GALION — Galion is sending two runners to the Division II regional cross country championships in Tiffin.
Sophomores Chad Taylor and Raygann Campbell each qualified for the regional meet thanks to solid performances on Saturday in the district championships on their home course at Amann Reservoir.
The regional meet is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30 at Hedges Boyer Park in Tiffin. The girls race is scheduled to start at noon followed by the boys race at 1 p.m.
“I am so excited for Raygann to qualify to the regional meet. She ran well (Saturday) and has enough gas in the tank to continue to do well next week,” Galion head coach Cindy Conner said. “Chad ran an amazing race (Saturday) as well and is so excited to compete at the regional meet for the first time. After shin splints knocked him down last season, he was so happy to be able to compete healthy. I am looking forward to enjoying the postseason with him.”
Taylor crossed the finish line in 16:48.9 to claim fifth place in the boys individual standings.
Campbell placed 11th in the girls individual standings, turning in a time of 19:59.3.
The Galion girls team finished fifth at the district meet with 146 points, missing out on a berth to the regional meet by 18 points. Huron, with 128 points, finished ahead of the Tigers and earned the fourth automatic qualification to Tiffin.
Lexington won the district championship with 51 points and Shelby placed second with 81 points. Edison came in third place with 108 points.
Zaynah Tate placed 20th with a time of 20:53. Ava Smith came in 32nd place, turning in a time of 21:50.4. Emily McDonald placed 34th, posting a time of 21:55.2.
Natalee Perkins finished in 49th place with a time of 23:09.2. Jasmine Clingman came in 58th place, crossing the finish line in 23:49.6. Nora Harding returned from injury that kept her out of the MOAC meet and finished 66th with a time of 24:23.3.
“This has a been a difficult season for the girls team with injuries, illnesses, quarantines, etc.,” Conner said. “We have not had our varsity team intact for about 6 weeks of competition. We were hopefully with everyone back this week but the cards were not in our favor. We are sad for our five seniors, but also know that they gave it their all and this is just a glimpse in the big picture of life.”
Taylor led the Galion boys team to a fifth-place finish, scoring 160 points. Like the girls team, the Tigers finished behind Huron (124 points) in the final team results, falling just short of qualifying for the Tiffin regional.
Lexington made it a clean sweep of the district championship hardware, winning the boys title with 43 points, just edging Shelby, which had 44 points at the end of the day. Perkins placed third with 119 points.
Cannon Butler placed 35th, posting a time of 18:29.3. Kellen Kiser finished in 39th place with a time of 18:35.7. Erik Hilario, who missed the MOAC meet, returned to action and came in 40th place, turning in a time of 18:36.3.
Anthony Ferini placed 45th with time of 19:09.1. Caleb Brutchey crossed the finish line in 19:20.2 to claim 49th place. Tyler Fraizer came in 63rd place with a time of 19:54.5.
“The boys team has been very disciplined this year,” Conner said. “They allowed the process of training control their decisions and were peaking at just the right time. In my four years as head coach and the few years before when I was on staff, the boys team is typically projected eighth to 10th place and that’s where they usually finished. This year the boys were hopeful for a post season appearance and fell just a little short. They are a younger team and look forward to a possible appearance in the near future.”
