Gazette MVP: Wadsworth's Maggie Gerschutz steps to front of pack

In order for the Wadsworth girls cross country team to continue its success from 2023, the Grizzlies needed someone to step to the front of the pack. Maggie Gerschutz excelled this season in a transformative year for the sophomore, who led Wadsworth to repeating a number of the feats. Gerschutz went from a runner that was at the back of the varsity scoring members as a freshman to leading them to repeating as Suburban League National Conference, GlenOak Division I District and Boardman Regional championships. That last accomplishment made Wadsworth the only team from Medina County, girls or boys, to qualify for the state meet. For all her individual and the team's success, Gerschutz earned Gazette MVP honors. "Last year she was our fourth or fifth runner, and this year she was able to be only a couple of spots away from being All-Ohio," Grizzlies coach Zach Humrichouser said. "It was really impressive the way she would get better and better throughout the season. When we went to the big meets, she was out there running with the top girls." Gerschutz saved her most impressive feat for last. She shaved more than one minute off her state meet time, finishing 32nd in a personal-best 18:32.72. That was the best time of any female countian this season and topped her time of 19:37.0, when she finished 72nd last season. That feat helped Wadsworth finish eighth in D-I at Fortress Obetz. Always humble, Gerschutz credited Humrichouser, his staff and her teammates for helping her achieve the success she had this year. "I think I had a lot more confidence this year," she said. "I also gained trust in my coaches and my teammates that the training was working. That combination of confidence, training and getting to know my coaches and teammates more made me comfortable with my environment." While most of the Grizzlies returned from last year's team, which finished fifth at the state meet, there was one glaring hole at the top of the lineup in the form of 2023 Gazette MVP Kailyn Biecker, who played soccer for the University of Akron this fall. Gerschutz devoted herself to the trainning program she laid out with Humrichouser and took on the role of leading the team on the course despite being a sophomore. "It definitely was a lot of pressure at the beginning," she said. "I didn't expect (to be at the front) and it was kind of tough. (Humrichouser) set me up well and prepared me for it. My teammates are all just so supportive. It doesn't matter who's No. 1 as long as we're doing great as a team." Gerschutz appreciated the example set by Biecker, as well as those set by this year's seniors, Ollie Smith and Rowan King. "Kailyn, Ollie and Rowan are always so calm in their race," she said. "They are focused on having a good time above all and I really learned from that a lot. Whatever happens, happens and you can't control the outcome. The only thing you can control is giving it your all." Gerschutz ran for Sacred Heart in middle school and called the experience much more laid back, with typically only one or two training sessions per week. That changed at the high school level and she adjusted well. "She's one of the most coachable athletes I've ever been around," Humrichouser said. "You just say here's what the game plan is for today and she just goes to work. She really buys into our training and what we're trying to accomplish." Following an 11th-place finish at the Painesville Riverside Kickoff to begin the season, Gerschutz placed in the top seven of every race except one leading into the state meet. She was fifth at Ashland, sixth at Wooster, fourth at the Milt Place Festival, second at the SL National, third at the GlenOak District and seventh at the Boardman Regional. Humrichouser always knew Gerschutz would wind up near the front of the pack, even if she didn't always start there. On a number of occasions the patient and methodical Gerschutz used her trademark style of gradually building through a race to pick off runners that started faster than her. "She does a really great job throughout the race of managing her pace," Humrichouser said. "Slowly she gets faster and faster as the race goes on. We were at the Wooster Invite early in the season and some of the girls took it out extremely fast. Every 400 meters it seems like she was getting faster and faster to where, by the end, she was catching back up." For Gerschutz, the postseason brought the best out of her as the competition got tougher. "The whole postseason overall showed how strong our organization is, that we could do it two years in a row and it wasn't a one-year thing," she said. "We all had the skill going in and executed when it mattered the most.Being two times in a row regional champions, that was a really fun experience." Gerschutz, who also plays softball for the Grizzlies, hopes she can help Wadsworth continue its cross country success her final two years of high school. "I would love to be able to go to state as a team the next two years," she said. "I think we're definitely capable of it. I don't want to jinx anything, but that's high up on my goals list because it's been a great experience." Gerschutz putting team success ahead of her own personal accolades doesn't surprise Humrichouser. "She's someone who really cares about her teammates," he said. "She really wants to get involved. She's one of our quieter runners, but she's very invested and wants to have fun. She really takes an interest in her teammates and what's going on." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.