The Olentangy Boys Cross Country team competed in the OHSAA Regional meet this past weekend at Pickerington North High School. Conditions were blustery and wet for the Region 3, Division 1 boys race with 16 teams and a total of 127 runners competing.  The top 5 teams and 20 individuals advanced to the State meet.

The Braves were led by senior captain, Sam Holt, who qualified to advance individually placing 7^th with a time of 16:18.  Also representing the Braves at Regionals included junior Mikey Worboy (41^st, 17:10), senior captain Carter Schaefer (63^rd, 17:22), freshman Luke Galloway (97^th, 17:54), junior Chandler Moyer (105^th, 18:00.1), senior captain Caden Ehrhardt (106^th, 18:00.4) and senior Afton Freeman (110^th, 18:14).

While the Braves fell short of advancing to States as a team, it was a great season for the boys team under head coach Ken Whalen and assistant coach Andrew Little.  Olentangy placed 12^th out of 16 teams at the Regional tournament. Plan to join the running Braves and cheer on Sam in the State meet Saturday, November 3^rd at the National Trails Raceway in Hebron, Ohio.  The Division 1 boys race is at 12:30pm and the Division 1 girls run at 3pm, represented by senior Lex Brookshire.  Run Brave!

Olentangy High School Boys Cross Country head coach, Ken Whalen, has been preparing his team to advance to Regionals well before the season began this fall.  All high school cross country teams train to realize peak performance at the end of the season for the district, regional and state tournaments.  Coach Whalen began communicating this year’s goal to advance to regionals at the beginning of the season and has been driving the runners all season to train toward the goal of PR18 or Project Regionals 2018.  He distributed shirts in August that said PR18 to help focus the team for October. This past weekend the running Braves accomplished that goal.

The Olentangy Braves boys varsity team participated in the OHSAA District Tournament this past weekend at Hilliard Darby High School. The Braves were seeded into section 1 of the Central District with some of the best performing schools in central Ohio.  Only the top 5 teams out of 13 (or 20 individuals) advanced to the OHSAA Regional Tournament.  Olentangy placed 5^th and will advance to the Regional meet next weekend at Pickerington North High School.

The top five members of the varsity team scoring in the Section 1, Division 1 District meet included senior captain Sam Holt (8^th, 16:12), senior captain Carter Schaefer (12^th, 16:38), junior Mikey Worby (19^th, 16:54), junior Chandler Moyer (32^nd, 17:29) and freshman Luke Galloway (44^th, 17:55).  Other top runners and members of the varsity team included senior Afton Freeman (50^th, 18:00) and senior captain Caden Ehrhardt (52^nd, 18:06). 

The Division 1 Regional Tournament boys race is at 12:30pm this Saturday at Pickerington North High School.  The top 5 teams and 20 individuals competing in the Division 1 Regional meet will advance.  Come cheer on our running Braves in their journey on the road to States!

The Olentangy Braves Boys Cross Country team competed in the Ohio Capital Conference (OCC) - Buckeye division, on Saturday at Hilliard Davidson High School.  The OCC Buckeye division is comprised of Olentangy High School, Olentangy Liberty High School, Olentangy Orange High School, Westerville Central High School, Westerville North High School and Westerville South High School. 

All three Olentangy high schools were awarded first team honors for the OCC Buckeye first team with three running Braves securing first team honors out of seven: senior captain Sam Holt in 2^nd place with a time of 15:58, senior captain Carter Schaefer in 4^th place with a time of 16:14 and junior Mikey Worboy in 7^th place with a time of 16:40.  Junior Chandler Moyer earned OCC, Honorable Mention honors in 19^th place with a time of 17:07.  Also scoring for the Braves was freshman Luke Galloway in 28^th place with a time of 17:34. All varsity Braves ran career bests at the conference championship.  Olentangy placed 3^rd out of the six schools in the Buckeye division.

The boys open also secured 3^rd place at OCCs. Leading the Braves in scoring for the boys open race was junior Patrick Schirtzinger (14^th, 18:08), senior Max Garner (16^th, 18:11), sophomore Preston Smith (17^th, 18:13), sophomore Kole Brookshire (27^th, 18:21) and freshman Nate Karr (28^th, 18:22).

The running Braves head to Districts this Saturday, October 20^th at Hilliard Darby High School.  The boys Division 1 central Ohio District varsity race is at 1:30pm and the boys open race is at 4:30pm.  Run Brave!

The Olentangy High School boys cross country team traveled to Marion Harding High School this past weekend to compete in the Harding Invitational.  The boys varsity and open runners looked strong and placed well securing 3^rd place out of 23 schools with a score of 94.

Over 200 runners competed in the boys varsity race and it was unseasonably sunny and hot.  Leading the running Braves with a 5^th place finish was senior captain, Carter Schaefer, with a time of 16:35.  Right on his heels and scoring to secure the 3^rd place trophy was senior captain, Sam Holt (6^th, 16:41), junior Mikey Worboy (8^th, 16:55), freshman Luke Galloway (34^th, 17:59), and freshman Taye Gonzales (43^rd, 18:20).

Braves scoring in the boys open race included freshman David Moore in 3^rd place with a time of 19:17, sophomore Johan Rosgaard (4^th, 19:23), junior Caden Shiring (8^th, 19:39), junior Blake Williamson (12^th, 19:43) and sophomore Preston Smith (13^th, 19:45).

The running Braves regular season has come to an end and the team looks forward to the Ohio Capital Conference (OCC) Championships next Saturday, October 13^th at Hilliard Davidson High School.  The Braves are members of the Buckeye Division of the OCC which includes Olentangy Liberty,  Olentangy Orange, Westerville Central, Westerville North and Westerville South.  The high school boys varsity race will be at 9:30am and the boys open race will be at 10:30am.  Run Brave!

The Olentangy Boys Cross Country team traveled to London, Ohio to compete in the Erin L. Nance Invitational at the London Country Club on Saturday, September 29^th.  The race takes place on the golf course.  The boys varsity team, led by senior captain, Sam Holt took 2^nd place out of 19 teams.  Holt took 2^nd place overall with a time of 16:58 followed by senior captain, Carter Schaefer in 3^rd place with a time of 17:02.  Joining the captains in scoring for team included junior Mikey Worboy (6^th, 17:21), junior Chandler Moyer (17^th, 17:49) and freshman Luke Galloway (29^th, 18:06).

The boys JV team won the open race placing 1^st out of 14 schools with a score of 48.  Leading the boys open race was freshman, Taye Gonzalez in 4^th place with a time of 18:38.  Joining Taye in scoring for the running Braves included sophomore, Kole Brookshire (8^th, 19:07), freshman Nate Karr (11^th, 19:10), freshman David Moore (12^th, 19:13) and senior Max Garner (13^th, 19:15).  Way to run, Braves!

The Braves travel to Marion, Ohio this weekend to compete in the Harding Invitational at Harding High School.  The boys varsity race is at 10:15 am and the boys open race is at 11:15.  Run Brave!

The Olentangy Boys Cross Country team participated in the 2018 Galion CC Festival at Amaan’s Park this weekend in Galion, Ohio.  It was a hot and sunny day for racing and the Braves ran well.  The Division 1 high school boys varsity race ran first at 3:30pm with 170 runners participating from 25 schools across the state.  Olentangy placed 6^th overall.  Leading the varsity team was senior captain, Sam Holt, in 8^th place with a time of 16:34.  Joining Holt in scoring for the Braves was senior captain, Carter Schaefer (11^th, 16:48), junior Mikey Worboy (28^th, 17:21), junior Chandler Moyer (65^th, 18:10) and senior Afton Freeman (69^th, 18:12).

The Division 1 boys open race with 235 runners began at 4:30pm and Olentangy placed 5^th out of 9 teams. Sophomore Kyle Selby led in scoring for the team placing 6^th overall with a time of 18:51. Also scoring in the open race was freshman Nate Karr (23^rd, 19:24), freshman David Moore (24^th, 19:26), junior Blake Williamson (31^st, 19:34) and sophomore Preston Smith (35^th, 19:40).  Way to Run Brave!

OIentangy enjoys a mid-season break this week and returns ready to run on Saturday, September 29^th in the Erin L. Nance Invitational at London Country Club. Let’s Go Braves!

The Olentangy Boys Cross Country team traveled to Pataskala on Saturday to compete in a team favorite, the McGowan Invitational and proved themselves warriors on the muddiest we have ever seen this course.  The varsity team did not run until 5pm after all the middle school and division II high schools.  By this time, the course had been redirected in some spots and was completely flooded, over their knees, in other parts, yet the runners persevered.  Many boys and girls races overlapped to stay on schedule despite the downpour.  The team captains urged the Braves not to worry about times, go for place and try not to get hurt.

The Division I high school boys open raced at 3pm and Olentangy took 2^nd place out of 9 teams.  Leading the Braves was junior Patrick Schirtzinger in 9^th place with a time of 20:09.  Also scoring for Olentangy in the boys open was Blake Williamson (11^th), Johan Rosgaard (18^th), Cameron Cappone (19^th) and Caden Shiring (22^nd).

The boys reserve team followed at 4pm and the course was continuing the deteriorate.  The Braves reserve team secured 4^th place out of 17 teams led by freshman, Taye Gonzalez in 8^th place with a time of 19:48. Also scoring for the reserve team included Luke Galloway (15^th), Kole Brookshire (22^nd), Nate Karr (27^th) and Max Garner (38^th). 

Finally, the boys varsity team raced at 5pm and by now many runners were experiencing times of 2 minutes slower than typical for the 5K course.  Leading the running Braves was senior captain Carter Schaefer in 3^rd place overall with a time of 18:05.  Also, leading the varsity runners was senior captain, Sam Holt (9^th), junior Mikey Worboy (14^th), junior Chandler Moyer (39^th) and senior Afton Freeman (47^th).  Way to Run Brave!  Not a race they will soon forget.

Next week, the Olentangy Boys Cross Country team races in the Galion XC Festival at Amman’s Resevoir Park, 4946 Ohio 309 Galion, Ohio.  The varsity team runs at 3:30pm and the open race is at 4:30pm.  Go Braves! 

The Olentangy Boys Cross Country varsity team participated in the 29^th annual Westerville North Cross Country Invitational hosted by Westerville North High School and won a tie breaker with Worthington Kilbourne for another 1^st place finish this season.   The boys reserve team also took 1^st place in the Division 1 high school boys open race.

Leading the varsity team was senior captain, Carter Schaefer, in 2^nd place in the Division 1 race with a time of 16:37.  Joining Schaefer in scoring for the running Braves was senior captain, Sam Holt (4^th, 16:42), junior Mikey Worboy (5^th, 17:15), junior Chandler Moyer (13^th, 17:48), senior captain, Caden Ehrhardt (18^th, 17:57) and senior Afton Freeman (22^nd, 18:14). 

The boys reserve team placed an impressive five runners in the top six for a solid 1^st place in the open race.  Leading the reserve team was junior Patrick Schirtzinger in 2^nd place with a time of 19:04 followed directly by senior Max Garner (3^rd, 19:09), freshman David Moore (4^th, 19:18), freshman Nate Karr (5^th, 19:21) and sophomore Preston Smith (6^th, 19:24). 

Special recognition to senior Thomas Zuelke who has been a member of the cross country team since he was a freshman yet due to medical treatment has not been able to race for some time.  Thomas came to every practice, every team event, and today was able to realize his goal of running with his team in the high school boys open race his senior year.  Way to Run Brave and persevere, Thomas!

You can catch the boys cross country team next Saturday on a team favorite course at the McGowan Invitational hosted by Watkins High School.  The high school boys open race is at 3pm; the high school boys reserve is at 4pm; and the high school boys varsity race at 5pm.  Go Braves!

The Olentangy Boys Cross Country team traveled to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio this weekend to compete in the Mt. Vernon Kiwanis Invitational.  The running Braves scored 1st out of 8 teams on the rolling 5K course.

Senior captain, Carter Schaefer, took 1st place with a time of 16:22 followed closely by senior captain, Sam Holt (2nd, 16:23), junior Mikey Worboy (3rd, 16:52), junior Chandler Moyer (5th, 17:18) and senior Afton Freeman (12th, 18:04).  Many of our runners ran personal bests at this meet and show promise for a strong season this fall.

The boys xc team participates in the 29th Annual Westerville North Class Cross Country Invitational next Saturday.  Boys varsity run at 8am and the boys open race starts at 9am at Westerville North High School.  Run Brave!