Malvern boys cross country leaning on veteran leadership
The Malvern boys cross country team includes coach Kyle Lebeau, left, Parker Babiczuk, Jacob McClelland, Dalton Pennington, Dekon Pennington, Andersen Myers, head coach Jeremy Maher and coach Renee Barrino. Cooper Dorr is not pictured.
Thomas Clapper
Like their female counterparts, the Malvern boys’ cross country team is small but strong, and quite young. The Hornets, however, have one component the Lady Hornets lack: a returning senior, and one with experience competing at the OHSAA Division 3 Regional meet, no less.
Dalton Pennington was the only Hornet to qualify for regionals in 2024, and that can only mean good things for Malvern, Last year, at the Division III meet held at Cambridge High School, Pennington finished the 5k course in 17:52.99, good for 10th place overall. That easily slotted Pennington within the group of top 12 runners from non-qualifying teams, sending him to Pickerington North for regionals.
True, Pennington’s meet at regionals did not go as well as he may have liked, but the current senior acquired invaluable experience that should pay off this season as the senior works toward a return trip to regionals and perhaps a chance to run at Fortress Obetz come Nov. 1.
Two other returning letter winners joining Pennington are sophomores Cooper Dorr and Jacob McClelland. Dorr placed 15th at last year’s Inter-Valley Conference meet and 19th at districts.
“We are excited to see what our returning runners can do this year,” said cross country coach Jeremy Maher. “We have seen growth in their summer work and look forward to seeing that effort pay off. We expect for the boys to compete in each race and get better as the season goes.”
Three runners does not make a cross country lineup, particularly if you wish to compete as a team. Therefore, three freshmen will be expected to make immediate contributions to the team as the season gets underway: Dekon Pennington, Parker Babiczuk, and Anderson Myers. According to Maher, the expectation is for them to improve at every meet as the season progresses.
It may be a cliché but the saying that age is just a number is one that Maher ascribes to.
“Even though we are young, the team has goals they want to accomplish this year regardless of their grade,” said Maher. “They are a very motivated group.”
