Dispatch All-Metro boys cross country coach Adam Walters leads Orange to 'best season'
The Olentangy Orange boys cross country team didn’t win the Division I state championship Nov. 4 at Fortress Obetz, but 11th-year coach Adam Walters was still satisfied.
The Pioneers earned the top finish among central Ohio teams and the best finish in program history, placing third (172) behind champion Massillon Jackson (86) and Mason (148). It also was 14 spots better than their 2022 finish.
Orange finished second (68) at district behind Dublin Jerome (66) and second (129) at regional behind Dublin Coffman (112) after winning the OCC-Central title (48) ahead of Olentangy Liberty (55).
The run of success from the league meet through state helped Walters earn The Dispatch’s All-Metro Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year award.
“This was our best season by far,” Walters said. “(It was our) best state finish (and) best regional finish. We still haven’t won a district championship, but in cross country, it’s whatever as long as you advance. All 11 years we’ve made regional and we won the OCC-Central this year. ... We put together a great race at state.”
Senior Saketh Rudraraju led the Pioneers at state, finishing sixth (15:18).
“The expectations changed because when I was younger, it was always let’s get to state and that was our only goal,” Rudraraju said. “Whereas this season, not only did we want to make it to state, we wanted to have an impact at state. We knew we were a top-10 team, so that was the main goal, and if everybody had a good race, we could get fifth, and we ended up getting third.”
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Walters’ leadership points Orange’s runners in a positive direction.
“We couldn’t have done this without him,” Rudraraju said. “He’s a really good coach. He knows what he’s doing in terms of the right training. If you have any problems, he’s not afraid to answer questions and tell you why we’re doing certain things.”
The Pioneers should be a top contender again next fall, as they are expected to return five of their top seven runners. Rudraraju and Brannon Moser are seniors.
Walters also coaches Orange’s boys and girls track and field teams and helps oversee the girls cross country team.
The girls cross country season was highlighted by sophomore Brooke Chapman finishing fourth at state (18:10.5).
The Dispatch’s Athlete of the Year in boys cross country will be among the honors announced at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards in June.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Orange's Walters is 2023 Dispatch boys cross country Coach of the Year
