Here are 5 midseason storylines in Columbus-area high school boys cross country
At the midway point of the regular season, Dublin Coffman, Lancaster and Westerville North are among the central Ohio boys cross country teams that appear to be headed for strong postseasons in Division I.
Among individuals, North's Ben Gabelman recently broke the 36-year-old program record. It was a major goal for the senior as he tries to top his fourth-place finish at state (15:31.4) last fall.
Bexley and Mount Gilead have been going strong in Division II and Division III, respectively.
Here are five storylines from the boys cross country season so far:
1. Westerville North’s Ben Gabelman establishes program record
Gabelman entered the season with lofty goals, including breaking the program record of 14:53 that was set by Bob Kennedy in 1987.
Gabelman did that Saturday with his first-place effort of 14:49.4 in the Bob Reall Invitational at Lancaster. He also helped the Warriors (71) win the 21-team meet ahead of Coffman (98), Worthington Kilbourne (104), Lancaster (108) and Dublin Scioto (122).
Kennedy, a 1988 North graduate, won individual state titles in 1986 and 1987 after finishing second as a sophomore.
“I thought I would be more excited after breaking the school record,” Gabelman said. “I feel like there’s more left for me to do in high school, so I’m still not super satisfied. The ultimate goal is a state title, but there’s lots of competition around the state.”
Kennedy went on to compete at Indiana University. He finished sixth in the 5,000 meters in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta after placing 12th in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
He also was the first inductee into the Westerville North Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.
“One of Ben’s goals coming into the season was to get the school record,” coach Nick Horton said. “I didn’t think he was going to get it at Lancaster. I thought he was going to get it at Olentangy Berlin (this Saturday), but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. ... His teammates were thrilled for him.”
Gabelman’s next major pursuit is winning his first individual state championship Nov. 4 at Fortress Obetz. The postseason begins with the district meet Oct. 21 at Hilliard Darby.
North is ranked fourth in Division I in the OATCCC state poll. Other key runners for the Warriors are senior Michael Dellasanta, juniors Jeffery Kerns and Jordan Mazak and sophomore Casey Carlos.
2. Dublin Coffman leads central Ohio teams in Division I state rankings
Despite losing its top two 2022 state finishers to graduation, Coffman is the top-ranked area team in the Division I state poll. The Shamrocks are second behind Mason.
“I don’t look at the rankings,” coach Joe DePalma said. “That’s probably a little generous. We have a good team, but there’s a lot of good teams — unfortunately or fortunately, however way you look at it — in central Ohio. We’re just focused on trying to take care of ourselves and make sure we keep getting better.”
Junior Jacob Bolton has been the top runner, followed by seniors Caden Ozbun, Jeremy Bons and Zac Heyob and junior Dylan Mastny. All five competed at state last season.
“We have a lot of hard-working, consistent runners, which bodes well for us,” DePalma said. “We don’t quite have the super top guy like Liam (Shaughnessy) was, but Jacob and Caden have emerged as very strong front-runners.”
Shaughnessy (11th, 15:45.2) and William McGraw (39th, 16:22.6) helped Coffman finish fourth at state a year ago behind champion Mason. Both are running at Ohio State, along with 2020 Coffman graduate Alex Dediu.
3. Lancaster succeeding despite graduation losses
The Golden Gales are ranked sixth in the Division I state poll despite several key graduation losses, including triplets Trevor, Kaiden and Isaiah Lanoy. They led Lancaster to a third-place finish at state last season.
Leading the way has been senior Wes Taylor, who missed most of last season because of personal reasons.
Senior twins Zane and Carter Schorr, senior Owen Rice and junior Carter Davis have been other key contributors.
“I’m very pleased with how this group of kids is progressing,” coach Jeff Koksal said. “They’re very talented, but they were shielded last year because of the group of seniors that we had who were pretty special. These guys are tracking slightly ahead of last year’s team, but they’re not proven yet. We're still working on that part.”
Other area state-ranked teams are Worthington Kilbourne (eighth), Dublin Jerome (ninth), Olentangy Orange (10th), Pickerington North (12th), Olentangy (13th) and DeSales (28th).
4. Bexley gearing up for postseason
Bexley hopes to make another strong postseason run after finishing 18th at state in Division II last season.
“We’re where we need to be at this point,” coach Eric Acton said. “We’re over some of our aches and pains from the summer, but more importantly, having the chance to compete a half dozen times or so makes a difference.”
The Lions are ranked 13th in the state.
Bexley has been led by senior Solomon McDow, who was in contention last season at state before being forced to withdraw late in the race because of a health issue.
Senior Athanasius Young, juniors Holden Gohs and Dylan Horn and sophomore Everett Lynch are other key runners.
“The boys are competing at a high level in every race,” Acton said. “They’re a good pack and we’re deep enough where we have eight, nine, 10 guys that are competing for top spots on the team. But more importantly, (they) look for each other in the races and can run together and end up with good performances and find out how tough they really are. They’re steadily bringing their times down and gaining confidence.”
Fairfield Union (second), Bellefontaine (eighth), Granville (18th) and Jonathan Alder (21st) are other area ranked teams in Division II.
5. Mount Gilead paces central Ohio in Division III
Ranked fourth in the state, Mount Gilead tops area teams in Division III. The Indians are the defending state champions.
Other central Ohio ranked teams are Fredericktown (eighth), Marion Pleasant (17th), Galion Northmor (18th), Centerburg (19th) and Fisher Catholic (23rd).
On Saturday in northeast Ohio, Mount Gilead finished 12th of 29 teams in the Strongsville Fleet Feet Invitational, which featured programs mostly from larger schools. Chardon, which won the meet, is ranked fifth in Division I.
Will Baker was fifth (15:41.67) to lead Mount Gilead.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 5 midseason storylines in central Ohio boys cross country
