MasonBuzz.com

Mike Dyer reports:

Mason senior distance runner Lauren Wood broke Angela Bizzarri’s 3,200 meter run record April 26 at the Eastern Relays in Louisville, according to Mason coach Tony Affatato.

“Lauren has had an amazing year in both cross country and track,” Affatato said.

She is currently ranked in the top two in Ohio in the 3,200 run. The record was 10:39 and Wood ran 10:35.

Posted in: Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, cross country, lauren wood, mason, mason high school, record, runner, track

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason senior Lauren Wood capped off her season with a successful run at the Nike Cross Nationals Saturday in Portland, Ore.

Wood placed 65th out of 194 runners over the 3.1-mile course in 20 minutes, 58 seconds. Sarah Baxter of California won her second consecutive Nike title in 19:17. Wood placed fifth at the Ohio Division I state meet last month to lead Mason to its first team championship.

The Nike Cross Nationals features 22 teams and 45 individuals who that have qualified through regional meets across the country.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, cross country, finals, lady comets, lauren wood, mason, mason high school, national finals, nike cross nationals

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason’s Lauren Wood is headed to Portland, Ore. Saturday to compete in the Nike Cross Nationals.

The Mason girls’ team was not chosen as one of the four at-large teams after placing fourth at the Midwest regional.  The Comets also won the Division I state title this year, their first, beating second-place Centerville by 100 points.

The top two teams in each of the nine regional meets automatically qualified for the finals, plus the four at-large teams.

Senior Wood, however, will be going as an individual. The top five finishers from the regional who weren’t on qualifying teams are invited to the finals. Wood was seventh at the regional but one runner declined the invitation. Another spot opened when New Trier (Ill.) was added as an at-large team, taking with it the runner who placed sixth, one spot ahead of Wood.

The St. Xavier Bombers, which won the Division I state title on Nov. 3, received one of the four at-large bids to the national finals.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, cross country, finals, lady comets, lauren wood, mason, mason high school, national finals, nike cross nationals

Kevin Goheen reports:

St. Xavier finished third in the boys’ race and Mason took fourth in the girls’ race Sunday afternoon at the Nike Cross Nationals Midwest regional meet in Terre Haute, Ind.

The meet, held at the LaVern Gibson championship course, is one of nine regional competitions around the country and included 31 girls’ teams and 37 boys’ teams from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan.

The top two teams and top five individuals not on qualifying teams in each region automatically qualify for the national finals to be run Dec. 1 in Portland, Ore. There will also be four at-large teams invited to each race. Those teams will be selected by a committee based on season-long resumes and performances

St. Xavier, which won the Division I state title on Nov. 3, is ranked No. 16 nationally by MileSplit.com and was undefeated this season prior to Sunday. Mason won the girls’ Division I state title, its first state championship, and is ranked No. 24 nationally by MileSplit.com. Only three of the regionals have been run thus far so neither team will know its fate until Nov. 24.

“The tough part will be having to sit around for two weeks, trying to train and not knowing if we’re going,” said St. Xavier coach Mike Dehring.

Temperatures were warm with overcast skies but winds gusted at more than a reported 20 mph, making for a lot of running into headwinds and slower times for many runners. There were 286 runners who completed the girls’ race, while 346 completed the boys’ race.

No. 12-ranked York (Ill.) won the boys’ race with 95 points, followed by Carmel (Ind.) with 162 and St. Xavier with 211. Mason’s boys placed 14th with 389 points. The Comets were second to St. Xavier at the state meet. Junior Michael Hall led St. Xavier in 30th place overall and 14th in the team race. Juniors Tom Clark and Zac Thompson came in 59th and 60th for Mason.

The Nike Cross Nationals is in its ninth year and York has now qualified for all nine finals. St. Xavier had beaten Carmel earlier in the season, a fact that Dehring hopes the at-large selection committee will take into consideration.

Top-ranked Carmel won the girls’ race with 91 points, followed by Naperville (Ill.) North with 107 points and New Tier (Ill.) with 125 points and then Mason with 151 points. Senior Lauren Wood continued her impressive postseason by placing seventh overall and missing an automatic individual berth by two places. Because race winner Ashley Erba of Indiana declined her spot and the runner who placed sixth, one spot ahead of Wood, is from New Tier there is still the possibility of Wood getting that trip to Portland should New Tier be awarded one of the at-large berths.

Wood’s fourth-place finish at the state meet led the Comets to a 100-point victory.

“We ran pretty well,” said Mason coach Chip Dobson. “Lauren has been outstanding. This is a tough field but she went out after it.”

Two other local runners placed in the top 30 of the girls’ race. Sycamore senior Sam Siler came in 15th overall, while Colerain senior Kristen Seiler was 29th.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: chip dobson, comets, cross country, girls cross country, lady comets, lauren wood, lavern gibson championship course, mason, mason high school, nike cross national midwest regional meet, terre haute, tom clark, zac thompson

Mason’s Tori Martin celebrates with coaches after the girls won the Division I state championship in Cross Country, Saturday, Nov 3,2012. (Tony Tribble for the Enquirer)

Kevin Goheen reports:

Saturday was a good day for Cincinnati-area runners at the Ohio state cross country championships. It was a great day if you happened to be from Warren County.

Mason brought home its first Division I state championship in record-setting style while Lebanon junior Jacquelyn Crow sprinted past Janelle Noe of Sylvania Northview and St. Ursula sophomore Annie Heffernan in the final 200 meters at National Trail Raceway to claim the individual title with a time of 17 minutes, 39.31 seconds.

Crow is the 11th individual Division I state champion from the Cincinnati area in the last 14 years. She is Lebanon’s first state champion in cross country.

Cincinnati runners took five of the top six places in Division I.

• Photos: Mason wins first state title

Mason scored 42 points to beat runner-up Centerville by 100 points. The Comets placed their top five runners in the top 26 overall and had an average time of 18:24.

According to Ohio High School Athletic Association officials, that is the fastest average time for a state championship team. This is just the second year for the state meet at National Trail Raceway. Scioto Downs in Columbus was the host site for the previous 25 years and before that it was at Ohio State. Courses and weather conditions differ from year to year but the previous low average was 18:47 by Rocky River Magnificat in 2009.

(more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: centerville, chip dobson, comets, cross country, division i state championship, emily schlimm, hebron, lady comets, lauren wood, leah ford, maegan murphy, mason, mason high school, national trail raceway, title, tori martin

Mason girls’ 2012-13 cross country team / Provided

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason cross country coach Chip Dobson had a conversation with senior Lauren Wood over the summer. For the past four years Dobson’s team had Monica Lake as its leader on the course and off of it but Lake graduated last spring and moved on to Oklahoma State University.

“I told Lauren in the summer that I need you to fill that hole and, as Lauren does, she just says ‘OK’,” said Dobson. “She’s real business-like. She’s real smart, has a 4.5 (GPA) and 34 ACT or something ridiculous like that so she just took the challenge and has put in the time.”

The Comets have followed Wood’s lead and head into Saturday’s state meet ranked No. 1 in the Division I state coaches’ poll and seeking the program’s first state title. Mason will be running in its eighth consecutive state meet and has finished second and third the last two years.

National Trail Raceway in Hebron, 25 miles east of Columbus, is hosting the state meet for the second year. The Division I race is the final race of the day, starting at 3 p.m.

Mason is the lone local team that has qualified for the state meet. Nine area runners, however, have qualified as individuals.

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Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: bethany angstadt, chip dobson, comets, cross country, emily schlimm, hebron, lady comets, lauren wood, leah ford, maegan murphy, mason high school, monica lake, national trail raceway

Mason girls’ 2012-13 cross country team / Provided

Kevin Goheen reports:

Reaching a state-level competition is never easy. The four teams and any individuals that advance out of Saturday’s girls’ cross country regional meet in Troy will do so with an added badge of honor.

Four of the top five teams in the most recent Division I state coaches’ poll, led by No. 1 Mason, are in the field of 16 teams while area teams Sycamore (No. 9), Walnut Hills (12), St. Ursula (17) and Ursuline (19) are also ranked and will be among those battling for state berths.

It won’t be any easier for area athletes in Division II and III as each of those races will have six ranked teams toeing the starting line.

The top four teams and any individual in the top 16 not already on a qualifying team will advance to the state meet Nov. 3 at National Trail Raceways in Hebron, east of Columbus.

Saturday’s 3.1-miles races at Troy Memorial Stadium alongside the Great Miami River begin with Division III at 1:30 p.m., Division II at 2:15 p.m. and Division I at 3 p.m.

St. Ursula sophomore Annie Heffernan, Sycamore senior Sam Siler, Mason senior Lauren Wood and Colerain senior Kristen Seiler all ran 18:20 or better at last week’s district meet at Mason. Heffernan’s 17:54 was the fastest time of the district meet. Lebanon junior Jacquelyn Crow won her district race in Dayton in 18:33.

Mason and Walnut Hills head into the regional meet with district team titles from last weekend.

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Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, cross country, hebron, lady comets, lauren wood, mason, mason high school, sports, troy, troy memorial stadium

Kevin Goheen reports:

Mason, the top-ranked team in the state coaches’ poll, won the Southern Buckeye Conference cross country championship Division I Race A Saturday at Mason’s Corwin-Nixon Park.

The Comets led with 30 points, followed by St.Ursula, Mercy and McAuley.

Mason had six of the top 11 finishers, led by senior Lauren Wood’s third-place finish in 18:19 and freshman Maegan Murphy in fourth at 18:32.

St. Ursula sophomore Annie Heffernan ran away from the field after the first mile marker, posting the fastest time of the day in 17:54.

Walnut Hills, ranked 12th in the state, won Race B with 60 points to beat Ursuline by 16 points. Ninth-ranked Sycamore placed third. Turpin took the fourth regional qualifying spot.

The third-ranked Mason boys’ team got a one-two finish by senior Alex Notton and junior Tom Clark en route to winning the Division I Race B with 33 points. Lakota East was second with 66 points.  Kings placed third while Sycamore edged Anderson by seven points for the fourth and final regional qualifying spot.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, corwin nixon park, cross country, lady comets, lauren wood, maegen murphy, mason, mason high school, southern buckeye conference, sports

Alex Notten of Mason and Jacob McNamara of La Salle compete in the Division I 5K.

Kevin Goheen reports:

Boys make their way through the mud during the Division I 5K in Mason.

Tom Rapp measured 3½ inches of rain from Friday’s overnight storms at his home in Mason. His rain gauge showed another inch fell Saturday morning.

The cross country course at Corwin Nixon Park is challenging enough with its combination of flat lands, hills and jumps over hay bales and creeks, but adding mud to the mix only increased the challenge.

• Photos: Mason Cross Country Invitational

Rapp’s Mason boys’ team handled the elements and a field of 189 runners the best to capture the Division I team title at the Mason Cross Country Invitational for the first time since 2009 with 73 points.

The Comets, ranked No. 2 in The Enquirer’s Division I coaches’ poll and No.3 in the state poll, beat Lawrence North (Ind.) by six points with a pack effort that saw just 29 seconds separating their first six runners.

“It’s a source of pride because we haven’t won it the last couple of years and we train in that part almost daily,” said Rapp. “The course deteriorated throughout the day, as we knew it would, but our guys did a good job of handling it. You could either complain about the footing or go out and beat the guy next to you who’s also struggling with the footing. Our guys handled it.”

Senior Alex Notten placed sixth overall with a time of 17:08 over the 3.1-mile course. Joey Stimler (13th), Zac Thompson (15th), Tom Clark (19th), Dylan McElhenny (20th) and Nick Grismer (23rd) rounded out Mason’s top six runners.

(more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: alex notten, beavercreek, carmel, cincinnati hills league, comets, corwin nixon park, cross country invitational, dylan mcelhenny, elder, emily schlimm, finneytown, indian hill, joey stimler, lauren wood, maegan murphy, mariemont, mason, mason high school, nick grismer, sucamore, taylor, tom clark, tom rapp, turpin, ursuline, wyoming, zac thompson

Kevin Goheen reports:

More than 3,000 athletes total are expected to take part in Saturday’s Mason Cross Country Invitational at Corwin Nixon Park, adjacent to the high school, in what organizers say is one of the largest meets in Ohio.

The highlight of the day will be the four high school varsity races over the 3.1-mile course that will challenge runners with a combination of rolling fields, steep hills and a creek jump. Teams will be able to enter up to 10 runners, with the top five scoring.

The first race, the girls’ Division I race, is scheduled for 9 a.m. and features seven teams ranked in the top 16 of this week’s Ohio coaches’ state poll, including Nos. 1-2 Mason and Beavercreek, going up against nationally-ranked Carmel (Ind.).

Three of the top four teams in this week’s Enquirer Division I poll (Mason, No. 2 Sycamore and No. 4 Ursuline) are in the field. Sycamore senior Sam Siler and sophomore teammate Rosie Menyhert should be among the top individuals along with Mason’s Lauren Wood and Ursuline’s Christine Frederick.

The Division II girls race follows at 9:45 features six of the top eight teams from the Enquirer’s DII-III poll. Indian Hill and Wyoming are ranked 1-2 locally, while No. 4 Ross, No. 5 Mariemont, No. 6 New Richmond and No. 8 Taylor are also in the field.

The boys’ Division I race (10:30) has St. Xavier, Mason, Elder, Sycamore, Oak Hills, La Salle and Anderson — all teams ranked in this week’s Enquirer coaches’ poll — going up against a field that will include traditional Indiana power Lawrence North, Centerville and Dublin Coffman from Dayton and Columbus.

St. X and Mason are ranked Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the first state coaches poll but St. Xavier is expected to run its top team at the Tiffin Carnival on Saturday, holding off an early season showdown.

The Division II race (11:00) has locally-ranked No. 2 Mariemont, No. 3 Wyoming, No. 4 Indian Hill, No. 5 New Richmond, No. 8 Batavia and No. 10 McNicholas in the field as well as Covington Catholic, the No. 3-ranked team in the Enquirer’s Northern Kentucky poll. Mariemont was third at last year’s state Division III meet and is attempting to back up that performance this season.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: comets, corwin m. nixon park, cross country, indian hill, invitational, lauren wood, mariemont, mason, mason cross country invitational, mason high school, meet, sports, st. xavier, sycamore, ursuline, wyoming