Girls cross country: Lebanon wins Schul Invite

The Lebanon Warriors girls high school cross country team has never qualified for state. Consider the Warriors in the running this season.

The Warriors have talent, depth and – perhaps most important of all – Faith.

Junior Faith Duncan is back in form after breaking her hip during track season her freshman year. She eased her way through last season and was fully cleared in the spring. On Saturday she started her junior season the same was she did as a freshman – winning the Bob Schul Invitational at Milton-Union High School.

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Duncan won in 17:55.8. It didn’t take long for her teammates to join her at the finish. Sophomores Lilah Mohler (19:39.9) and Abby Taylor (19:40.0) and freshman Grace Glassmeyer (20:01.2) all finished among the top 10. Junior Hope Carr (20:31.4) senior Mia Mantei (20:52.0) and junior Emma Luckiw (21:19.5) rounded out the Warriors’ top seven.

Waynesville won the Divisions I-II big-school meet at the Schul with 33 points to beat runner-up Springfield Shawnee (79) and Bellbrook (94).

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“Faith is finally running on all cylinders so it should be an exciting fall for her,” Lebanon cross country coach Mark Bierkan said. “We’ve had some big breakthroughs with some sophomores, who are a little more experienced. … Great way to start the season. It’s pretty exciting.”

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As Glassmeyer — Lebanon’s fourth runner — crossed the finish line in ninth-place overall, a Warriors’ fan was overheard saying optimistically, “We’re going to state.”

“The excitement about it all is the team unity,” Bierkan said. “They believe in each other. They’ll do blood, sweat and tears for each other. We have a little more depth than we’ve had in the past. We can sit a kid or two like we did and still be successful as a group, which is exciting.

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“We have to stay healthy. … But it’s OK to have momentum. It’s OK to be excited and have goals. The Lebanon girls have never gone to state, so they’re breaking new territory. I can also say we’ve never started this fast. It’s a good start. We’ll keep our head on straight. They’re a pretty calm and collected group.”

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Lebanon’s boys made it a clean sweep at the Schul. Senior Sam Duncan won (15:50.0) for a 26.9-second victory over Waynesville junior Kaden Harvey. Seniors Thomas Clark, Zachary Packer and Aaron Guzman, junior Carter Davidson, freshman Jesus Trejo and junior Jacob Fleig finished among the Warriors’ top seven to win the team title with a 47-97 victory over Waynesville.

In other highlights:

Carroll: The Patriots' girls won the Moeller PrimeTime gold division on Friday, scoring 41 points to beat Badin's 66. Sarah Ochs (21:49), Sydney Thomas (21:50.7) and Meredith Sanders (21:51.0) finished 4-5-6 for Carroll.

Centerville: The Elks' girls won the Northmont Invitational with 42 points, ahead of runner-up Tippecanoe's 73. Dalia Einstein paced Centerville (19:42.6).

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Oakwood: Grace Hartman and Bella Butler gave Oakwood a 1-2 finish at Northmont. Hartman won in 18:27.4 and Butler finished in 19:24.8.

Tippecanoe: Bryce Conley's victory led the Red Devils' boys at Northmont. Conley won in 15:55.4. Tipp scored 33 points to runner-up Fairmont's 37.

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Upcoming meets

• Greenville hosts the Treaty City Invitational on Saturday. The meet is held at the City Park.

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• Covington plays host to the Covington FOE 3998 Invitational on Saturday. The course is located on the Fraternal Order of Eagles picnic grounds.

• Miamisburg hosts an invitational at Medlar View Elementary school on Saturday.

• Lebanon, coming off its Bob Schul victories, hosts the Lebanon Running Warrior Invitational on Saturday. The meet is held at the high school.

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