State cross country: Wadsworth girls want to make more history

The Wadsworth girls cross country team has already accomplished something it has not done in 44 years. Now the amped-up Grizzlies want to see what else they can do at Fortress Obetz this afternoon. For only the second time as a program and the first since 1978-80, Wadsworth qualified for the state meet in back-to-back seasons. With four of the seven runners back from the team that finished fifth in Division I a year ago, the Grizzlies feel more sure of themselves. "I think last year going into the state meet it was a lot of nerves more than excitement," senior Ollie Smith said. "I think this year, since we've had that experience and we have a little bit more confidence as a team, it's more excitement to compete." Smith is joined by sophomore Maggie Gerschutz, fellow senior Rowan King and junior Cami Ross as runners who competed last season. Wadsworth was the only Medina County team to qualify, boys or girls. The Grizzlies will be joined in D-I by Brunswick's Amber Kemmann, who finished 21st at the Boardman Regional in 19:36.59, and Medina's Alexis Warnement, who placed 23rd in 19:37.75. Cloverleaf's Emma Hibler took 20th in 19:48.63 in the D-II race to make state as an individual. On the boys side, Medina's Braighden Sullivan (27th, 16:21.06) and Andrew Mosack (32nd, 16:23.84) will be joined by Brunswick's Santino Diligente (23rd, 16:19.47) and Highland's Ty Sgambati (29th, 16:21.69) in D-I. Cloverleaf's Caleb Neville (5th, 16:14.49) and Gavin Forbes (18th, 16:39.64) will compete in the D-II race, while Black River's Connor Rhein (8th, 16:39.26) takes the course in D-III. The last time the Grizzlies made back-to-back state meet appearances, they won back-to-back Class AAA state titles in 1979 and '80 behind standout Stephanie Weikert. Wadsworth enters today ranked ninth in D-I by the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches and the top team in Northeast Ohio. Pickerington Regional champion Lancaster is top-ranked overall. The Grizzlies are fresh off winning the Suburban League National Conference, GlenOak District and Boardman Regional. They also won the Ashland Invitational in August. "I definitely think it's helped our confidence," Gerschutz said. "It's shown us that we can do it, and we competed very well against good teams. The fact that we can do well at these past meets lets us know that we can do it, and we just have to execute our roles." Gerschutz led Wadsworth at Boardman by placing seventh in 19:06.28. Smith came in next, 26th in 19:44.80, Ella Dolgowicz and King were back-to-back in 34th and 35th in 19:57.31 and 20:01.32 and Ross finished the scoring in 52nd in 20:20.14. Kyleigh Friedl (20:35.01) was 69th and Natalie Buzard (21:21.69) was 121st. As freshmen, Dolgowicz and Buzard have never competed at the state meet, something that is also true for Friedl. "I'm really excited that I get to do this my first year in high school, but I'm really nervous for my first time at this meet," Dolgowicz said. "I'm so happy that our team put all this effort into making it to the state meet." On the other end of the spectrum, King and Smith are prepared for their final high school race. "I'm very excited, because this is like the end of my journey," King said. "I've done cross country here all four years. So as a senior going to the state meet, I'm very excited to see what I can do to end on a good note." Regardless of where they are in their high school careers, the Grizzlies are looking to put their best feet forward at Fortress Obetz. "I'm really excited," Gerschutz said. "I've definitely been looking forward to it. I feel like we have good experience, because we were here last year, so I'm looking forward to hopefully having a good performance." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.