Licking County cross country runners shine in conference, regional races
Two Licking County graduates will be on the course Saturday when the Walsh University men’s cross country team competes in the NCAA Division II Championships in Joplin, Missouri.
Lakewood graduate Anthony Toskin and Heath's Xavier Foehl helped Walsh to a fourth-place finish in the Midwest Regional earlier this month to earn an at-large berth. Toskin finished 52nd in the regional, covering the 10-kilometer course in 32:14.94 and Foehl followed in 60th at 32:23.64.
It is the Cavaliers’ sixth consecutive trip to the national championship.
Walsh previously won its fifth consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship with Foehl placing 11th to earn second-team honors.
Licking Valley graduate Ramen Felumlee, a senior at Cedarville, placed fourth in the G-MAC championships before his time of 31:15.3 in the Midwest Regional placed him 14th and qualified him for the national race.
Cameryn Wheeler, who graduated from Watkins Memorial, will be competing in the women’s race with Davis & Elkins after the Senators placed third in the Atlantic Region championships. Wheeler, a freshman, ran a time of 22:24 in the 6-kilometer race to place 32nd after previously taking 18th in the Mountain East Conference championships to earn second-team honors.
Newark Catholic graduate Charlotte Campbell, running for Tiffin, placed 65th in the Midwest Regional with a personal-best time of 22:00.9 that ranks fourth in program history. Campbell, a junior, previously placed fifth in the G-MAC championships.
In Division I, three Licking County grads competed in the Great Lakes Regional women’s race last Friday. Watkins graduate Andrea Kuhn placed 58th (21:33.5) to help Ohio State finish fifth as a team. Newark graduate Gwen Stare, running for Cincinnati, was 73rd (21:47.8). Granville graduate Regina Rose placed 78th (21:55.8).
Stare, a sophomore had previously finished 61st in the Big 12 championships, and Rose, a sophomore at Bowling Green, finished 21st in the MAC championships.
In Division III, Granville graduate Dylan Kretchmar ran a time of 21:36.6 to place 27th for the College of Wooster women's team in the Great Lakes Regional, becoming the program's first all-region honoree since 2019. Kretchmar, a junior, previously placed fifth to take North Coast Athletic Conference honors.
Granville graduate Sophie Cotts, a freshman, took 82nd (22:47.2) and Newark graduate Allison Dietz, also a freshman, 95th (23:03.5) for the Ohio Wesleyan women in the Great Lakes race.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County cross country runners shine in conference, regional
