Three boys ran the three fastest cross country times in Ohio on Saturday.
They raced at three different district sites, in three different corners of the state. They'll run at three different regionals this weekend. And if all three keep winning, they'll stand on the same starting line at Fortress Obetz on Nov. 7.
All three run Division III.
Cole Zang of Margaretta was the fastest, and he was the furthest ahead. The junior won the Division III race at Owens Community College in 14:52.9, the fastest time in the state. Clyde's Reese Rex finished second in 16:48.0. Rex was closer to the 30th-place runner than he was to Zang.
Jackson Spitzer of Versailles ran 14:57.7 at Cedarville University, 54.7 seconds ahead of Valley View's Aaron Geswein. It was the second time this fall the senior has gone under 15. He ran 14:54.9 to win Piqua's Under the Lights invitational in September.
That same September night in Piqua, Fairless junior Brice Fuller ran 14:54, eight-tenths of a second faster than Spitzer. On Saturday at Cambridge, Fuller won in 15:06.7, 33.6 seconds ahead of anyone else.
Zang goes to the Tiffin regional, Spitzer to Troy, and Fuller to Pickerington. The Division III boys race at state starts at 2:20 p.m. on Nov. 7.
The favorites held. All of them.
Back in August, Podium Watch ranked the top 20 teams in every division. On Saturday, the preseason No. 1 in all six district divisions won its district title.
- Mount Gilead, Division IV boys, did it with a perfect score.
- Huron, Division III girls, scored 18 at Galion.
- Watterson, Division II girls, scored 22 at Hilliard Darby.
- Woodridge, Division III boys, scored 25 at Lorain County Community College.
- Ottawa Hills, Division IV girls, scored 42 at Owens CC.
- CVCA, Division II boys, swept the top three spots on its way to 96 points at Lorain County CC.
The perfect score came first. In Division IV boys Race 1 at Hilliard Darby, Mount Gilead's top five finished first, second, third, fourth and fifth among scoring runners. That's 15 points, the lowest score possible in the sport.
- Henry Bartlett won in 15:49.8.
- Brycen Gabriel was second in 15:55.6.
- Aiden McLain was third in 16:12.7.
Seven Mount Gilead runners finished in the top nine. In August, our preseason story called them a new Division IV team that was already the favorite. Saturday looked like that.
Several teams from the chasing pack behind those No. 1s won titles too:
- Division IV girls: Liberty Center scored 19 at Leaders Farms, and Rittman and Grandview Heights each scored 28.
- Division II girls: Wadsworth, Aurora and Granville each won a district.
One point
Some teams had their seasons extended by a single point. Others had them ended by one.
At Hilliard Darby, Pleasant took the fourth and final regional spot in Division III boys Race 2 with 110 points. Highland (Marengo) scored 111. Pleasant also had the race winner, senior Joey Dietsch (16:04.3). Highland still sends two runners to Pickerington as individuals, Maddox Weiss and Ciaran Gilmore.
At GlenOak, Girard grabbed the ninth and final Division III boys spot with 256. Poland Seminary scored 257. Nathan Hupp, Ash Adams and Jack Downie advance for Poland Seminary as individuals.
At Galion, Vermilion claimed the fifth and final Division III girls spot with 155. Perkins scored 156. Lillie Price, Ella Mischler and Jasmine McClusky advance for Perkins as individuals.
Three more cut lines were decided by two points:
- Brecksville over Olmsted Falls in Division II boys at Lorain County CC
- Waynedale over Fairview (Fairview Park) in Division III boys at Lorain County CC
- Fayette over Holgate in Division IV boys at Leaders Farms
Too close for the clock
At Galion, New London's Carter Hicks and Colonel Crawford's Isaac Stirm crossed the line in the same time, 16:22.5. The official results give the Division IV win to Hicks.
At Rio Grande, Gallia Academy senior Lane Shaffer won the Division II boys race by 18-hundredths of a second over Chillicothe's Levi Wood, 15:50.9 to 15:51.1. Gallia Academy finished ninth as a team, so Shaffer goes to regionals on his own.
The fastest girls
Early this season, The Podium Report noted that Napoleon junior Gwen Huddle's 17:38.5 was the fastest girls time posted in Ohio. On Saturday she ran 17:05.5, winning Division III at Owens CC by 1:51.5.
Earlier that morning on the same course, Ottawa Hills junior Natalie Nixon won Division IV in 17:15.4.
Aurora sophomore Audrey Miller, whom The Podium Report called the story of Division II earlier this season, won at Madison in 17:17.6.
Seven freshmen won
Some of Saturday's district champions are just getting started:
- Madisyn Ruhe (Pleasant) won Division III girls at Hilliard Darby.
- Lucy Wonder (Grove City Christian) won Division IV girls Race 1 there.
- Ava Reiheld (West Holmes) won Division III girls at Cambridge by 53.7 seconds.
- Ryan Fieldhouse (South Range) won Division IV boys at GlenOak.
- Gracie Steiner (Kidron Central Christian) won Division IV girls at Lorain County CC.
- Maeleigh Evans (Lincolnview) won Division IV girls at Columbus Grove.
- Luke Yarnell (South Webster) won Division IV boys at Rio Grande.
By the numbers
| District races | 71 |
| Teams advancing to regionals | 576 |
| Individuals advancing | 1,152 |
| Boys under 15:00 | 2 |
| Perfect scores | 1 |
| Teams that advanced by 1 point | 3 |
| Freshman race winners | 7 |
What's next
Regionals are Saturday, Oct. 31:
| Regions | Regional site |
|---|---|
| Central, East and Southeast | Pickerington |
| Northeast | Boardman |
| Northwest | Tiffin |
| Southwest | Troy |
Division I joins the postseason there.
Every district race, division by division: Division II · Division III · Division IV.
Results are from official athletic.net postings for all 12 OHSAA district sites, pulled Oct. 24-25, 2026. Earlier marks come from Podium Watch's published coverage of the Piqua Under the Lights invitational and The Podium Report. Courses differ from site to site, so times are not a direct comparison between districts. Podium Watch is not affiliated with the OHSAA.
Spotted an error? Email media@podiumwatch.org and we'll correct it.
