COLUMBUS — A fourth-place finish at the Division II state cross country meet Saturday didn’t sit well with Elyria Catholic junior Marty Coolidge.
It was a good performance and a solid effort, but it didn’t meet Coolidge’s expectations.
Why? Coolidge had aspirations of winning the top prize. He was right up front, sharing the lead through 2 miles with eventual winner Jarrod Eick of Alliance Marlington.
However, out on the hilly north loop of the Scioto Downs race course, things fell apart for Coolidge.
“My head was kind of spinning when I was heading up the hills,” Coolidge said. “I wasn’t feeling very good. I really don’t have any excuses. They just ran better than me. Kind of a sad ending.”
Eick, last year’s second-place finisher, ran the 5,000-meter course in 15:38.05 en route to Saturday’s win.
CVCA senior Kyle Sullinger was second (15:43.71). He is the son of Glen Sullinger, a 1975 Amherst graduate. Tippecanoe senior Jason Salyer was third (15:45.73) and Coolidge, who faded to sixth with 500 meters left, rallied for fourth in 15:48.52.
“I tried to hang on as long as I could,” Coolidge said. “They ran their race. They ran better. I’ll just have do it another day.”
Coolidge didn’t want to make an issue of not feeling well. For whatever reason, he didn’t feel quite right just around the mile mark.
“You can’t make any excuses,” Coolidge said. “Jarrod just took off on the hills. I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t have any kick at all. I was tight.”
Coolidge’s efforts helped 10th-ranked Elyria Catholic finish ninth in the 16-team field with 227. Tied for No. 1 in the final coaches’ poll, defending champ Peninsula Woodridge edged Tippecanoe for the top spot, 96-99. Bay (230) was 10th, right behind EC.
“It didn’t seem like he had the energy to finish it off,” Elyria Catholic boys coach Chuck Lynch said of Coolidge. “He put himself in a good spot with people he wanted to be with. When they made their move, he was a little out of energy and kind of hanging at that point. He just didn’t have what he needed at the end to finish it off.”
EC sophomore Dan Kuhman was the Panthers’ No. 2 runner, 60th overall (33rd team runner) in 16:51.00. Junior Bryce Steindl (55th team, 17:25.21), sophomore Matt Wiehe (68th team, 17:38.70) and senior William Sellers (69th team, 17:39.65) rounded out the top five.
Bay sophomore Mike Brajdic earned All-Ohio honors for the second year in row, finishing sixth with a time of 15:53.43.
“My back’s been bothering me since right before regionals, but it was a good race,” Brajdic said. “I didn’t have the kind of finish that I was looking for like I had last year at state. I’m fine with it though. It was a good race.”
Senior Jordan Hawkins (29th overall, 14th team in 16:30.93), junior Brian Zeuch (47th team, 17:15.24), junior Jeremy Farver (82nd team, 17:55.21) and sophomore Nick Banks (84th team, 17:55.84) rounded out Bay’s top five.
A two-time state qualifier, Vermilion senior Nate Rodriguez was 31st in 16:32.22. Avon senior Andy Ventura was 95th in 17:25.71.
“Every time I tried to make a move my body wouldn’t respond,” Rodriguez said. “It was an improvement from last year (59th, 16:59). All-Ohio (top 25) was my goal, but I’m pretty happy with the result. Vermilion has never had a runner All-Ohio in both cross country and track. I wanted to be the first.”
Senior Kyle Lowry and sophomore Miles Pittak of Amherst enjoyed a good day in the Division I race. Both positioned themselves well from the start. Lowry finished 33rd in 16:16.99 and Pittak was 35th in 16:17.50.
“I really wanted to get under 16 flat and at least do better than I ran at Tiffin,” said Lowry. “It could have been better, but I’m happy.”
Lowry was on a cell phone almost immediately after the race with University of Dayton coach Rich Davis.
“He told I might be eligible for some scholarship money if I broke 16:20,” Lowry said.
Pittak is believed to be the Comets’ first-ever sophomore individual state qualifier.
“That pace was brutal at the beginning,” Pittak said. “I just reminded myself not to give up. It’s the last race of the season. What have you got to lose? There were no nerves at the beginning of the race. It was emotion. It was like, ‘Wow, this is what it’s like.’ It was the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”
In the Division II girls race, Avon junior Erin Schneider was 54th in 20:24.10 and Elyria Catholic senior Michelle Clark was 73rd in 20:48.96.
“In the beginning, it felt like I gave up,” Schneider said. “I hate giving up, so that’s something I didn’t want to do. About halfway, something just clicked. I felt a lot better after that.”
Schneider is the Avon girls’ first state qualifier since Margery Ronyak in 1994. Clark is the EC girls’ first state qualifier since Jessica Patton in 1994 and ’95.
“Michelle developed a cramp in her left side near the mile mark,” EC girls coach Tim Kuhman said. “She’s disappointed, but she’ll be fine. She had a great year. She’s going to be bumming for a little bit. It wasn’t easy. I’m sure she feels beat up from competing in two sports (cross country and soccer).”
Magnificat junior Madeline Chambers of Westlake led the top-ranked Blue Streaks to their first state title since 1995 and Mags’ second crown overall. Magnificat outdistanced second-place North Canton Hoover, 68-121. A three-time All-Ohioan, Chambers finished fifth in 18:17.91.
“It feels so good,” said Chambers, coming off the awards stand. “It was just so crazy. I’m so excited. It was such awesome feeling sharing the moment with all my teammates. It was just so cool. I’m so proud of my team.”
Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

BOYS
Division I
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, Mason 100. 2, Hilliard Davidson 120. 3, Mentor 137. 4, Green 141. 5, Medina 150. 6, Tol. St. John’s 194. 7, Louisville 200. 8, Centerville 223. 9, Hilliard Darby 224. 10, Cleve. St. Ignatius 233.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1, Zach Wills, Mason, 15:15.66. 2, Stuart Edmonds, Twinsburg, 15:29.49. 3, Kevin Yarnell, Tol. St. John’s, 15:42.26. 4, Yoshi Shimizu, Hilliard Davidson, 15:43.54. 5, Dylan Papp, Green, 15:43.69. 6, Donny Roys, Medina, 15:47.45. 7, Jeremy Schiele, Solon, 15:54.44. 8, Kyle Wheeler, Green, 15:54.53. 9, Stephen Schulz, Mentor, 15:56.75. 10, Jimmy Hudd, Mentor, 15:58.28.
Division II
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, Peninsula Woodridge 96. 2, Tipp City Tippecanoe 99. 3, Defiance 143. 4, Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit 164. 5, Mantua Crestwood 176. 6, Perry 199. 7, St. Clairsville 221. 8, Day. Carroll 223. 9, Elyria Cath. 227. 10, Bay 230.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1. Jarrod Eick, Alliance Marlington, 15:38.05. 2, Kyle Sullinger, CVCA, 15:43.71. 3, Jason Salyer, Tipp City Tippecanoe, 15:45.73. 4, Marty Coolidge, Elyria Cath., 15:48.52. 5, Peter Hix, Day. Oakwood, 15:50.77. 6, Michael Brajdic, Bay, 15:53.43. 7, Tyler Ames, Cortland Lakeview, 15:54.38. 8, Zach Wiles, Defiance, 15:55.16. 9, Joe White, Peninsula Woodridge, 15:57.01. 10, Trevin Flickeringe, Defiance, 15:58.63.
Division III
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, Bellaire St. John 104. 2, Louisville Aquinas 115. 3, McDonald 129. 4, Russia 154. 5, E. Canton 178. 6, Delta 184. 7, Cortland Maplewood 192. 8, Bloomdale Elmwood 206. 9, W. Unity Hilltop 218. 10, New Bremen 233.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1, Isaiah Bragg, Fair. Cin., 15:54.79. 2, Gabe Henning, E. Canton, 15:55.70. 3, Sam Foster, Bellaire St. John, 15:58.21. 4, Colin Cotton, Cin. Summit, 16:03.33. 5, Isaac Potes, Fredericktown, 16:03.92. 6, Jordan McKelley, Louisville Aquinas, 16:08.45. 7, Nate Addessi, Louisville Aquinas, 16:08.80. 8, Cody Livensparger, W. Unity Hilltop, 16:08.94. 9, Derek Bornhorst, Russia, 16:09.12. 10, David Chick, E. Palestine, 16:10.31.
GIRLS
Division I
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, Magnificat 68. 2, N. Canton Hoover 121. 3, Springboro 136. 4, Upper Arlington 142. 5, Cin. St. Ursula 155. 6, Cin. Oak Hills 187. 7, Mason 225. 8, N. Royalton 234. 9, Hudson 237. 10, Sylvania Northview 243.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1, Brooklyne Ridder, Cin. Oak Hills, 17:51.36. 2, Michelle Thomas, Cin. Glen Este, 17:57.02. 3, Hannah Neczypor, N. Royalton, 17:57.90. 4, Carly Hamilton, Springboro, 18:14.82. 5, Madeline Chambers, Rocky River Magnificat, 18:17.91. 6, Allison Stillwell, Dresden Tri-Valley, 18:31.35. 7, Alison Stienbrunner, New Carlisle, 18:32.10. 8, Angela Williams, Hudson, 18:34.97. 9, Abby Koch, Stow-Munroe Falls, 18:37.71. 10, Brier Sterling, Findlay, 18:40.31.
Division II
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, CVCA 51. 2, Kettering Alter 95. 3, W. Milton Milton-Union 118. 4, Peninsula Woodridge 150. 5, Perry 166. 6, Canal Winchester 186. 7, Akron SVSM 204. 8, Spring. Northwestern 223. 9, Wauseon 243. 10, Rocky River 260.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1, Katie Gillespie, CVCA, 18:00.43. 2, Abbie Clifford, Perry, 18:13.93. 3, Erin Mercer, Peninsula Woodridge, 18:14.16. 4, Jessica Zangmeister, Fairview Park, 18:18.58. 5, Chelsea Oswald, Cuy. Falls Walsh Jesuit, 18:50.57. 6, Katie Landwehr, Tipp City Tippecanoe, 18:53.99. 7, Emily Pifer, Canal Winchester, 18:56.68. 8, Peyton Adkins, Gallipolis Gallia, 18:59.04. 9, Kaitlin Smith, Canal Winchester, 18:59.70. 10, Elizabeth Heinbach, Cin. Indian Hill, 19:07.47.
Division III
TOP TEAM SCORES: 1, Minster 65. 2, Attica Seneca East 69. 3, Versailles 81. 4, Fort Loramie 132. 5, Gates Mills Gilmour 150. 6, Ottoville 212. 7, Burton Berkshire 257. 8, Bloomdale Elmwood 258. 9, Findlay Liberty-Benton 259. 10, Louisville Aquinas 272.
TOP INDIVIDUALS: 1, Stephanie Morgan, Barnesville, 17:57.13. 2, Brittany Stockmaster, Attica Seneca East, 18:35.13. 3, Christina Oprean, Canton Cent. Cath., 18:40.85. 4, Monica Ciarniello, Lowellville, 18:58.24. 5, Katie Borchers, Russia, 19:03.38. 6, Tammy Berger, Versailles, 19:03.85. 7, Shayla Siefker, Ottoville, 19:07.94. 8, Lauren Dehan, Cin. Madeira, 19:08.38. 9, Brooke Szabo, Attica Seneca East, 19:09.43. 10, Kayla Mohr, Marion Elgin, 19:10.70.

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