The place is legend. The race is lore. The Fortress Obetz, laid out in a flat expanse of land just south of Columbus, looms over the heads of the runners who flocked there to compete Saturday morning in the OHSAA Pre-Season Race at the Fortress. This will be the site of the State Championship in November, so today is the first chance for the Panthers to test their legs and their competition
The freshmen Panthers arrived to Fairbanks early, prepped and looking sharp in their new warm-ups. The mood was light and a few early morning yawns escaped here and there. With the bus loaded, the Panthers were off on a relatively quick jaunt to Obetz.
The bus pulled in and the Panthers unloaded, setting up camp in the middle of a swarm of tents, as if to say “We’re here.” Soon the area was strewn with blankets, water bottles, and book bags. The racers reclined in the late summer sun and began the ritual of mental preparation. Soon it was time for the girls to get warmed-up. According to sophomore Elizabeth Phillipo, “I’m nervous before every race because I want to do well, and this being the first race of the season, it’s a mystery where everyone is at in terms of training. But I’m confident that our girls’ team can finish in the Top 10 today.” Freshman Sadie Miller echoed the sentiment of nerves. “I don’t know how well I’m going to do in this first race. I’m scared for the middle mile, as it doesn’t really exist at the Junior High Level.”
The girls stepped to the line at 12:15 and POW! The gun sounded and the girls took off. Rachael Hoover dashed to the front of the pack and maintained 8th place for the first half of the race. The rest of the girls followed behind her, pulling hard on what was proving to be a challenging course. “The first mile was super fast, which kind of made the rest of the race terrible. The second mile was basically just trying to stay with the same people. On the third mile, you thought you were doing well, but then they throw a hill at you and it crushes any ounce of confidence you had left. In short, it was tough,” said Hoover. “The sun. The sun was awful,” said Phillipo, as she wiped the sweat off of her brow. Sadie Miller added, through a heavy breath, “It was painful.” Below, you can see the girls’ results.
Rachael Hoover—11th place—20:01
Ava Lahmers—25th place—20:58
Sadie Miller—50th place—22:13
Elizabeth Phillipo—172nd place—25:38
Hannah Niehaus—180th place—25:58
Izzy Miller—250th place—29:50
Riley Jones—DNF
At 12:45, the boys took the course, they stepped to the line, and POW! They were off. For the first mile, a huge snake of running humanity could be seen winding in and out of the stadium at Fortress Obetz. Zeke Gingerich did his best to stay near the front of the pack, but this meet is the real deal, and soon, he drifted back as the unrelenting sun and quick competition both came on strong. According to Nicholas Johnson, at the end of the race, “I had hot wings last night and WOOOF!” Freshman Leo Bosworth was left speechless, and only grunted meaningless sounds when asked about his thoughts on the race. Below, you can see the boys’ full results:
Zeke Gingerich—94th place—19:06
Bryce Nisly—146th place—20:04
JJ Miehls—160th place—20:26
Elton Bailey—202nd place—21:17
Daniel Thomas—236th place–22:16
Nicholas Johnson—267th place—23:09
Brady Adams—294th place—24:12
Leo Bosworth—322nd place—26:44
“The goal was to get to know the course and not to freak out today. For a lot of these kids, this was their first competitive 5K, and this is a long season. We’re only going to get better. And the new warm-ups looked great!” The Panthers will regroup and be back in action on Tuesday at the Ben Logan Early Bird Invitational. Wish them luck as they begin their season!