OBETZ, Ohio — Eastwood girls cross country had some of the best team times in the state going into the Division II state meet at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park, south of Columbus, Saturday.
The girls finished 12th out of 20 teams, scoring 292 points. Coach Nathan Howard thought his girls might finish higher, but he’ll take it. Eastwood sophomore Leah Emch did earn All-Ohio honors.
“As far as expectations, probably a little lower than what we would have thought. We’re a little disappointed, but it’s been a great season,” Howard said.
“We were a little off today, outside of Leah probably, but they were prepared, came in ready but didn’t have it today,” he said. “We figured we would be a few spots higher based on where we were the last couple weeks, but again it was a tremendous season.
“The kids worked super hard and had some great times over the last couple weeks at district and regionals — some of the top times in the state, and that just wasn’t there today,” Howard continued.
It was extremely windy Saturday, but Howard would not allow that to be an excuse.
“Being at Eastwood, we’re used to wind so it’s not a huge deal for us. It was a decent day overall. No complaints from us,” Howard said.
Emch finished in 19:14, placing 14th out of 178 runners.
“A great run for Leah. We feel good about that,” Howard said.
Granville won the team title with 130 points, followed by Kenston (155), Lexington (164), Minerva (188), Salem (194), Ottawa-Glandorf (206), Woodridge (219), Waynesville (238), Cincinnati McAuley (259), Bay Village Bay (261), Oakwood (268) and Eastwood (292).
Rounding out team scores were Carroll (295), Lima Shawnee (315), Cloverleaf (320), Carrollton (324), Athens (331), West Holmes (397), Perry (402) and Plain City Jonathan Alder (432).
Oakwood senior Bella Butler won the individual championship in 18:09.8.
For Eastwood, junior Haley Sponaugle finished in 57th (20:18.7), followed by senior Talia Baum (20:38.1), junior Z Ramsey (21:31.5), junior Cameron Sechkar (22:33.2), sophomore Emily Payne (22:47.3) and junior Maggie Ramsey (22:57.2).
The Eagles were Northern Buckeye Conference champions and had strong showings at the district and regional meets.
“I think it really helps that they have a lot of teammates that really push them. It’s not like we have one fast girl — we have two or three who can be the No. 1 runner, depending on the week,” Howard said.
“They work hard in their off days. They go on Sunday long runs. They got together all summer long, really four or five days a week over the summer,” he said. “That’s what really makes the team special — it’s not really the workouts that they do over the season so much, it is all the extra work that the kids put in.”
Haley Sponaugle is the younger sister of former University of Toledo cross country runner Hannah Sponaugle, and their father John Sponaugle was a collegiate runner at Ohio University.
“He’s a volunteer coach for us and he does a lot for us, too,” Howard said. “He was a pretty good runner, top three in the state when he was a runner in high school.”
As a result, Howard said Haley has become the driving force behind the team’s success.
“Haley Sponaugle is one of the leaders and kind of sets the bar as far as, ‘Hey, this is how we are going to work on this team,’” Howard said.
“I think everyone else kind of steps up and kind of follows along. It’s just one of the hardest working groups you’ve got, so you can’t complain about that.
“Maybe the results today weren’t what we hoped they would be, but as far as the season and the kids coming together and pushing themselves so much, I just absolutely love it. “
Howard said the future of the program remains strong, and the goal is an even better finish at state next year.
“We’re just thinking about, we’ve got six of our top seven coming back next year,” Howard said. “We have only one senior on the whole team, and she’s our No. 3, Talia Baum, and we love her to death. She’s an awesome kid, but we’re looking forward to next year and after that we’ve still got a lot coming back
“So, we feel really good about the direction the team is heading in, especially the kids, the way they come together and work together, that means a lot to us.”
