard and be ready for this part of the season."
The rest of the team is waiting out the days before they can make their debut at the state level, with two juniors (Willey and Leach) and three freshmen (Cain, Evans and Swisher).
"It's a pretty unbelievable feeling to know we made state," Willey said. "We've been close the last two years, but this year we made it."
"When I found out we made state, we were all amazed," Leach said. "We finished even better than we hoped at regionals. This season, I've gotten better, but I didn't do as well as I wanted to individually. Seeing the whole team go … it is an amazing experience to be a part of this team.
"It is an honor to run for this team and an honor to qualify for state."
"It was a pretty amazing feeling when I realized we made state," Swisher said. "Making it as a freshman, at that."
FHS coach Raymond Friend said they knew by going to regionals that they had the talent to qualify for state.
"Knowing you have the talent doesn't get you to state," Friend said. "We knew at the beginning of the year if these guys put the work in, they would qualify, and they really came through. They work hard."
Willey spoke about the season as he improved from start to finish.
"At the start of the season, we started off slow, but the freshmen stepped up and helped," he said. "The coaches really pushed me toward the end of the season. At the league meet, I started to progress, and my times got better. I just woke up, unhooked the plow and got going."
Cain spoke about his season, as did his teammates.
"The season has been great," he said. "I started off slow but improved by three minutes. I just kept my head up and practiced harder. "
"Getting a chance to go to regionals and just have a shot to qualify was big, but then to actually qualify as a freshman is exciting," Swisher said.
"Making it as a freshman gives me and my teammates the goal of going four years in a row," Evans said. "Running at the varsity level is different than middle school. You aren't used to the extra mile, and that's why I had trouble running at the start of the season."
Assistant coach Bill Mangus spoke about how the program has grown.
"Seeing the program reach the state level validates your choices of a training program," he said. "It validates everything you do. It has been nice to watch the development of these kids and seeing their times drop in seven weeks.
"It is very difficult to cut 30 seconds a mile off your time in seven weeks. It takes talent, perseverance and hard work to be able to overcome quitting in your mind and push on."
The race will begin at 1:30 p.m.
The group of seven runners became the first cross-country team in school history to advance to the Division III State Cross-Country Championships.
For seniors Michael Mangus and Blake Hildebrant, this was the third time they each qualified for the state meet, but for Trent Swisher, Wyatt Evans, Dustin Willey, Mason Cain and Matthew Leach, this is their first trip to the highest level of competition the OHSAA has to offer.
[[In-content Ad]]For Hildebrant, though, he will be unable to race in the event, as he has suffered injuries that have left him unable to compete this Saturday at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron. This fall, Hildebrant was also a part of the district runner-up soccer team.
"I am very lucky to be part of the best soccer and cross-country teams to date," Hildebrant said. "It's a great start to my senior year. I hope we can carry our success over to the basketball and baseball seasons."
Mangus reached the podium last season, and this year, his goals are even higher than the 14th-place finish with a time of 16:11.67 he had one year ago.
Each year, both Mangus and Hildebrant said they wanted to see their teammates reach the state level with them before they graduated, and that goal was accomplished with a team finish of third place at the regional meet.
"I was really happy to see the team make it before I graduated," Mangus said. "I wanted to help them as much as I could, and I'm just proud of how they ran and glad they could make it. They accomplished all their goals."
Hildebrant also spoke about the team's accomplishment.
"When I found out that the team had qualified (they called me on my way to the soccer game), I felt overwhelmed," he said. "As a team, we overcame a lot of injuries, and the younger guys really stepped up and ran a great race.
"I have an overall sense of accomplishment (qualifying for state three times). It's proof that hard work and dedication pay off."
Mangus spoke about what he wants to accomplish in his final state meet.
"Last year, I sat at the podium, and this year, I want to stand on the podium," Mangus said. "To get that, I have to finish in the top eight, but my goal is the top five.
"My times don't really show it this year, but we've trained a lot through the season. We've sacrificed the early meets to practice hard and be ready for this part of the season."
The rest of the team is waiting out the days before they can make their debut at the state level, with two juniors (Willey and Leach) and three freshmen (Cain, Evans and Swisher).
"It's a pretty unbelievable feeling to know we made state," Willey said. "We've been close the last two years, but this year we made it."
"When I found out we made state, we were all amazed," Leach said. "We finished even better than we hoped at regionals. This season, I've gotten better, but I didn't do as well as I wanted to individually. Seeing the whole team go … it is an amazing experience to be a part of this team.
"It is an honor to run for this team and an honor to qualify for state."
"It was a pretty amazing feeling when I realized we made state," Swisher said. "Making it as a freshman, at that."
FHS coach Raymond Friend said they knew by going to regionals that they had the talent to qualify for state.
"Knowing you have the talent doesn't get you to state," Friend said. "We knew at the beginning of the year if these guys put the work in, they would qualify, and they really came through. They work hard."
Willey spoke about the season as he improved from start to finish.
"At the start of the season, we started off slow, but the freshmen stepped up and helped," he said. "The coaches really pushed me toward the end of the season. At the league meet, I started to progress, and my times got better. I just woke up, unhooked the plow and got going."
Cain spoke about his season, as did his teammates.
"The season has been great," he said. "I started off slow but improved by three minutes. I just kept my head up and practiced harder. "
"Getting a chance to go to regionals and just have a shot to qualify was big, but then to actually qualify as a freshman is exciting," Swisher said.
"Making it as a freshman gives me and my teammates the goal of going four years in a row," Evans said. "Running at the varsity level is different than middle school. You aren't used to the extra mile, and that's why I had trouble running at the start of the season."
Assistant coach Bill Mangus spoke about how the program has grown.
"Seeing the program reach the state level validates your choices of a training program," he said. "It validates everything you do. It has been nice to watch the development of these kids and seeing their times drop in seven weeks.
"It is very difficult to cut 30 seconds a mile off your time in seven weeks. It takes talent, perseverance and hard work to be able to overcome quitting in your mind and push on."
The race will begin at 1:30 p.m.