Lions cross-country team places 15th at state
HEBRON — The first time the Fairfield Lions were able to race in the Division III State Cross-Country Championships ended even better than they expected, as they were one runner short and still placed in the Top 15 overall.
The race for the Lions at National Trail Raceway in Hebron Saturday saw the Lions become a state-level team as they finished 15th out of 16 teams in the event, scoring 358 points. FHS defeated West Liberty-Salem, who were 16th with 373. The winning school and state champion team was McDonald with 94 points.
"This was the most ideal situation for the team," FHS assistant coach Bill Mangus said. "We were short our No. 2 runner and were still able to place 15th. I'm proud of the effort by the team today."
For the Lions, their leading runner was senior Michael Mangus, who placed fourth with a time of 16:13.21.
Following Mangus were two juniors and a trio of freshmen who made their state meet debuts.
Freshman Wyatt Evans placed in the Top 100 in his inaugural state meet with a time of 17:45.03. He was followed by junior Dustin Willey in 127th at 18:30.24 and freshman Trent Swisher in 133rd at 18:54.24.
From there, junior Matthew Leach was 142nd at 19:48.92, and freshman Mason Cain was 144th at 20:00.02.
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Unable to race due to injury was senior Blake Hildebrant, who was the Lions' No. 2 runner this season. Hildebrant was a three-time state qualifier.
Coach Mangus spoke about the team and the experience they gained racing in the highest level event of the season.
"Hopefully the three freshmen and the two juniors will take away the motivation to work hard in the next 12 months so they can return here next year," Mangus said.
"They need to take away the drive to perform at a higher level, and now they've seen how to compete with the best runners in the state."
The Lions wanted to send a "thank you" for the support they were given this season.
"We want to thank Jerry Haag Motors, the Fairfield Athletic Boosters and Jeff Cloud (of Southern Hills Community Bank) for all their support they've given us this season," Mangus said.