Cincinnati Boys Cross Country Preview

The Cincinnati Enquirer By Dave Schutte
Friday, August 24,2001

Immediatelyafter last season's second-place finish at the Division I cross country statemeet, La Salle boys coach Frank Russo was looking ahead to 2001. “I only hope we live up toexpectations,” Russo said when informed the Lancers were voted No.1 inthe Cincinnati Enquirer's preseason poll. “The next step is to win the state championship. We'vewon three individual state titles and qualified three to the Foot Locker(national) Meet but never a team championship.” Eight of the 13 coaches voting in the poll feel La Salle isthe team to beat with defending state champion St.Xavier No.2 followed byElder, Middletown and Sycamore.

1.La Salle:Defending individual state champion Allen Bader is one of six returning startersthat includes Garrett Grogan, Eric Mayhaus, Kevin Wright, Zac Altenau and PaulCalardo. In addition, Kyle Draganand Jason Beck return from injuries and sophomore Bill Keckeis, the GCLchampion as a freshman, will help the team. “There's not a race we've already won, and we'll knowwhat to expect after the first weekend,” Russo said. “Every week,we'll run against a state or nationally ranked team.”

2.St. Xavier: TheBombers won the 1998 and 2000 state championships and finished second in 1999. Under normal circumstances, coach LarryMerkel's team would be No.1 but with La Salle returning six runners and St. Xlosing the top four, the Bombers were voted second. Seniors Ben Wietmarschenand Jeremy Mosher will be looked to for leadership along with sophomore TommyBalmat who also ran on the state championship team. Kyle Kowalski, Josh Walters, Kurt Munninghoff, Michael Weberand Nathan Kamps are expected to challenge for starting spots. “We'll be very young andinexperienced,” Merkel said. “Our strengths are numbers (100runners) and the leadership of the seniors.”

3.Elder:Although coach Steve Spencer's team graduated four of the seven starters at thestate meet, the Panthers will again field a strong squad. Rob Cohen, Paul Staudigel, and DerickLawrence are the returning veterans with Darrell Schneiders, Joe Kenning, DanNewman and Mitch Frey the top candidates for starting positions. “We graduated seven runners, allwho ran in our top seven at one time during the season,” Spencer said.“We're relatively inexperienced and must gain confidence in our earlymeets.”

4.Middletown: TheMiddies field a young team with as many as five sophomores expected in thestarting lineup. “We couldhave 10 guys go under 17 minutes,” coach Scott Dalton said. “We'llhave a very athletic team made up of multi sport athletes.” Sophomores Michael Veatch (16:01,Malcolm Tipton (16:25), Evan Dehart (16:50), Adam Becker (17:00) and KeithMattocks (17:20) are the mainstays along with senior Justin Traux (17:20).

5.Sycamore:Transfer Brad Neumann, 36th at the state meet year (16:16) running for Moeller,is a welcome addition to an already strong Aviators team. Tom Gallagher, 25that the state meet, is the top runner. This duo is joined by Mitch Clemens (16:55), Ryan Schweet (17:20), MarkDaniel (17:30), Matt Morin (16:56) and Pat Tepe (17:30). “We now have two front runnersand depth and parity from the three-to-nine positions,” coach Jim Smaniksaid. “The kids have a desire to win the GMC and the city championship.”

6.Moeller:Although the Crusaders' top runner in 2000 transfered to Sycamore, coach JerryKombrinck will field a veteran team. Kevin Schwarz, out most of last season with an injury, returns to be theCrusaders' front runner. Brent VanOrsdel, Michael Goddard, Tony Frost, KevinAsh, Mike Hile and Pat Witte are the supporting cast.

7.Colerain:Depth and a group of six standout juniors are the strengths of a Cardinals teamthat has the potential to challenge for the GMC championship. Tom Kinne, Jason Simcoe, Chris Toelke,Mark Bierkan, Rob Schlemmer and Ryan Schutte will be joined by seniors BrianRoberson and Joey Peak.

8.Kings:If the Knights avoid injuries, coach Jim Brant's team could surface as one ofthe best in the Cincinnati area. Taylor Garvin, 26th at the state meet, will be joined by Greg Freson,Cody Ackerman and Zach Thomen-Brown and freshmen Scott Allen, Mike Rusche andMatt Winebar.

9.Anderson:The lack of a dominant front runner will be tough to overcome but coach AndyWolf has Ben Stallsworth, Dan Tegge, Brandon Andrews and Andy Gelter to buildthe team around.

10.Princeton:The should be the best Vikings team in years. Coach Ken Meibers has two outstanding senior performers inHassan Thompson and Eric Zimmerman along with a juniors Andy Schaefer, AndyLock and promising sophomore Dan Jones. “We have lots of numbers and good speed,” Meibers said.“We must stay healthy and run as a pack to be successful.”

9.1.2001

Lakota Fall Classic <details>
(3.1 miles at Voice of America)

Moeller Invitational <details>
(3.1 miles at Galbriath Field)

9.8.2001

Covington Catholic Invitational <details>

(3.1 miles at Catholic Center)

Standings: 1. Shelby Co. 42, 2. Louisville St. Xavier 58, 3. Cincinnati St. Xavier 133, 4. Covington Catholic 141, 5. Louisville St. Xavier B 145, 6. Jeffersonville 167, 7. Scott 169, 8. Lexington Paul Dunbar 202, 9. Lexington Henry Clay 232, 10. Conner 262.

Top Finishers: 1. Jesse (Shelby) 16:59, 2. Davis (CC) 17:06, 3. Meirose (L StX) 17:21, 4. Schroeder (Dunbar) 17:34, 5. Green (Conner) 17:52, 6. Hinkle (Shelby) 17:56, 7. Clements (Shelby) 17:56, 8. Wilson (Shelby) 18:00, 9. Hicks (Scott) 18:02, 10. Wilson (JVille) 18:04.

Tiffin Invitational
(3.1 miles at Tiffin)

Team Standings: (34teams) 1. St. Xavier 82, 2. Massillon Jackson 170, 3. Hilliard Davidson 197, 4.Middletown 197, 5. Massillon Perry 201, 6. North Canton Hoover 216, 7. Bedford217, 8. Moeller 217, 9. Sycamore 249, 10. Centerville 279.

Top Finishers: 1. Schwartz(Moeller) 16:17. Local Finishers: 8.Wietmarschen (Stx) 16:39; 11. Kowalski (Stx) 16:50; 16. Balmat (Stx) 16:56; 17. Van Orsdel (Moe) 17:01; 23. Mosher (Stx) 17:04; 24. Walters (Stx) 17:05; 34. Munninghoff(Stx) 17:19; 57. Frost (Moe) 17:44

Winton Woods/Roger Bacon Invitational <details>

9.15.2001

Bethel-Tate Invitational
(at Bethel-Tate Ohio)

Standings: 1. St. Xavier (A) 36, 2.W.Brown 95, 3. Indian Hill 99, 4. St Xavier (B) 145, 5. New Richmond 148, 6.Walton-Verona 149, 7. Glen Este 195, 8. Clinton-Massie 214, 9. CHCA 265, 10.East Clinton 277, 11. Amelia 301, 12. Georgetown 319, 13. Blanchester 331, 14.Batavia 361, 15. Felicity 378

Top Finishers: 1.Hausterman (GE) 16:49, 2. Wilson (IH) 16:59, 3.Walsh (STX) 17:08, 4. Lane (BT) 17:08, 5.Hallen (CM) 17:40, 6. Gemma (NR) 17:42, 7.Weber (STX) 17:44, 8. Wilson (IH) 17:45, 9. Rutherford (STX) 17:45, 10. Ross (STX) 17:49

Taylor Invitational
(at Mitchell Memorial Park)

Team Standings: 1.Midland (W.Va.) 31, 2. St. Xavier B 70, 3. Taylor 92, 4. Roger Bacon 126, 5. Ross 1390, 6. WalnutHills 156, 7. Louisville DeSales 180, 8. Holy Cross 202, 9. Boone County 218,10. Winton Woods 275, 11. Lockland 329, 12. Finneytown 368, 13. Northwest 386.

Top Finishers: 1.Kitching (M) 17:01, 2. Tracy (Ryle) 17:02, 3.Kamps (SX) 17:31, 4. Richards (Ross) 17:33, 5.Cooke (Mid) 17:34, 6. Gilbert (WH) 17:36, 7. Nelson (Mid) 17:41, 8. Cooper(Mid) 17:49, 9. Aerni (WH) 17:54, 10. Bullock (WW) 18:14 , 11. Miller (Taylor)18:23, 12. Grannan (SX) 18:25

Trinity Invitational
(at Senca Park)

Team Standings: (37teams) 1. Cin. St. Xavier 49, 2. South Oldham 90, 3. Lou. St. Xavier 99, 4. Shelby Co.117, 5. Lou. Trinity 217, 6. Greenwood 274, 7. Butler 291, 8. Lou. St. Xavier B304, 9. Brossart 311, 10. Lou. Manual 363

Top Finishers: 1.Curtis (LSX) 14:44; 2. Lafond (South Oldham) 15:06; 3. Jesse (Shelby) 15:42; 4.Clark (S. Oldham) 15:45; 5. Kowalski (CSX)15:47. Others: 7. Wietmarschen (CSX) 15:47; 8.Balmat (CSX) 15:49. ; 13. Mosher (CSX) 16:16; 16. Walters (CSX) 16:21

9.22.2001

All-Catholic Invitational <details>

(3.1 miles at Kettering)

Team Standings: 1. St. Xavier 26, 2. St. Charles 92, 3. Elder 93, 4. St. Johns 118, 5. Carroll 135, 6. St. Ignatius 135, 7. Central Catholic 153, 8. McNicholas 184.

Top Finishers: 1. Kowalski (StX) 16:35, 2. Weitmarshen (StX) 16:38, 3. Kellermen (McNicholas) 16:40, 4. Mosher (StX) 16:43, 5. Orosz (StJ) 16:46, 6. Fernbach (StI) 16:49, 7. Shultz (CC) 16:51, 8. Kamps (StX) 16:52, 9. Hoyle (StC) 16:53, 10. Frey (Elder) 16:54.

Harrison Invitational <details>
Malone College Invitational <details>

9.29.2001

St. Xavier Invitational <details>
(3.1 miles at St. Xavier High School)

10.6.2001

Fr. Rudy Invitational <details>
(3.1 miles at Rapid Run Park)

Team Standings (13 teams): 1. Defiance 44, 2. Elder 72, 3. Gahanna lincoln 119, 4.Lancaster 119, 5. St. Xavier 125, 6. Upper Arlington 177, 7. McNicholas 181, 8. Colerain223, 9. Turpin 239, 10. Milford 245

Top Finishers: 1. Mouser (D)15:22, 2. Sturges (UA) 15:41, 3. Waclawski (GL) 15:48, 4. Frey (E) 15:57, 5.Bonham (L) 16:01, 6. Thomas (L) 16:03, 7. Kellerman (M) 16:09, 8. Kehnast (D)16:12, 9. Cohen (E) 16:12, 10. Butler (D) 16:12

10.13.2001

GCL <details>
(3.1 miles at Rapid Run Park)

Team Standings: 1.La Salle 23, 2. St. Xavier 35, 3. Moeller 83, 4. Elder 83.

Top Finishers: 1. Bader (Las)15:09; 2. Mayhaus (Las) 16:03; 3. Kowalski(Stx) 16:04; 4. Grogan (Las) 16:13; 5. Balmat (Stx) 16:15; 6. Kamps (Stx) 16:19; 7. Beck (Las) 16:21; 8.Mosher (Stx) 16:22; 9. Dragon (Las) 16:35; 10.Frey (Eld) 16:37

10.20.2001

District <details>
(3.1 miles at Voice of America)
(Top four teams and top 15 individual runners qualify to regionals)

Race A
1. La Salle 25: 1. Bader 15:31; 3. Grogan 16:13; 4. Mayhaus 16:18; 7. Dragan16:40; 10. Beck 16:43; 16. Altenau 17:07; 29. Calardo 17:27

2. Moeller 68: 6. Schwarz 16:38; 9. Vanorsdel 16:42; 14.Flaig 17:01; 15.T. Frost 17:02; 25. Goddard 17:21; 26. Ash 17:22; 27. D. Frost17:24

3. Kings 78: 2. Garvin 16:08; 13. Matheus 16:53; 17. Freson17:10; 18. Ackerman 17:11; 28. Winebar 17:25; 57. Thomen-Brown 18:45; 62.Rusche 18:49

4. Lakota East 118: 5. Swartz 16:21; 21. Mi. Peters 17:17;22. Ma. Peters 17:18; 32. Miller 17:37; 38. Hoops 17:49; 40. Rubush 18:01; 53.Mosser 18:35

Other Team scores: 5. Harrison 133, 6. Princeton 141, 7.Walnut Hills 201, 8. Turpin 256, 9. Roger Bacon 257, 10. Western Brown 269, 11.Oak Hills 293, 12. Glen Este 331, 13. Amelia 373, 14. Hamilton 414, 15.Northwest 488.

Individual Qualifiers: 8. Thompson (Princeton) 16:42; 11.Folz (Roger Bacon) 16:47; 12. Zimmerman (Princeton) 16:53.

Race B
1. St. Xavier 43: 3.Wietmarschen 16:23; 8. Kowalski 16:35; 9. Munninghoff 16:35; 12. Balmat 16:49;14. Kamps 16:56; 16. Walsh 17:00; 17. Mosher 17:01

2. Sycamore 79: 2. Gallagher 16:20; 4. Neumann 16:25; 18.Sage 17:03; 21. Tepe 17:09; 34. Hitchcock 17:32; 46. Clemens 17:56; 56. Wright18:11

3. Elder 88: 5. Frey 16:28; 6. Staudigel 16:28; 10. Cohen16:39; 30. Newman 17:23; 38. Lawrence 17:36; 41. Hammersmith 17:43; 45. Kenning17:53

4. Colerain 105: 11. Kinne 16:43; 20. Simcoe 17:06; 23.Schlemmer 17:13; 25. Peak 17:15; 26. Bierkan 17:15; 28. Toelke 17:17; 49. Braun17:58

Other Team scores: 5. Fairfield 112, 6. Anderson 154, 7.McNicholas 177, 8. Mason 224, 9. Talawanda 238, 10. Milford 280, 11. LakotaWest 313, 12. Loveland 343.

Individual Qualifiers: 1. Dixon (Fairfield) 15:59; 7. Kellerman(McNicholas) 16:35; 13. Rhodenbaugh (Talawanda) 16:49; 15. Martin (Fairfield)16:59.

10.27.2001

Regional
(3.1 miles at Troy Memorial Stadium)
(Top four teams and top 15 individual runners)

Team standings: 1.La Salle 51, 2. St. Xavier 120, 3. Elder 141, 4. Clayton Northmont 165, 5. Colerain 171,6. Centerville 183, 7. Kings 186, 8. Sycamore 200, 9. Troy 214, 10. Beavercreek217, 11. Middletown 222, 12. Moeller 227, 13. Fairmont 340, 14. Lakota East341, 15. Greenville 388, 16. Huber Heights Wayne 410.

Individuals:
Top finishers: 1. Bader(La Salle) 15:33, 2. DesRoches (Northmont) 16.03, 3. Dixon (Fairfield) 16:06,4. Garvin (Kings) 16:08, 5. Lykins (Fairborn) 16:09.

Cincinnati Runners:
LaSalle (1. Bader 15:33, 6. Grogan 16:10, 12. Beck 16:21, 17. Mayhaus 16:33, 25. Dragan 16:45, 48. Altenau 17:07).

St. Xavier (19. Kowalski16:35, 24. Weitmarschen 16:44, 29. Kamps 16:52, 31. Mosher 16:54, 32. Walters16:55).

Elder (8. Frey 16:19, 16. Staudigel 16:24, 18. Cohen16:34).

Colerain (26. Toelke 16:49, 27. Kinne 16:49, 39. Schlemmer17:01, 44. Simcoe 17:05).

Kings (4. Garvin 16:08, 21. Matheus 16:38, 49. Ackerman17:07).

Sycamore (9. Gallagher 16:20, 11. Neumann 16:21).

Middletown (7. See 16:16, 13. Veatch 16:23).

Moeller (22. Vanorsdel 16:40, 41. Flaig 17:03).

Lakota East (37. Swartz 16:59).

11.3.2001

State
(3.1 miles at Scioto Downs)

Team Standings: 1.Hudson 61, 2. La Salle 78, 3. Hilliard Davidson 101, 4. St. Xavier 157, 5.Strongsville 187, 6. Massillon Jackson 204, 7. Defiance 214, 8. ClaytonNorthmont 219, 9. Lakewood 231, 10. Massillon Perry 248, 11. St. Francis 254,12. Reynoldsburg 256, 13. North Canton Hoover 270, 14. Elder 284, 15. ThomasWorthington 323, 16. Columbus St. Charles 336.

Top Finishers: 1. Bader(La Salle) 15:07.0, 2. Smith (Hudson) 15:07.2, 3. DesRoches (Clayton Northmont)15:20, 5. Mouser (Defiance) 15:33, 5. Kollar (Strongsville) 15:33.

Cincinnati Team and Runners:
LaSalle: 1. Bader 15:07.0, 25. Grogan 16:03, 33. Beck16:13, 34. Mayhaus 16:13, 49. Dragan 16:27, 82. Altenau 16:45, 108. Colardo17:02.

St. Xavier: 32.Kowalski 16:11, 65. Wietmarschen 16:37, 66. Walters 16:37, 67. Balmat 16:37,71. Kamps 16:39, 138 Munninghoff 17:37, 140. Mosher 17:38.

Elder: 45. Staudigel 16:23, 47. Frey 16:26, 106. Cohen17:00, 110. Newman 17:03, 133. Hammersmith 17:27, 136. Kenning 17:34, 144.Lawrence 17:51.

Individuals:
7. Dixon (Fairfield) 15:39; 10. Garvin (Kings) 15:45; 12. See(Middletown) 15:46; 30. Newmann (Sycamore) 16:10; 35. Gallagher (Sycamore)16:14; 52. Veatsch (Middletown) 16:29; 58. Kellerman (McNicholas) 16:34.