Eighteen months ago, Quintin Parrish was in the hospital.
"I was fighting for my health and well being in the hospital, open bypass heart surgery," the Van Wert senior wrote on Instagram after the race. "I had one goal to JUST RUN, and I have achieved that goal and so much more through the grace of God."
On Nov. 7 at Fortress Obetz, he didn't just run. He scored.
Parrish finished the Division III boys state championship in 17:20.9. He was Van Wert's fifth runner across the line, which made him the last of the five who score. His 76 points were part of the 292 that put Van Wert ninth in Division III.
From basketball conditioning to year-round runner
Cross country wasn't supposed to be Parrish's main sport. He wrote that he started running to stay in shape for basketball, and it became the sport he trained for all year.
The last four years weren't a straight line. In his words, they were "a rollercoaster." At the end of last year, he couldn't run. This fall, he was one of the top runners on Van Wert's team.
How Van Wert scored
Van Wert finished ninth of 24 teams in the Division III boys race. Woodridge won the team title with 65 points.
Van Wert finished with 292, four points ahead of Canal Fulton Northwest (296) for ninth. With a margin that small, every one of the five scorers mattered.
| Runner | Grade | Place | Time | Team points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Scott | 9 | 65 | 16:44.8 | 32 |
| Alex Bauer | 11 | 88 | 17:01.0 | 48 |
| Harrison Sloan | 12 | 105 | 17:13.5 | 65 |
| Calvin Byrum | 10 | 113 | 17:17.9 | 71 |
| Quintin Parrish | 12 | 118 | 17:20.9 | 76 |
| Nate Drerup | 9 | 135 | 17:35.9 | 90 |
| Isaak Castillo | 12 | 208 | 20:11.3 | 161 |
Van Wert's third, fourth and fifth runners crossed within 7.4 seconds of each other. Parrish closed out that pack.
Ninth wasn't what the team wanted. "Not the result we were hoping for, but wouldn't want to do it with anyone else," Parrish wrote.
"You've already won the race"
Parrish spent most of his post thanking people: his coaches, his teammates ("my brothers for life"), his family, his friends and everyone who came to Obetz to watch. He gave a shout-out to his mom for always being his biggest supporter.
"I never thought I would make it back here," he wrote, "but I did because of everyone that has supported me."
He also wrote that some of his goals were cut short because he had only a short time to chase them. But nothing makes him prouder than his comeback, and he wouldn't want to follow God's plan any other way.
Then he let his grandpa have the last word:
"You've already won the race."
Next up: track
Parrish signed off the way a senior should: "QP XC out, onto Track."
He went from a hospital bed to the state meet in 18 months. Congratulations, Quintin.
Photos courtesy of Quintin Parrish (@q.parrish_09). Results: official 2026 Division III boys state championship results, Nov. 7, 2026.
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