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OBETZ - Five area teams combined with a handful of area runners Saturday at Fortress Obetz for the OHSAA state cross country meet.
While Minster's girls team capped off their 29th straight state appearance with a second place finish, St. Henry and New Bremen placed well after some long waits to get back.
Celina's Elle Miesse finished second in the Division II girls state cross country race at the 2026 State Cross Country Meet at Fortress Obetz.
Celina might not have had a full team in both the boys and girls races, but the Bulldogs had some of the top runners in the events.
The Division II girls race kicked off the day for area runners. Seventeen minutes and 44 seconds later, sophomore Elle Miesse crossed the finish line in second place behind only Sylvania Southview's Julia Bocik.
"We took it out really fast," said Miesse of the start. "It wasn't actually really fast, but it felt like it. I knew it was going to be a struggle to stay with the top girls, but I was determined to do what I could to stay with them for as long as possible."
Teammate Sophie Gudorf crossed the line at 19:59.8 in 105th, a big leap from her race last year.
"(Last year) it was a 21:10, and this year was a 19:59, so that's good. I finally figured out what I was doing, and I still think I can get a lot better than what I've been running," said Gudorf, who jumped over 100 places from last year's finish of 106th.
Celina's Kaleb Dameron finished 63rd in the Division II boys state cross country race.
The boys race saw Kaleb Dameron, the lone Celina representative, place 63rd with a time of 16:23.4 to cap off his senior season.
Aurora took home the team title in Division II, beating out Watterson 80-99.
Coldwater's Audrey Alig (9099) and Lana Kaiser (9102) run in the Division III girls state cross country race.
Coldwater girls made their second straight appearance in the meet, and ran as a D-III team, after a 17th place finish in D-IV last year. The Cavs came up 20th as a team in the 24-team field Saturday, with 446 points.
"This was a good season overall," said Coldwater coach Jenny Alig. "We've got a great group of girls. They worked really well as a team and I'm really proud of their efforts today."
The Alig sisters, Abby and Audrey, led the Cavs in 55th and 137th. Abby clocked in at 19:54 flat, while Audrey came in at 20:52. Just over a second later, Lana Kaiser was the third Coldwater runner to cross at 20:53.9.
"(Audrey and Abby Alig) have a great relationship together. They're really good at pushing each other and have great leadership skills, which really helps," said coach Alig, who is also their mother. "Our team is a lot of fun, so they're doing a great job of leading the program for us."
Freshman Allie Evans was not far behind at 20:59.3, which was good enough for 147th. Channing Lefeld was 170th with a time of 21:22.7, while Grace Heyne finished off her sophomore season with a 21:44.4 and a 183rd place finish. Senior Breann Mathewson rounded out the lineup with a 22:09 to earned 192nd.
Midwest Athletic Conference foe Versailles also competed and took home 13th place as a team with 313 points. Ava Rismiller led the way for the Tigers with a 20:07.9 race to get 76th. Oakwood won the title with 119 points.
In the boys race, MAC boys runner of the Year Jackson Spitzer of Versailles earned second place with a time of 15:00.1 to lead the Tigers to a third place finish with 205 points.
Woodridge won the boys title comfortably with 65 points.
Minster's Joanna Topp (9446) stays ahead of teammate Ellie Niekamp in the Division IV girls state cross country race.
The final races of the day were the busiest for area teams, and it was the familiar faces of Minster toward the top.
Three runners; junior Joanna Topp, freshman Elizabeth Niekamp and senior Claire Bohman finished 8-12 to earn All-Ohio honors and help the Wildcats get 145 points and a second place finish. Liberty Center won the crown, just edging out the 'Cats 112-145.
"This is a great group," said Minster coach Jessie Magoto. "Claire's just a beast and Joanna stepped up today. Eli is just a competitor. I'm happy because we weren't afraid, the girls started fast and we said 'let's go after it,' and they believed that."
Topp started the scoring at 18:37.1, with Niekamp right behind at 18:30.5 to get ninth. Bohman took 12th with a time of 18:48.1 in her final cross country season before heading to the University of Saint Francis in Indiana.
"It's crazy," said Bohman. "I've essentially trained six years for this. There's no regrets and I'm so proud of the girls and it was such a fun experience."
Helping aid the lead pack of Wildcats was Olivia Blindauer, who took home 76th with a time of 20:05.7. Ava Colter was less than a minute behind at 21:03.7 to finish 128th, with Catelyn Cedarleaf taking 132nd six seconds later. Cara Bornhorst's 21:38.0 earned her 156th and added the final points to the team's total.
St. Henry's Kenzie Franck runs in the Division IV girls state cross country meet.
The St. Henry girls also competed, the first time both the boys and girls programs qualified for state since 2017. With a young team, the Redskins earned 19th place with 453 points.
Sophomore Aliyah Zimmerman led the charge in 61st with a time of 19:52.2., while Stella Huwer cross the line at 21:02 for 127th in her first appearance at state. Kenzie Franck was just 15 seconds behind in 142nd. while Catherine Post ran a 21:49.5 in her final cross country race.
Audrey Huelsman ran a 22:14.8 to take home 179th, one spot above Macy Uhlenhake's 22:16.2. Emma Rindler capped off the 'Skins scorecard with a 22:54.4 to earn 187th.
New Bremen's Jett Jellison (8586) and St. Henry's Clayton Koesters run during the Division IV boys state cross country meet.
New Bremen and St. Henry joined Minster's Jack Strasbaugh in the boys race to end the day.
The Cardinals and Redskins were neck and neck, but it was St. Henry who placed 10th as a team while New Bremen took 11th.
The Redskins were led by a tight-nit group of Michael Kunkler, Johan Horstman and Michael Rindler. Kunkler was in 69th with a time of 17:01.4, while Horstman and Rindler tied for 70th with matching times of 17:01.5. Senior Jack Siefring was 21 seconds behind in 105th, with Clayton Koesters in 134th after posting a 17:44.1. Jack Fullenkamp was close behind with a 17:45 flat, and took 135th.
Daniel Fullenkamp was 147th with a time of 17:57.2 to aid the top-10 push.
New Bremen had the best runner of the two teams, with Luke Long taking 54th at 16:51 flat. Tobiah Wittenbrink was 72nd at 17:02.1, with Simon Shroyer cracking the top 100 at 17:18.5 to get 98th.
Isaiah Wittenbrink finished a strong freshman season with a 17:34.6 time to take 122nd, with Jett Jellison eight places back after clocking a 17:41.7 race.
Senior Colin Zimpfer was 175th with a time of 18:26, while Gabe Bernhold was 191st at 18:47.8 to round out the Cardinals' scorecard.
Strasbaugh, running as an individual, placed 85th with a time of 17:10.5. Strausbaugh becomes the final state qualifier for longtime Minster boys coach Larry Topp, who announced his retirement at the end of season.
Mount Gilead took home the team title with 84 points
