Whiteoak boys ‘rise up,’ finish 15th at State Cross-Country Championships
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On Saturday, Nov. 6, the Whiteoak Wildcats boys cross-country team made the early morning trip to Fortress Obetz in Columbus to compete in the 2021 OHSAA Cross-Country State Championships, where they finished 15th overall and had two runners in the Top 50.
Whiteoak is one of 20 teams around the state that qualified for the Division III state meet.
The Wildcats used a sneak attack at regionals to just make it in the final qualifying spot and therefore were the 20th-ranked team going into this race, and not close to the 19th-best team … or so the experts thought. Coach Doug Hughes explained that Whiteoak’s team had other plans.
“We’ve been preparing all year for this — peak when it matters the most, rise up,” Hughes said. “I did the research and knew if the kids ran their best races of the year that we could beat several teams and not just sneak in, show up and finish last. They were focused and pumped, and they were running on air around the wonderful venue in Obetz.
“The crowd was roaring in the huge stadium, and the Whiteoak boys competed very well with the best in the entire state of Ohio. In the end, Whiteoak finished 15th overall and defeated five teams that were ranked well ahead of them.
“We came out of the regional at Pickerington behind four other teams and honestly weren’t very close to any of them but today, when it mattered the most,” Hughes continued. “Last week Fisher Catholic beat us by 25 spots, and today we beat them by 29. Fredericktown drilled us by 43 points at Pickerington; today we beat them by 59. Centerburg was the regional runner-up last week and beat us easily by 46 points, but on this day we beat them by an incredible 89 spots. We also knocked off Maplewood from the Troy Regional and Mechanicsburg from the Youngstown Regional.”
How did the Wildcats make such a big turnaround on those regional teams?
“We haven’t had a single meet all year where everyone has run well,” Hughes said. “Many times we weren’t fully healthy, but going into the meet we’ve never broken the 18:00 team average for our 1-5 runners. At [the Southern Hills Athletic Conference meet], in great conditions, we went 18:03, and at districts we went 18:14, but at the state meet we made a huge improvement and all-time Whiteoak best 17:41 average. Everyone was big, everyone did their job.”
WHS sophomore Weston Blair led the Wildcats with a 39th-place finish at state, with a time of 16:47.0. He was in 16th after the first mile, running a 4:59.9, and in 35th place after the second mile at 10:39.5.
Freshman Landen Eyre was next in 50th place with a final time of 16:54.9. He was in 40th place after the first mile (5:06) and in 48th place after the second mile (10:41.9).
From there, senior Robbie Raines was third for the Wildcats, finishing in 120th place at 17:47.8.
“Weston Blair went his career best 16:47, and Landen Eyre ran a 16:54,” Hughes said. “Those two have been huge all season, two of the very best in this part of Ohio. But today they had extra help as senior Robbie Raines, who has battled the lasting effects of COVID all year long, went his career best by 16 seconds and ran a 17:47. To give you an idea of what he did, six weeks ago, Robbie finished 120th at Rio Grande, and today he finished 120th in the entire state of Ohio. It was incredible how low he went, and we were all so happy for him and proud of him, the ultimate rise-up.”
Also for Whiteoak, junior Christian Price was 140th place with a time of 18:14.6, and fellow junior Bryce Van Hoy was 153rd at 18:36.4. Wade Evans, also a junior, followed in 158th place (18:45.1), and senior Connor Butler was 162nd (18:46.9).
“Christian Price went for his career best, Bryce Van Hoy his career best, Wade Evans a season’s best and Connor Butler a career best,” Hughes said.
It was a season of firsts for the Wildcats, as the team made their debut at the state tournament and also won the Highland County meet and district race for the first time.
“I can’t really put into words how proud I am for what they did [Saturday] and have accomplished this season,” Hughes said. “County champs for the first time, SHAC champions to make it back-to-back, district champions for the first time ever, state qualifiers and competed very, very well.
“We didn’t lose a meet within 50 miles of our school all season. There are 71 schools in the Southeast District counting all divisions, and including the girls side, it makes 142 potential teams. Only the Unioto boys team in Division II had a better statewide showing than the young men running for the Whiteoak Wildcats.
“Unioto is the gold standard anywhere south of Columbus and west of Cincinnati and have gone to state 18 of the past 20 years, but I like where we are,” Hughes continued. “We graduate three tremendous seniors of our Top 9 runners, but we return two of the top underclassmen in the district and will have a core group of talented and hungry seniors. We know nothing is guaranteed, so these kids will be back to work very soon.”
The Whiteoak boys and Coach Hughes would like to thank all the local businesses and proud community members for all they have done to support the team.
“Everyone has been so great and supportive and made this state week so memorable and so special,” Hughes said. “Whiteoak is just a tremendous place to be.”
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Whiteoak is one of 20 teams around the state that qualified for the Division III state meet.
The Wildcats used a sneak attack at regionals to just make it in the final qualifying spot and therefore were the 20th-ranked team going into this race, and not close to the 19th-best team … or so the experts thought. Coach Doug Hughes explained that Whiteoak’s team had other plans.
“We’ve been preparing all year for this — peak when it matters the most, rise up,” Hughes said. “I did the research and knew if the kids ran their best races of the year that we could beat several teams and not just sneak in, show up and finish last. They were focused and pumped, and they were running on air around the wonderful venue in Obetz.
“The crowd was roaring in the huge stadium, and the Whiteoak boys competed very well with the best in the entire state of Ohio. In the end, Whiteoak finished 15th overall and defeated five teams that were ranked well ahead of them.
“We came out of the regional at Pickerington behind four other teams and honestly weren’t very close to any of them but today, when it mattered the most,” Hughes continued. “Last week Fisher Catholic beat us by 25 spots, and today we beat them by 29. Fredericktown drilled us by 43 points at Pickerington; today we beat them by 59. Centerburg was the regional runner-up last week and beat us easily by 46 points, but on this day we beat them by an incredible 89 spots. We also knocked off Maplewood from the Troy Regional and Mechanicsburg from the Youngstown Regional.”
How did the Wildcats make such a big turnaround on those regional teams?
“We haven’t had a single meet all year where everyone has run well,” Hughes said. “Many times we weren’t fully healthy, but going into the meet we’ve never broken the 18:00 team average for our 1-5 runners. At [the Southern Hills Athletic Conference meet], in great conditions, we went 18:03, and at districts we went 18:14, but at the state meet we made a huge improvement and all-time Whiteoak best 17:41 average. Everyone was big, everyone did their job.”
WHS sophomore Weston Blair led the Wildcats with a 39th-place finish at state, with a time of 16:47.0. He was in 16th after the first mile, running a 4:59.9, and in 35th place after the second mile at 10:39.5.
Freshman Landen Eyre was next in 50th place with a final time of 16:54.9. He was in 40th place after the first mile (5:06) and in 48th place after the second mile (10:41.9).
From there, senior Robbie Raines was third for the Wildcats, finishing in 120th place at 17:47.8.
“Weston Blair went his career best 16:47, and Landen Eyre ran a 16:54,” Hughes said. “Those two have been huge all season, two of the very best in this part of Ohio. But today they had extra help as senior Robbie Raines, who has battled the lasting effects of COVID all year long, went his career best by 16 seconds and ran a 17:47. To give you an idea of what he did, six weeks ago, Robbie finished 120th at Rio Grande, and today he finished 120th in the entire state of Ohio. It was incredible how low he went, and we were all so happy for him and proud of him, the ultimate rise-up.”
Also for Whiteoak, junior Christian Price was 140th place with a time of 18:14.6, and fellow junior Bryce Van Hoy was 153rd at 18:36.4. Wade Evans, also a junior, followed in 158th place (18:45.1), and senior Connor Butler was 162nd (18:46.9).
“Christian Price went for his career best, Bryce Van Hoy his career best, Wade Evans a season’s best and Connor Butler a career best,” Hughes said.
It was a season of firsts for the Wildcats, as the team made their debut at the state tournament and also won the Highland County meet and district race for the first time.
“I can’t really put into words how proud I am for what they did [Saturday] and have accomplished this season,” Hughes said. “County champs for the first time, SHAC champions to make it back-to-back, district champions for the first time ever, state qualifiers and competed very, very well.
“We didn’t lose a meet within 50 miles of our school all season. There are 71 schools in the Southeast District counting all divisions, and including the girls side, it makes 142 potential teams. Only the Unioto boys team in Division II had a better statewide showing than the young men running for the Whiteoak Wildcats.
“Unioto is the gold standard anywhere south of Columbus and west of Cincinnati and have gone to state 18 of the past 20 years, but I like where we are,” Hughes continued. “We graduate three tremendous seniors of our Top 9 runners, but we return two of the top underclassmen in the district and will have a core group of talented and hungry seniors. We know nothing is guaranteed, so these kids will be back to work very soon.”
The Whiteoak boys and Coach Hughes would like to thank all the local businesses and proud community members for all they have done to support the team.
“Everyone has been so great and supportive and made this state week so memorable and so special,” Hughes said. “Whiteoak is just a tremendous place to be.”
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