Lions gain experience at Div. III OHSAA State Cross-Country Championships

HEBRON — Being the youngest team of any team that qualified for the 2014 OHSAA State Cross-Country Championships, the cold winds and temperatures didn't stop the Fairfield Lions from gaining experience against the best runners in the state on Saturday morning.

For Fairfield, in the Division III State Championships, they raced four freshmen, two sophomores and one senior, and though they finished 16th overall, the experience they gained for future seasons is what was most important for the team.

"The conditions for the race (Saturday) were rough, to say the least," FHS head coach Raymond Friend said. "Our number-one runner, Wyatt (Evans) didn't have his best race with some breathing problems, but all of my runners ran a smart race.

"That's what I wanted to get through to them this year. I didn't want them to go out too fast, and go under control. I wanted them to have a good time, because this was a learning experience."

Despite the state finish, the season for the Lions was one to remember, winning the Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship, along with being the district champions once again, and the young Lions were third overall at the regionals.

It is safe to say the best is yet to come for this already very successful program, with the program making their second consecutive trip to the state championships.

"I wanted them to have a good time with the race this year, because it was the first time at an event of this level for most of the runners," Friend said. "They were able to see how to run this course, and next year they can bring some experience to this course, when they can move up in the standings and place.

"I'm proud of the guys for making it here. Again, they had a chance to learn, and we'll use that as fuel for next year."

The official final team time for the Lions was 1:31.33.26, with an average individual time for the Lions at 18:18.66. They finished scoring 411 points. The team state champion was Maplewood with 67 points, followed by Summit Country Day with 113.

The best time for the Lions was freshman Matthew Mangus in 95th place with a time of 17:45.25, a mile time of 5:42.9.

Next in line for the Lions was freshman Noah Richmond in 102nd at 17:54.24, as he had a mile time of 5:45.8.

Sophomore Wyatt Evans finished 129th with a 5:57.8 mile in the state run, followed by fellow sophomore Trent Swisher in 131st (18:38.82) and freshman Nick Price in 132nd (18:43.33). Swisher's average mile was 6:00.2, and Price's mile time was 6:01.6.

Also running for the Lions was senior Dustin Willey in 136th at 18:58.94 (a mile time of 6:06.6) and freshman Andrew Davis in 139th at 19:02.90, as his mile average was 6:07.9.

There were a total of 148 runners in the race. Winning the individual state championship was Maplewood junior Tristan Dahmen with a time of 15:57.53.

Friend summed up the overall season for the Lions.

"The goal was to qualify for state," he said. "That was our main goal, number-one goal, and it was a struggle. Last year, we had our best race of the entire year, and it allowed us to qualify for the state.

"We reached our goals, and I couldn't be prouder of how hard we worked to reach those goals. We can build on this for next year."