Julia Bockenstette and Elena Aldrink finished second and third, respectively, to lead the Olentangy Liberty girls cross country team to a first-place finish at Saturday’s McGowan Invitational hosted by Watkins Memorial.
The Patriots were dominant, with each of their top-five finishers closing in the top 25.
Bockenstette’s time of 18:33.81 was second only to the one posted by Lancaster’s Marisa Heil (18:13.63). Aldrink wasn’t far behind, finishing in 19:01.71, while Bridget Snider and Addy Miller finished 16th and 17th with respective efforts of 20:12.97 and 20:14.07.
Hannah Spires was also solid for Liberty, finishing 20th in 20:33.16.
The Patriots took top honors with 58 points. Lancaster was second with 105 and DeSales smoothed out the top three with 138.
Delaware Hayes finished fourth with 139 and Olentangy was eighth with 249.
The Pacers were powered by Cali Kent, who finished eighth among individuals in 19:55.87. Abigail Boey also had a strong race, finishing 23rd in 20:41.73, while Addison Reed was 26th in 20:47.16.
Olentangy, meanwhile, was led by Lauren Petska’s 21st-place finish (20:33.35). Helanie Ashanin also cracked the top 30, closing 29th in 21:03.01.
The Olentangy Liberty boys team had a pretty solid showing of its own, nabbing runner-up honors with 65 points. Lancaster won the event with 40 points while Olentangy closed third with 76.
Delaware Hayes was also in action, closing fifth in the 16-team field.
The Braves’ Jason Rettinger and Roman Corbett finished fourth and seventh, respectively, crossing the line in 16:08.01 and 16:14.19. Other Olentangy standouts included Manas Tripathi (12th in 16:29.20), Ryan Morgan (26th in 17:03.65) and Hugh Jacobsmeyer (27th in 17:15.73).
The Patriots also had a pair of runners finish in the top 10. Louie Perry finished eighth in 16:16.76 and Hani Deen closed ninth in 16:20.86. Noah Miller (15th in 16:35.94), Shrey Mhaskar (16th in 16:36.01) and Gordon Kimberly (17th in 16:36.85) also stood out for Liberty.
The Pacers’ Luke Brown had a strong showing as well, finishing 11th overall in 16:28.70. Other top Hayes contributors included Aidan Green (25th in 16:59.38) and Chase McMahon (37th in 17:46.75).
Seneca East’s Stars, Stripes and Lights
Big Walnut’s boys finished third in the Division I race while Buckeye Valley closed 11th at Saturday’s Stars, Stripes and Lights showcase at Seneca East.
Emil Stanford led the Golden Eagles, finishing fourth among individuals in 15:47.17. Eli Lengl also finished in the top 10, closing seventh in 15:56.62.
In the D-II race, the Barons’ Vander Webb and Miles Janow finished sixth and eight with respective efforts of 16:55.04 and 17:11.65.
In girls’ action, Big Walnut finished sixth in D-I and Buckeye Valley was 10th in D-II.
Leighton Coey (16th in 19:38.69) led the Eagles while Kaitlyn Davidson (fifth in 20:14.77) boosted the Barons.
