By Mark Carpenter-
With all of the COVID-19 rules and restrictions in place, Ripley High School took on the task last Saturday (Aug. 29) of hosting the season’s first big cross-country meet, appropriately dubbed the Ripley Invitational. Fourteen teams gathered on the river, including runners from all four Adams County schools, and one for one county runner, it turned out to be a quite memorable morning.
North Adams junior Myla Toole, returning from some injury-plagued seasons, showed notice that she is a force to be reckoned with in the 2020 campaign. Not only did Toole take first place in the high school girls race on Saturday, she did it while shattering the girls school record, finishing the race in a time of 20:36.
“Myla is one of the most dedicated athletes I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” said North Adams cross-country coach Kelly Boerger. “Her commitment and passion for the sport is unparalleled. I look forward to seeing what else she can accomplish this season.”
On top of Toole’s record-breaking performance, the entire Lady Devils high school squad had a memorable day, bringing home the hardware for the first place overall team in the high school girls standings, placing three runners in the top 20, making them medalists in a field of 69 runners. Joining Toole as medalists were senior Alyssa Mays, who finished 16th overall with a time of 24:24, and freshman Hunter Grooms, who was 17th at 24:44.
There have been very few races in the past few seasons that haven’t featured the name “Seas” and Saturday was no exception, as sisters Katy and Samantha Seas placed second and third respectively in the high school girls race. Katy, a junior, finished in a time of 21:17, while freshman Samantha came down the chute in a time of 21:31.
Three other high school girls runners earned medals in Ripley, by placing in the top 20: Peebles senior Lilly Gray was ninth (23:42), West Union senior Addie Shupert was 13th (24:12), and West Union sophomore Makenna Armstrong was 19th (24:54).
In the high school boys race, the highest finisher from Adams County was North Adams freshman Cody Hesler, who placed seventh with a time of 19:01. Peebles senior Bryce Willoughby was a medalist on the day, coming across in a time of 20:17, good for 17th place in a field consisting of 108 total runners.
In the middle school girls race, with 73 runners in the field, there were six young ladies from Adams County who came home with medals strapped around their neck, led by North Adams eight grade McKenna Shelton, who placed sixth in a time of 14:13. West Union eighth grader Sadie Armstrong was close behind in seventh place with a time of 14:14. Also medaling in the middle school girls race were North Adams eighth grader Katelynn Boerger who was ninth (14:34), West Union seventh grader Emma Crawford 12th (14:59), North Adams eighth grader Tatum Grooms 17th (15:23), and North Adams eighth grader Anna Armstrong 19th (15:27).
The North Adams High School girls were not the only team from Seaman to bring home some first-pace hardware, as the Green Devils’ middle school boys also put together a top-notch performance, putting four runners in the top 10 and winning the team title.
The middle school Devils, in a field of 82 runners, were led by seventh grader Beau Hesler, who placed third with a time of 12:07. Hesler was joined in the top 10 by teammates Jayce Rothwell (8) who finished fourth (12:38), Jimmy Hickey (8) in sixth place (13:02), and Connor Young (8) who was 10th (13.13). In the middle school boys race, the top finisher from Adams County was Peebles seventh grader Grady Myers. Myers finished second overall in the race with a time of 11:45.
Ripley Inv. Final Team Standings
Middle School Girls: New Richmond 51. Bethel-Tate 57, North Adams 71, Clermont Northeastern 93, Eastern Brown 124, Fairfield 125, Batavia 174
Middle School Boys: North 53, New Richmond 80, Bethel-Tate 81. Ripley 103, Clermont Northeastern 112, Fairfield 146, Batavia 173, Peebles 175. Western Brown 208
High School Girls: North Adams 67, Bethel-Tate 72, Fairfield 88, West Union 90, St. Bernard 103, New Richmond 122, Batavia 149, Ripley 150
High School Boys: Fairfield 37, Clermont Northeastern 72, New Richmond 89, Bethel-Tate 106, Batavia 131, St. Bernard 146, Peebles 160, Ripley 202, West Union 212