New Philadelphia boys finish 20th at state cross country meet

It probably wasn’t the ending New Philadelphia’s boys cross country team wanted after the way the season started, but the Quakers finished in a place most of the state’s teams will be envious of today.

One ranked as the top Division II team in all of Ohio, the Quakers finished 20th in the state meet last Saturday in Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park in Obetz. Their total of 382 points included three finishers within the top 60 in a field of 215 runners.

Seniors Alec Adelman and Marcus Adelman led New Philadelphia as they have for most of the year. The pair finished 51st and 54th, respectively. Alec Adelman checked in at 16:30.12, with Marcus Adelmen just 0.66 seconds behind him. They were among five runners crossing the finish line with 16:30 showing on the clock.

The Quaker duo narrowly missed earning All-Ohio honors with their finishes. The top 48 finishers in Divisions II-IV earn all-state recognition in cross country.

Senior Kyle Beaver came in next, placing 93rd with a time of 16:48.31. He also was part of a five-man pack crossing the line in the same second.

Junior Kevin Smith came across fourth for the Quakers. He’s time of 17:28.11 was good for 156th overall. Junior Branson Pringle checked in next, placing 198th with a time of 18:15.51 to close out the Quaker’ scoring five.

Junior Austin Pringle (19:45.56) and freshman Luke Rotunno (19:20.88) were the Quakers’ sixth and seventh men.

Landon Kimmel, a senior from Tippecanoe, won in 15:12.70, 16 seconds clear of runner-up Jacob Proctor of Whitehouse Anthony Wayne.

New Philadelpia’s Ohio Cardinal Conference rival, Lexington, as expected, won the team race with 110 points. The Minutemen had all of their top five place in the top 43, including a pair in the top 10. Bowling Green was a somewhat distance second with 190 points.

In the girls race, Quakers junior Kyle Smith had a solid day with a 91st-place finish in a 216-runner Division II field. Smith’s time of 19:48 was well behind the winning mark of 17:02.50 by Sophia Szolosi of Athens, but so was everyone else’s; Szolosi won by nearly 50 seconds. Smith was within a minute of earning All-Ohio honors, more than half of which went to seniors.

The Quakers’ trip to state officially closed the fall sports season for New Philadelphia athletes.