overview
This past weekend, on Saturday, September 12th, Piqua hosted the "Piqua Invite Under the Lights Invitational." The meet this year provided a competitive team race on both the boys' and girls' sides, which included a tiebreaker for the girls. There were also various standout performances, including Versailles senior Jackson Spitzer breaking the 15:00 barrier.
Top Individuals and Teams
Boys
The top 10 individuals for the boys' championship race were: 1. Jackson Spitzer, Versailles (14:54.9), 2. Asher Cole, West Liberty-Salem (15:54.6), 3. Paxson Bixler, Russia (16:06.9), 4. Ethan Purtee, Unioto (16:10.5), 5. Jackson Morrissey, Oakwood (16:11.3), 6. Samuel Phlipot, Russia (16:12.6), 7. Brayan Gullett, West Liberty-Salem (16:13.4), 8. Corbin Scott, Unioto (16:15.0), 9. Titus Young, Anna (16:17.5), Tony Spitzer, Versailles (16:25.8).
The winning team was Unioto, who scored 79 points, as they pulled off the upset after entering the race as the three seed. Although Unioto did not have the fastest overall five runners by average time, their five-man gap was only separated by 1 minute and 4 seconds, which was the best out of the top 5 teams. The rest of the top 5 goes as follows: Versailles (88pts), Russia (89pts), West Liberty-Salem (131pts), Botkins (168pts).
Girls
For the girls' championship race, the top finishers were: 1. Peyton Hughey, Canal Winchester (18:36.0), 2. Evelyn Reinoehl, Oakwood (18:44.6), 3. Allison High, Bellbrook (18:51.2), 4. Tessa Kress, Miami East (18:54.3), 5. Michaela Flora, Newton Local (18:57.8), 6. Kareena Vandervort, Butler (19:12.4), 7. Reiner Schaadt, Mechanicsburg (19:25.0), 8. Lillian Stepp, Canal Winchester (19:27.5), 9. Mandy Mark, Cedarville (19:29.6), 10. Morgan Dalton, Bellbrook (19:30.3).
The girls' team race came down to a tiebreaker, where Oakwood and Canal Winchester both scored 90 points. However, Oakwood's sixth and seventh runners finished way ahead of Canal Winchester's, allowing them to come away with the win. Oakwood's sixth and seventh runners combined for 72 points, while Canal Winchester's went for 124. Bellbrook followed closely, only six points behind Oakwood and Canal Winchester with 96 points. Versailles and Butler rounded out the top five with 137 points and 188 points, respectively.
Biggest TakeAways
Boys
The battle between Versailles and Russia did not disappoint, with the Tigers edging Russia by one point for a 2nd place finish. These two squads will meet one more time at the Versailles Tour De Sewer Invitational on September 26th with the season series on the line and bragging rights. However, looking beyond the regular season, these two teams have separated themselves within their regions. Versailles defeated West Liberty-Salem and Oakwood, who sit behind Versailles as the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the southwest region. Last year, Versailles lost to both of these teams at state, so Versailles will have extra motivation to take them down this year. Russia also sits at 1st in their region, way ahead of 2nd-seeded Botkins. Last season, the Raiders placed 2nd at the regional meet behind Cedarville, so they will be looking to take home the regional title this year. Both of these schools will compete at Troy for the regional championship.
Girls
At the Bob Schul Invitational, Bellbrook ran away from Oakwood, beating them by 28 points. The Lumberjacks showed strong resilience at Piqua and did not let their early-season performance dictate their race against Bellbrook, beating them by six points. Unfortunately, these two teams will not meet again this season because they compete in separate divisions. However, this competition will benefit both teams during the tournament, when the competition is stiff.
Athlete Spotlights
Boys - Jackson Spitzer
It's easy to look at the winners and choose them as the spotlight athletes, but the winner of the boys' race, Jackson Spitzer, and the winner of the girls' race, Peyton Hughey, both had incredible races. First of all, Versailles senior Jackson Spitzer accomplished a feat that very few boys in Ohio or the country ever achieve: breaking 15:00. Spitzer torched the course with a 14:54 finish, a minute ahead of Asher Cole for the victory, and he broke his own meet record from the year before by 16 seconds. Even though Spitzer broke 15, he was not the only one to do so Saturday; Fairless junior Brice Fuller also clocked a 14:54, only .8 seconds faster than Spitzer. The two runners both compete in division three, separating themselves from the rest of the division in what could become a monster showdown at Obetz.
Girls - Peyton Hughey
Canal Winchester senior Peyton Hughey entered the race with a seed of 19:24, roughly ten seconds behind the top seed, Michaela Flora, but there is a reason why the races are run. Hughey went on to win by nearly 10 seconds, with a time of 18:36, almost cutting 50 seconds off her seed time and setting an all-time PR. Hughey's performance was quite special, and it'll be exciting to see what she can run by the end of the season.
Sources: Athletic.Net
