Lions cross-country seeks even more success in 2015
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It is no secret the Fairfield Lions cross-country team is one of the top high school sports programs in Highland County, and this season, they want to continue to add to their success from last season when they became Division III OHSAA State qualifiers.
Head coach Raymond Friend says his team has put in as many miles this summer as any team he’s ever coached.
“More miles have been put in by this group than any team ever since I started coaching,” Friend said. “Last year, we surprised some teams at regionals and snuck into the state tournament, but we did not run well as a team last year in the state race.
“This year’s goals include a much better showing at state, along with not overlooking regionals at Pickerington.”
To begin the season, the Lions are ranked 11th in the state coaches poll in Division III, but they’ve earned that spot with their achievements from the ‘14 season.
In 2014, the Lions were Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC) champions, district champions and were third overall at the regional championships. Fairfield has won the district title and the SHAC title for four consecutive seasons.
At the state championships last year, the Lions were led by Matthew Mangus with a time of 17:45.25 in very cold and windy conditions.
“Last year at state, my runners got to experience really good competition, and I think it humbled them a little and inspired them to run more miles,” Friend said. “This year, our whole team from top to bottom is in better shape.
“A big reason we are improving is because of the really good coaches that I have helping me. This middle school program will be strong again because of Coach McCoy, and we have two excellent assistant coaches, Bill Mangus and Carol Grate.”
Returning runners for the Lions this year are juniors Wyatt Evans, Dillon Burley, Trent Swisher Tate, Mason Cain and Lane Frost; and sophomores Matthew Mangus, Noah Richmond, Andrew Davis and Nick Price.
“As for our returners, we have seven of our top eight runners returning this year,” Friend said with excitement. “Starting with Wyatt Evans, he is our leader and sets the tone in practice. He has logged more miles this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing his times by year’s end.
[[In-content Ad]]“Another leader, even though he is only a sophomore, is Matthew Mangus. He puts in a lot of miles and leads by example. Dillon Burley narrowly missed being on the state team last year and focused all of the offseason on not letting that happen again. He has transformed himself into an excellent runner who could challenge our top runners.
“Noah Richmond is looking to improve on a stellar freshman year, and Andrew Davis and Trent Swisher Tate were two big reasons that we qualified for state last year, placing four and five on our team, and both have made strides this summer and are in better shape this year.
“Also, Nick Price and Mason Cain could be in the Top 7 at season’s end, so there is a healthy competition for those spots.”
New to the team in 2015 are junior Jason Moeller and freshmen Austin Setty, Brandtson Duffie, Sam Buddelmeyer, Bennett Hodson, Riley Friend and Phoenix Taylor.
“As for new runners, I have four freshman who are pushing the upperclassmen led by Austin Setty and Brandtson Duffie,” Friend said. “These two finished first and second in a lot of two-mile middle school races last year and look to be a big part of our high school varsity team.
“I also have been real impressed with freshmen Sam Buddelmeyer and Bennett Hodson, who both could push others to be in the Top 7 by the end of the season.”
The first race of the 2015 season for the Lions will be on Aug. 29 at Marietta Invitational starting at 10 a.m. That will be followed with a race on Sept. 5 at Hillsboro’s Liberty Park for the annual Ohio Classic with a 9 a.m. start to the event.
This season, the Highland County Meet, which is held at Fairfield High School, will be on Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. The SHAC meet will be held at Ripley High School on Oct. 17 with a TBA start time. In all, FHS is scheduled to race in nine events before the district meet begins on Oct. 24.
Head coach Raymond Friend says his team has put in as many miles this summer as any team he’s ever coached.
“More miles have been put in by this group than any team ever since I started coaching,” Friend said. “Last year, we surprised some teams at regionals and snuck into the state tournament, but we did not run well as a team last year in the state race.
“This year’s goals include a much better showing at state, along with not overlooking regionals at Pickerington.”
To begin the season, the Lions are ranked 11th in the state coaches poll in Division III, but they’ve earned that spot with their achievements from the ‘14 season.
In 2014, the Lions were Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC) champions, district champions and were third overall at the regional championships. Fairfield has won the district title and the SHAC title for four consecutive seasons.
At the state championships last year, the Lions were led by Matthew Mangus with a time of 17:45.25 in very cold and windy conditions.
“Last year at state, my runners got to experience really good competition, and I think it humbled them a little and inspired them to run more miles,” Friend said. “This year, our whole team from top to bottom is in better shape.
“A big reason we are improving is because of the really good coaches that I have helping me. This middle school program will be strong again because of Coach McCoy, and we have two excellent assistant coaches, Bill Mangus and Carol Grate.”
Returning runners for the Lions this year are juniors Wyatt Evans, Dillon Burley, Trent Swisher Tate, Mason Cain and Lane Frost; and sophomores Matthew Mangus, Noah Richmond, Andrew Davis and Nick Price.
“As for our returners, we have seven of our top eight runners returning this year,” Friend said with excitement. “Starting with Wyatt Evans, he is our leader and sets the tone in practice. He has logged more miles this year, and I’m really looking forward to seeing his times by year’s end.
[[In-content Ad]]“Another leader, even though he is only a sophomore, is Matthew Mangus. He puts in a lot of miles and leads by example. Dillon Burley narrowly missed being on the state team last year and focused all of the offseason on not letting that happen again. He has transformed himself into an excellent runner who could challenge our top runners.
“Noah Richmond is looking to improve on a stellar freshman year, and Andrew Davis and Trent Swisher Tate were two big reasons that we qualified for state last year, placing four and five on our team, and both have made strides this summer and are in better shape this year.
“Also, Nick Price and Mason Cain could be in the Top 7 at season’s end, so there is a healthy competition for those spots.”
New to the team in 2015 are junior Jason Moeller and freshmen Austin Setty, Brandtson Duffie, Sam Buddelmeyer, Bennett Hodson, Riley Friend and Phoenix Taylor.
“As for new runners, I have four freshman who are pushing the upperclassmen led by Austin Setty and Brandtson Duffie,” Friend said. “These two finished first and second in a lot of two-mile middle school races last year and look to be a big part of our high school varsity team.
“I also have been real impressed with freshmen Sam Buddelmeyer and Bennett Hodson, who both could push others to be in the Top 7 by the end of the season.”
The first race of the 2015 season for the Lions will be on Aug. 29 at Marietta Invitational starting at 10 a.m. That will be followed with a race on Sept. 5 at Hillsboro’s Liberty Park for the annual Ohio Classic with a 9 a.m. start to the event.
This season, the Highland County Meet, which is held at Fairfield High School, will be on Sept. 22 at 5 p.m. The SHAC meet will be held at Ripley High School on Oct. 17 with a TBA start time. In all, FHS is scheduled to race in nine events before the district meet begins on Oct. 24.