Fairfield Lions advance to state tournament for 6th consecutive year; Ciara Colwell returns to state in 2nd straight season
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Fairfield is going back home, so to speak, as the Lions will be traveling back to Hebron for the sixth straight year as a team. The Lions placed third at the Division III Regionals on Saturday to earn a spot in the state tournament, and junior Ciara Colwell also qualified for the girls state race with a Top 15 finish at regionals.
The Lions were third at the Division III Pickerington Regional with a score of 103, averaging a team time of 17:22.96.
Senior Brandtson Duffie qualified as an individual for state with a finish of 20th place overall with a time of 17:05.2.
[[In-content Ad]]
Next was senior Austin Setty in 21st place at 17:05.7, and sophomore Cohen Frost was 22nd at 17:06.8. Senior Bennett Hodson was next for the Lions in 33rd place with a time of 17:35.7.
Also for the Lions was junior Gavin Campbell in 51st place with a time of 18:01.4. Sophomore Blake Haines was 59th place overall at 18:23.7, and in 81st place was sophomore Brant Hanes finishing with a time of 19:04.4.
“I was anticipating a three-team race for the regional champs, but unfortunately one of our Top 5, junior Ethan Davis, had an unfortunate fall this week when we were training,” FHS boys head coach Raymond Friend said. “Ethan has worked extremely hard to get to this place, and I am hoping he can run next week at state. Therefore, we had to have other athletes step up, and they did.”
Coach Friend spoke about his runners on Saturday.
“The rest of our ‘Top 5,’ Brandtson, Austin, Cohen and Bennett had to run well, and they did. In sloppy conditions in a fantastic field of runners, those four had a great race,” Friend said. “However, we had to have someone else step up, and Gavin Campbell did, as well as Blake and Brant Haines (who have very limited big race experience), who were up to the challenge and helped us qualify as a team.
“Gavin in particular was buried in the depth chart his first two years, but he did not get discouraged and he kept running, and on Saturday he finished fifth on our team and helped us return to the state race.”
For the event, the Top 5 teams advance to state, along with individuals finishing in the Top 20 of the race.
Winning the regional championship as an individual was Shadyside senior Chase Stewart with a time of 16:28.6. The team champion was Mount Gilead with a score of 44, followed by regional runner-up Fredericktown at 68 points.
For the Division III Regional Race at Pickerington, Fairfield junior Ciara Colwell was 15th place overall as she finished with a time of 20:20.4 to qualify for the state tournament for a second consecutive year.
The Whiteoak Wildcats also raced in the boys event with a 14th-place finish as a team. Their top finisher was senior Hunter Morgan in 49th place with a time of 17:56. Also running for the Wildcats were senior Atlee Carr (18:30.9), senior Zach DeAtley (19:24.2), freshman Robbie Raines (20:38.7), senior Logan Cummings (21:32.7), senior Jacob Campbell (21:44.5) and freshman Bryce Bailey (22:42.0).
The Lions were third at the Division III Pickerington Regional with a score of 103, averaging a team time of 17:22.96.
Senior Brandtson Duffie qualified as an individual for state with a finish of 20th place overall with a time of 17:05.2.
[[In-content Ad]]
Next was senior Austin Setty in 21st place at 17:05.7, and sophomore Cohen Frost was 22nd at 17:06.8. Senior Bennett Hodson was next for the Lions in 33rd place with a time of 17:35.7.
Also for the Lions was junior Gavin Campbell in 51st place with a time of 18:01.4. Sophomore Blake Haines was 59th place overall at 18:23.7, and in 81st place was sophomore Brant Hanes finishing with a time of 19:04.4.
“I was anticipating a three-team race for the regional champs, but unfortunately one of our Top 5, junior Ethan Davis, had an unfortunate fall this week when we were training,” FHS boys head coach Raymond Friend said. “Ethan has worked extremely hard to get to this place, and I am hoping he can run next week at state. Therefore, we had to have other athletes step up, and they did.”
Coach Friend spoke about his runners on Saturday.
“The rest of our ‘Top 5,’ Brandtson, Austin, Cohen and Bennett had to run well, and they did. In sloppy conditions in a fantastic field of runners, those four had a great race,” Friend said. “However, we had to have someone else step up, and Gavin Campbell did, as well as Blake and Brant Haines (who have very limited big race experience), who were up to the challenge and helped us qualify as a team.
“Gavin in particular was buried in the depth chart his first two years, but he did not get discouraged and he kept running, and on Saturday he finished fifth on our team and helped us return to the state race.”
For the event, the Top 5 teams advance to state, along with individuals finishing in the Top 20 of the race.
Winning the regional championship as an individual was Shadyside senior Chase Stewart with a time of 16:28.6. The team champion was Mount Gilead with a score of 44, followed by regional runner-up Fredericktown at 68 points.
For the Division III Regional Race at Pickerington, Fairfield junior Ciara Colwell was 15th place overall as she finished with a time of 20:20.4 to qualify for the state tournament for a second consecutive year.
The Whiteoak Wildcats also raced in the boys event with a 14th-place finish as a team. Their top finisher was senior Hunter Morgan in 49th place with a time of 17:56. Also running for the Wildcats were senior Atlee Carr (18:30.9), senior Zach DeAtley (19:24.2), freshman Robbie Raines (20:38.7), senior Logan Cummings (21:32.7), senior Jacob Campbell (21:44.5) and freshman Bryce Bailey (22:42.0).