State Feature: Lions have very high expectations
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Expectations have never been higher for the Fairfield Lions boys cross-country program as they prepare to race in the 2016 OHSAA Division III State Meet this Saturday in Hebron. Those high expectations were known from day one, as they are currently in the final stage of one of their most successful seasons to date.
The Lions have been state-ranked all season, have rarely finished out of the first- or second-place spot at any meet and they’ve had some of their best overall team times in the history of their program, one that is making its fourth consecutive trip to the state meet and coming off a Division III Region 11 Championship, the first cross-country regional title in school history.
“Last year, we finished behind another team by one point in the regionals, and we finished in the top eight in the state, which was one of our goals,” FHS head coach Raymond Friend told The Highland County Press. “This year just felt different from the start. We had some returners coming back, we had some people with experience coming back, and they wanted to not only just get to state, but do well at state.
“That is the mindset of these guys. They compete against each other. The top seven to run in the tournament was very difficult to pick. It was not fun, but that’s their job, to make sure it’s not an easy top seven to pick. So we expect to do well in the race on Saturday. In years past, it was an accomplishment just to get to the state race.
“Being regional champions is a great accomplishment, and we’re very happy about that, but we still have a very important race to go.”
That race at National Trail Raceway this Saturday will start at 11 a.m. for the top seven runners for the Lions, which includes seniors Wyatt Evans and Trent Swisher, both four-time state qualifiers. Also qualifying are Noah Richmond, Matthew Mangus, Austin Setty, Brandtson Duffie and Bennett Hodson.
Duffie, Mangus and Evans will also be Academic All-Ohio, as they have at least a 3.5 GPA, plus are state qualifiers.
Friend believes his team can compete with any team in the race this Saturday.
“This year, the dynamics of the state are a little bit different in the fact the last couple years, there’s been dominant teams, which really our teams did not have a chance,” he said. “This year, you’re going to see a lot more scores that are relatively even, and I believe we’re one of the best five teams in the state. I believe that we can compete with anybody at the state level this year.”
Evans and Swisher each spoke about being four-time state qualifiers.
“It’s a really great feeling to go to state for four years in a row,” Evans said. “This year, we have a different feeling than just going to state. We want to do some damage at state and do well at state. I put in more work this year than I have for anything my entire life. All the past years of running have come up to this also, and training all summer, running all the miles, pushing miles every day – it all comes down to this one race.”
Swisher also spoke about being at state for a fourth time.
“I think it’s been awesome this year to go for the fourth time in a row,” he said. “I’ve had some of the same teammates all four years, and Matthew and Wyatt three of the years. It hit me pretty well this year that there’s no bigger accomplishment than to go for four years. That was my biggest thing to achieve, to go for a fourth year.”
The Lions in recent memory are not only four-time state qualifiers, but they have won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship and SE District championship for six straight seasons.
“What this says about our program is we have great leadership from Coach Friend,” FHS assistant coach Bill Mangus said. “We have outstanding parents. This program wouldn’t be where it is without the parents. We have the support of the administration and the support of the whole community. I think it’s all involved in putting this program where it is today, along with the hard work of the kids.”
One runner who has led the Lions this season is Richmond, and he, along with his teammates, don’t bat an eye with the high expectations.
“One of my goals is to try to make All-Ohio, be in the top 20 and just do as well as I can,” Richmond said. “It’s definitely an experience. It’s something that doesn’t come around every day. I think the team as a whole, our average time has been faster, all of us individually have been better. I think like after going to state last year, this year you’ve got to at least make it and do better. You just strive to do better than you did last year.
“I kind of expected to have a pretty enjoyable year. I just figured we would do well because we’re all dedicated, and we have some experience under us. We’re just slowly but surely trying to do better and better. This is my third time at state. There’s always nerves, because there’s more people there to watch you and more things at stake.”
Both Richmond and Mangus qualified to state as individuals as well. For Mangus and Richmond this is their third straight trip to state, as both he and Richmond are juniors.
“The people around me on my team keep me motivated because if you want to do things like win regionals and be in the top three teams at state, they need me to run well for our team to do well,” Mangus said. “My own personal goals motivate me too, to get in the top 25 at the state meet and to qualify as an individual, which I did this year and last year.
“It’s a really special thing to qualify as an individual. It really helps your team to also qualify, and it’s just nice to get the Ohio state-shaped medal. I got 10th this year and 10th last year, so it’s kind of cool. My goal this year is to get All-Ohio, and I want to improve my time and just move up. Last year I was 42nd.”
Last year, the Lions were eighth overall, and as a freshman, Setty was a member of that team. This year, as a sophomore at state, he just wants to keep improving.
“Being fourth or fifth man is the most important part, and our seventh and sixth guys need to be up with us and we need to have a tight pack,” Setty said of what it takes to be successful. “We have a really good team and have competed against some good competition this year.
“Going to state last year, I think that I took off too quick because I had the adrenaline, but this year I think I can take off better and do better. I put in a lot more effort (this year) because I knew I wanted to stay in the top seven. I knew our team was going to be better, so I wanted to help our team do better.”
Hodson and Duffie are first-time state qualifiers as sophomores, and both have battled their way with excellent finishes to make it into the Top 7 this season.
“Being a first-year state qualifier, it feels good to be a part of a team that’s this successful, especially because you always know that you’re safe behind the rest of your teammates,” Duffie said. “You’re capable of going out and trying to win every race.
“Coming into last year and just missing out on the top seven and not being able to take part in state last year made me work really hard over the winter and the summer and made me come in more confident. I ran better this year than I have ever in the past because of the work I put in over the winter and summer.
“I used last year, not making it and just missing out, as a lot of motivation to make sure that I’m getting up every day and going to run out, whether it’s a speed run or a long-distance run.”
Hodson also spoke about this season and how he was able to improve from last year.
“It’s been fun running with all these veterans, all those kids that have ran before me. It’s amazing. This is an experience that I will probably never forget, and hopefully I’ll have another one,” Hodson said. “I attribute (the improvement) to the coaches. They told me to go out and run, and we do some mile splits, and every time when we do that, I try to push myself harder on those. It’s been really exciting.
“Last year, I was told that I could be in the top seven, and I was told to run with someone that was faster than me. So I did that. I ran with Noah and Austin. This year, I came back and I ran a whole lot better than I was last year. I’ve pushed a lot. I did a lot of hard work over the summer.”
Coach Friend ended by speaking about his team and how close they are.
“Some of our younger guys have really come up, and we needed that,” he said. “I think one of the best things about our team is they like to get together. That helps with team chemistry. That helps with racing together, pushing each other. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about this team in particular.
“The support of the community’s just been phenomenal this year. We just really appreciate the parents and everyone involved who has helped us and been a part of this. We all are thankful and really appreciate the support.”
The Lions have been state-ranked all season, have rarely finished out of the first- or second-place spot at any meet and they’ve had some of their best overall team times in the history of their program, one that is making its fourth consecutive trip to the state meet and coming off a Division III Region 11 Championship, the first cross-country regional title in school history.
“Last year, we finished behind another team by one point in the regionals, and we finished in the top eight in the state, which was one of our goals,” FHS head coach Raymond Friend told The Highland County Press. “This year just felt different from the start. We had some returners coming back, we had some people with experience coming back, and they wanted to not only just get to state, but do well at state.
“That is the mindset of these guys. They compete against each other. The top seven to run in the tournament was very difficult to pick. It was not fun, but that’s their job, to make sure it’s not an easy top seven to pick. So we expect to do well in the race on Saturday. In years past, it was an accomplishment just to get to the state race.
“Being regional champions is a great accomplishment, and we’re very happy about that, but we still have a very important race to go.”
That race at National Trail Raceway this Saturday will start at 11 a.m. for the top seven runners for the Lions, which includes seniors Wyatt Evans and Trent Swisher, both four-time state qualifiers. Also qualifying are Noah Richmond, Matthew Mangus, Austin Setty, Brandtson Duffie and Bennett Hodson.
Duffie, Mangus and Evans will also be Academic All-Ohio, as they have at least a 3.5 GPA, plus are state qualifiers.
Friend believes his team can compete with any team in the race this Saturday.
“This year, the dynamics of the state are a little bit different in the fact the last couple years, there’s been dominant teams, which really our teams did not have a chance,” he said. “This year, you’re going to see a lot more scores that are relatively even, and I believe we’re one of the best five teams in the state. I believe that we can compete with anybody at the state level this year.”
Evans and Swisher each spoke about being four-time state qualifiers.
“It’s a really great feeling to go to state for four years in a row,” Evans said. “This year, we have a different feeling than just going to state. We want to do some damage at state and do well at state. I put in more work this year than I have for anything my entire life. All the past years of running have come up to this also, and training all summer, running all the miles, pushing miles every day – it all comes down to this one race.”
Swisher also spoke about being at state for a fourth time.
“I think it’s been awesome this year to go for the fourth time in a row,” he said. “I’ve had some of the same teammates all four years, and Matthew and Wyatt three of the years. It hit me pretty well this year that there’s no bigger accomplishment than to go for four years. That was my biggest thing to achieve, to go for a fourth year.”
The Lions in recent memory are not only four-time state qualifiers, but they have won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship and SE District championship for six straight seasons.
“What this says about our program is we have great leadership from Coach Friend,” FHS assistant coach Bill Mangus said. “We have outstanding parents. This program wouldn’t be where it is without the parents. We have the support of the administration and the support of the whole community. I think it’s all involved in putting this program where it is today, along with the hard work of the kids.”
One runner who has led the Lions this season is Richmond, and he, along with his teammates, don’t bat an eye with the high expectations.
“One of my goals is to try to make All-Ohio, be in the top 20 and just do as well as I can,” Richmond said. “It’s definitely an experience. It’s something that doesn’t come around every day. I think the team as a whole, our average time has been faster, all of us individually have been better. I think like after going to state last year, this year you’ve got to at least make it and do better. You just strive to do better than you did last year.
“I kind of expected to have a pretty enjoyable year. I just figured we would do well because we’re all dedicated, and we have some experience under us. We’re just slowly but surely trying to do better and better. This is my third time at state. There’s always nerves, because there’s more people there to watch you and more things at stake.”
Both Richmond and Mangus qualified to state as individuals as well. For Mangus and Richmond this is their third straight trip to state, as both he and Richmond are juniors.
“The people around me on my team keep me motivated because if you want to do things like win regionals and be in the top three teams at state, they need me to run well for our team to do well,” Mangus said. “My own personal goals motivate me too, to get in the top 25 at the state meet and to qualify as an individual, which I did this year and last year.
“It’s a really special thing to qualify as an individual. It really helps your team to also qualify, and it’s just nice to get the Ohio state-shaped medal. I got 10th this year and 10th last year, so it’s kind of cool. My goal this year is to get All-Ohio, and I want to improve my time and just move up. Last year I was 42nd.”
Last year, the Lions were eighth overall, and as a freshman, Setty was a member of that team. This year, as a sophomore at state, he just wants to keep improving.
“Being fourth or fifth man is the most important part, and our seventh and sixth guys need to be up with us and we need to have a tight pack,” Setty said of what it takes to be successful. “We have a really good team and have competed against some good competition this year.
“Going to state last year, I think that I took off too quick because I had the adrenaline, but this year I think I can take off better and do better. I put in a lot more effort (this year) because I knew I wanted to stay in the top seven. I knew our team was going to be better, so I wanted to help our team do better.”
Hodson and Duffie are first-time state qualifiers as sophomores, and both have battled their way with excellent finishes to make it into the Top 7 this season.
“Being a first-year state qualifier, it feels good to be a part of a team that’s this successful, especially because you always know that you’re safe behind the rest of your teammates,” Duffie said. “You’re capable of going out and trying to win every race.
“Coming into last year and just missing out on the top seven and not being able to take part in state last year made me work really hard over the winter and the summer and made me come in more confident. I ran better this year than I have ever in the past because of the work I put in over the winter and summer.
“I used last year, not making it and just missing out, as a lot of motivation to make sure that I’m getting up every day and going to run out, whether it’s a speed run or a long-distance run.”
Hodson also spoke about this season and how he was able to improve from last year.
“It’s been fun running with all these veterans, all those kids that have ran before me. It’s amazing. This is an experience that I will probably never forget, and hopefully I’ll have another one,” Hodson said. “I attribute (the improvement) to the coaches. They told me to go out and run, and we do some mile splits, and every time when we do that, I try to push myself harder on those. It’s been really exciting.
“Last year, I was told that I could be in the top seven, and I was told to run with someone that was faster than me. So I did that. I ran with Noah and Austin. This year, I came back and I ran a whole lot better than I was last year. I’ve pushed a lot. I did a lot of hard work over the summer.”
Coach Friend ended by speaking about his team and how close they are.
“Some of our younger guys have really come up, and we needed that,” he said. “I think one of the best things about our team is they like to get together. That helps with team chemistry. That helps with racing together, pushing each other. That’s one of the things I really enjoy about this team in particular.
“The support of the community’s just been phenomenal this year. We just really appreciate the parents and everyone involved who has helped us and been a part of this. We all are thankful and really appreciate the support.”