2024 Girls Cross Country Guide: Team-by-team look at the Marion-area runners

Here are the girls cross country overview capsules for the 2024 season among Marion-area squads. Cardington did not respond to repeated requests for information, and it is not part of the story.

Elgin Comets

• League: Northwest Central Conference.
• Tournament Division: III.
• Coach: Jeff Ferrell (10 seasons).
• Roster: Kaylee Greene (Fr.), Bailey Abbott (Fr.), Emmila Colby (Fr.), Kayla Shea (Fr.).
• The Skinny: The Comets did not have a female runner last year ... This team is all freshmen, but three of them have running experience ... They are competitive ... They lack the numbers to compete as a team.
• Comment: Ferrell wants to see them "improve each week and have fun while learning the art of running distance."

2024 Volleyball Guide: Breaking down Highland, Pleasant, plus five questions on the year

2024 Volleyball Capsules Overview: Team-by-team look at the Marion area's 10 teams

Highland Scots

• League: Mid Ohio Athletic Conference.
• Tournament Division: II.
• Coach: Rich Williams (seven seasons).
• Last Year: Fifth in MOAC, fifth district.
• Returnees: Riley Matthews, Abbie Pruett, Kindylle Mallow (regional qualifier)
• The Skinny: The Scots are welcoming a large freshman class that brings a lot of talent ... There are other returning underclassmen who will be fighting for spots in the lineup.
• Comment: "We are looking to return to the regional meet or even state this year," Williams said. "We should have several freshmen and underclassmen who can step in and help out on the varsity lineup."

Marion Harding Presidents

• League: MOAC.
• Tournament Division: I.
• Coach: Bob Peters (eight seasons).
• Assistant: Nicole Uline.
• Last Year: MOAC runners-up, 11th in district.
• Roster: Annabell Johnson, Hannah Miniard, Hope Wheeler, Kyleigh Young, Laina Camp, Leah Price, Lydia Price, Lilianna Santiago, Olivia Willis, Shannon Malone.
• The Skinny: The Presidents return five of their seven varsity runners from last year, including the Price sisters, who were 23rd and 30th in last year's regional and who went 1-2 in last year MOAC race ... Peters is hoping two runners can step up and into their top five scoring positions ... Lost to graduation were Kam MacDonald, Eva Deeran and Crystal Ramirez.
• Comment: "Team's goal this year is to improve overall finishes and to grow the total number of runners," Peters said.

Mount Gilead

• League: Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.
• Tournament Division: III.
• Coach: Jake Hayes (seventh season).
• Assistants: Sabrina Bolha, Gary Bartlett.
• Last Year: Third in KMAC, third in district, 10th in regional.
• Roster: Kimberly Staley (Sr., 19:47 personal record, first-team KMAC, district and region, state qualifier), Ava Baker (Sr., 21:25, second-team KMAC, regional qualifier), Haley Pfeiffer (Sr., 22:07, regional qualifier), Sophie Mosher (So., 22:08, regional qualifier), Adriana Hershner (Jr., 22:58, regional qualifier), Natalie Jagger (Sr., 23:00, regional qualifier), Baylee Snyder (Jr., 25:05), Dwen Hershner (Fr., middle school KMAC champ).
• The Skinny: Mount Gilead did not lose a runner to graduation and brings back its 2023 team that went to the regional ... They are coming off a strong track season ... Upperclassman leadership is the team's strength ... With just 12 runners on the roster, they are tight as a group and share goals for 2024 ... They want to avoid nagging injuries and illnesses in the postseason.
• Comment: "We expect to be competitive at the KMAC, district, regional and state levels this fall," Hayes said.

Northmor Golden Knights

• League: KMAC.
• Tournament Division: III.
• Coach: Mark Yaussy (27 seasons).
• Assistants: Andrew Shaffer, Mark Hunter, Kendall Fout.
• Last Year: KMAC runners-up, third in district, eighth at regional.
• Roster: Ryann Brinkman (Jr., all-league and district, letter), Natalie Hunter (Sr., all-league and district, letter), Kate Lehman (Jr., all-league and district, letter), Haylee Walker (So., letter), Macie Witherall (So., all-league, letter), Shelby Cooper (Jr.,, letter), Kate Statler (Sr., letter), Elizabeth Ruhl (So., letter), Harley Barler (letter), Veronica Kanagy (Fr.), Hannah Ambroise (Fr.).
• The Skinny: The Golden Knights didn't lose anyone to graduation, returning all 12 runners from 2023 ... They have a strong front three with a group of seven who will likely be vying for the other four spots in the varsity lineup ... A concern is injuries, but the team does a good job of monitoring it and a good job of training hard to avoid injuries.
• Comment: "We hope to compete for the top three in all competitions. As always, our main goal is to make the state meet," Yaussy said.

North Union Wildcats

• League: Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division.
• Tournament Division: III.
• Coach: Penny Cunningham (three years).
• Last Year: Fourth in Mad River, fourth in D-II district.
• Roster: Savannah Amstutz (Sr., letter), Lauren Hall (Sr., letter, regional qualifier), Josie Held (So., letter), Kennedy Ludwig (So., letter, regional qualifier), Kailin McElroy (So., letter, regional qualifier).
• The Skinny: The Wildcats move from Division II to III this year ... They return three regional qualifiers and other experienced runners ... Low numbers are a concern with only the minimum of five available for team scores ... They graduated Corajayne DeBoer and Madelyn Zimmerman.
• Comment: "Our goals are to work hard all season and work together to qualify to regionals as a team as we just missed qualifying by five points in 2023," Cunningham said.

Pleasant Spartans

• League: MOAC.
• Tournament Division: 3.
• Coach: Beth Lichtenberger (nine seasons).
• Assistant: Evan Evans.
• Last Year: Fourth in MOAC, seventh in district.
• Roster: Nicole Robinson (Sr.), Olivia Meyers (Jr.), Lydia Baumgartner (So.), Sarah Jordan (So.), Kylie Berry (So.).
• The Skinny: The five returnees have experience ... With only five, they can't afford illness or injury to runners ... They are working hard and consistently dropping their times ... Three-time state qualifier Casey Kimball is not running this year.
• Comment: "We hope to continue to improve times and run consistently. These girls are special teammates who genuinely care for each other, and we look forward to seeing them grow. We hope to place well at MOAC and districts, possibly moving onto regionals," Lichtenberger said.

Ridgedale Rockets

• League: NWCC.
• Tournament Division: III.
• Coach: Amy Mazza (15th season, 16th overall).
• Roster: Hannah Staton (Jr., letter, ninth in NWCC), Alena Villavicencio (So.).
• The Skinny: The Rockets are running with a purpose, attacking runs and workouts ... They have good attitudes and are positive and encouraging ... With only two girls, they can't compete for team scores
• Comment: "As always, we are striving to run each race better than the last," Mazza said. "We are pushing to make the most our of each of our practices to better reach these goals."

River Valley Vikings

• League: MOAC.
• Tournament Division: II.
• Coach: Aric Smith (15th season).
• Assistant: Lori Peterson.
• Roster: Katie Harrison (Sr., 22:56), Brooklyn de Souza (Jr., 23:20), Addi Ebert (Jr., 23:15), Erica Mason (Jr., 21:12), Madison Lust (So., 21:53).
• The Skinny: With a small team, the Vikings are close and work well together ... They are fairly young and lack depth ... They lost Morgan Elliott and Allie Valentine to graduation.

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: 2024 Girls Cross Country Guide: Team-by-team look at the Marion-area runners