Winner: Natalie Fouts

School: Dublin Jerome

Quote: “I’ve been looking forward to regionals and states the whole season and want to finish out my season strong.”

Highlight:

Natalie Fouts continued her stellar senior campaign with a dominant conference victory in the OCC Cardinal Division, beating the rest of the field by an entire minute with a time of 18:12. The OCC meet marked her second individual win of the season after taking first at the Pre-Season Invitational in the opening week. She has not placed lower than fourth in any of her five races, with her personal best of 17:24 coming from a runner-up finish at her home meet, the Celtic Clash. Reflecting on her performance, she said, “OCC’s was a very exciting meet for our team since we all did well. I hadn’t raced in a few weeks and I wanted to get a good hard effort in before the postseason.”

The conference meet also marked Fouts’ first race as an official Syracuse recruit following her recent commitment to the Orange. She’ll look to help start a Central Ohio pipeline for the girls’ program, as the Syracuse men’s team has already attracted five Central Ohio athletes since the class of 2023, including two of her former teammates, Sam Richiutti and Charlie Guerrera. Syracuse opened the season nationally ranked, making Fouts’ commitment an especially notable one.

Looking ahead, Fouts said, “I’ve been looking forward to regionals and states the whole season and want to finish out my season strong.” While there are many formidable challengers across the state, such as Elena Aldrink and Kaitlyn Reese, Fouts is absolutely a contender for the state title. She’ll also aim to lead Dublin Jerome back to the state meet, with their conference victory providing strong momentum for the Celtics heading into the postseason.