Warren’s Ashley Pate won the individual title in the girls race at the Twin State League Cross Country Championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Three aces, three assists, four kills and one block as teammate Emma Middleton looks on during the Tigers’ sweep of Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class 5A Morgantown inside the ECO Center on Saturday morning. , Marietta’s Haley Wilkinson, who had six digs, makes a pass at Ohio University East. (Photo courtesy of Jay Bennett)
Marietta’s Ali Buckley, Taylor Kercher, Tori Dawson and Anna Ritter, from left, watch the Tigers’ Ohio Valley Athletic game in Morgantown inside the ECO Center at Ohio University Eastern on Saturday morning. All smiles after match point in a conference Class 5A sweep. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Marietta’s Ali Buckley hits a game-high as setter Taylor Kercher looks on during the Tigers’ Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Class 5A game against Morgantown inside the ECO Center at Ohio University Eastern on Saturday morning. Recorded 15 kills. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Fort Frye girls ran as a group during the Twin State League cross country championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Warren’s Luke Lettenberger won the individual championship at the Twin State League cross country championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Warren’s Luke Lettenberger won the individual championship at the Twin State League cross country championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
BEVERLY – After crossing the finish line, a cornered Ashley Pate was waiting to hear about her winning time at the Twin State League Cross Country Championships at Fort Frye High School on Saturday. These three words I wanted to hear breathed new life into me.
“You did it!”
Pate beat teammate Rania Singh by 44 seconds in the women’s race with a time of 19 minutes, 20 seconds, beating her previous career best by nearly 20 seconds and setting a lifetime best.
“This is the fastest time ever.” Pate said he shaved 24 seconds off his previous lifetime PR. “This is one of my favorite courses and I really wanted to set the record. I told myself to get closer (to the pace car) with every step. I told myself I was strong and I could do it. I kept telling myself.”
A total of four Warren players (No. 3 Hollin Reed and No. 8 Julianna Huffman) finished in the top 10, earning All-TSL recognition and leading the Warriors to their third consecutive championship.
Warren’s Ashley Pate won the individual title in the girls race at the Twin State League Cross Country Championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
The event ended in the morning, with the Warren boys also winning their second team title in three years. Leading the Warriors’ push was sophomore Luke Lettenberger, who, like Pate, earned individual honors in dominant fashion.
Rettenberger’s time was 15 minutes, 40 seconds, 1 minute and 1 second faster than teammate Caleb Yost, who finished second. Earlier this season, Eastern’s Connor Nolan pushed Rettenberger on the same course at the Fort Frye Invitational, and his time was 10 seconds faster.
Throughout Saturday, Rettenberger was a one-man act.
“Today, we almost had 16 minutes left.” said Lettenberger, who finished fourth at the TSL Championship a year ago. “When you don’t have anyone around you have to push yourself, so I focused on my breathing, my form, my rhythm and pushed myself to the end. And that’s something I’m not very good at.
“I ran a lot more miles this summer. I also focused on having fun.”
Fort Frye girls ran as a group during the Twin State League cross country championships in Beverly on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Patrick)
Five Warren players on the men’s side also received All-TSL recognition. In addition to Rettenberger and Yost, Tyler Frye placed third, Spencer Leal fifth and Alex Bishop-Iain sixth.
Of the four TSL member schools, Marietta was the only one to field a full team in the boys race. Assistant coach Tony Zaleski was given the honor of speaking on behalf of the team, replacing Warren coach Ryan Wherry.
“Right after Luke, Tyler and Caleb both broke 17 minutes today. This was a PR for life and behind him was our fourth (Spencer) and he made it this far. .” Zaleski said. “Alex also worked as a PR today, and our sixth man, Carter Norman, also worked as a PR for the season. Nick Bishop, who is not normally in the top seven, also worked as a PR. It’s the end of the year, so we did some hard reps and had a lot of recovery time. They should feel like they’re getting faster and recovering because they’re doing longer runs and less mileage.
“We’re ready for the postseason. We’re ready for districts.”
Warren is now turning his attention to the Rio Grande area next Saturday. Although the field is stacked, the Warriors are confident that the training process has prepared them for advancing to regionals.
On the women’s side, Warren has been active in the postseason. But Pate is determined to make up for his performance in last season’s district tournament. Performances like the TSL Championship only strengthen her confidence level.
“On the last lap, I was telling myself to push as hard as I could.” Pate said. “I’ve been trying to hit my record all season.”
On the girls side, Warren’s only competition from a team standpoint is Fort Frye, which recently had a tough few weeks of competition in an evening invitational and the OVAC Championship, where the Cadets won the Class 3A title. I chose to run.
As a result, Kamryn Huck, Cadence Waller and Lane Spindler led the Cadets’ team as they ran side by side as runners entered the track for the final lap heading to the finish line. The trio finished in identical times of 22 minutes and 24 seconds, with Huck fifth, Waller sixth and Spindler seventh.
The remaining two Cadet entries, Sophia Hack and Lydia Hack, also posted All-TSL times, placing 9th and 10th, respectively.
“Today was a strategic conversation.” Fort Frye coach Jason Ripot said. “After working hard the last few weeks, a few of our girls needed some rest. This puts us out of championship contention. We didn’t want to put stress on the others.
“With districts coming up, they would have loved to line up and win on their home course. Their focus is on next Saturday at districts in Cambridge.”
Marietta’s Hailey Powell (4th place) was another local runner in the top 10 in the women’s race. On the boys’ team, Marietta’s Ian Putnam (4th place), Emmett Perman (7th place) and Elliot Schramm (10th place) won the league championship, while Fort Frye representative Brody Griffith finished in 8th place. Ta.
