Girls Division 1 Central Ohio Preview

After a long indoor season, it’s finally time for Central Ohio’s Division 1 runners to showcase their strength. Of the 64 total distance entries, 27 come from Central Ohio—nearly half the field. Every distance race will be packed with Central Ohio talent, with at least five qualifiers in each event. Given that anything can happen on race day, we’re excited to see what this strong group of competitors can accomplish. Below, we break down all of Central Ohio’s entries and highlight those who could make a big impact.

4x800m Central Ohio Qualifiers: Hilliard Davidson, Olentangy Orange, Lancaster, Olentangy Liberty, Thomas Worthington, Marysville

As far as Central Ohio teams are concerned, this should be Hilliard Davidson’s race to lose—assuming they run their best possible lineup. With the mid-distance firepower of Celia Schulte, Gemma Pusateri, Erica Kaulen, and Mackenzie Kline, it’s going to take a momentous effort for anyone to upset the Wildcats on Saturday.

Beyond Hilliard Davidson, Olentangy Orange and Lancaster are the only two teams that have dipped under the 10-minute barrier. While they aren’t serious contenders for the win, both squads should be favored to bring home All-Ohio honors.

Olentangy Liberty, Thomas Worthington, and Marysville all qualified with seed times just above 10:00. While they are seeded in the bottom five, a great day could propel them to All-Ohio status.

Also, a shout out to Marysville. For a team that didn’t qualify for the state cross country meet, they’ve made massive strides—sending not only a relay team to the state meet but also a couple of individual qualifiers as well.

1600m Central Ohio Qualifiers: Marisa Heil, Brooke Chapman, Lainey Fauth, Marguerite Foust, Mackenzie Kline, Ashley Alsko

Right off the bat, we see Lancaster senior Marisa Heil leading the seed times with a 4:56. Not far behind her is Olentangy Orange junior Brooke Chapman, seeded at 4:57.

Although Heil has the better seed time, my money is on Chapman to come out on top in this race—she’s looked much sharper over the past few weeks. I mean, it’s really hard to bet against someone who has run 2:12 (800) and 17:12 (5K) over the course of this school year. That’s not to say Heil should be counted out, but I’d pick Chapman over her nine times out of ten.

Other Central Ohio athletes in the event include Thomas Worthington sophomore Lainey Fauth, who has had a quietly great indoor season, and Marysville senior Marguerite Foust. Both are seeded outside of the top eight, but it wouldn’t take a herculean effort for either of them to sneak into a scoring position. The Hilliard Davidson duo of Mackenzie Kline and Ashley Alsko may have more work to do, however.

800m Central Ohio Qualifiers: Celia Schulte, Brooke Chapman, Minori Hudson, Bridget Snider, Gemma Pusateri

As much as I admire the season Brooke Chapman has put together, I don’t see a scenario where Hilliard Davidson senior Celia Schulte doesn’t take home the title this weekend. The future Furman Paladin has run 2:08 for 800 meters and 57.4 for 400 meters this indoor season (she’d be a legitimate title contender in the open 400), and that’s simply too dang fast for the rest of the field.

As for Chapman, she has posted some strong performances in the half-mile this indoor season, most notably a 2:12 clocking to win at the Ashland High Performance Meet a few weeks ago.

Two other athletes from that Ashland race are also in the mix: Dublin Coffman’s Minori Hudson, who has run 2:19 this season, and Olentangy Liberty junior Bridget Snider, who clocked 2:20 to cap off a very consistent regular season.

3200m Central Ohio Qualifiers: Marisa Heil, Elena Aldrink, Natalie Fouts, Erica Kaulen, Bella Conforti, Lainey Fauth, Olivia Smeck, Ava Parrett, Ruby Lewis, Kyla Benedict

Once again, we have Lancaster senior Marisa Heil leading the seed times, this time with a blazing 10:28. And once again, an Olentangy-based athlete isn’t far behind—Olentangy Liberty junior Elena Aldrink enters with a 10:36 seed time.

I’m much higher on Heil’s odds in this event compared to the 1600 meters. Yes, she lost to burgeoning West Virginia superstar Maysen Fletcher at Ashland a couple of weeks ago, but it’s hard to ignore her 10:33 from earlier in the year—especially when considering the strides she has made in the shorter distances. Now, an individual win won’t be an easy task. Aldrink, last year’s outdoor 3200m state champion, will be coming in fresh and hoping to claim her second state title.

Other Central Ohio athletes seeded in the top eight include Dublin Jerome junior Natalie Fouts, who lost to Heil by the slimmest of margins at Ashland while running 10:50, and Hilliard Davidson junior Erica Kaulen, who clocked her 10:56 seed time on this very track about a month ago. Bella Conforti, seeded at 11:03, rounds out the top group.

Beyond them, Central Ohio has a whopping five more qualifiers: Lainey Fauth, Olivia Smeck, Ava Parrett, Ruby Lewis, and Kyla Benedict, all of whom have personal bests ranging from 11:10 to 11:30. While they are seeded outside of the top eight, I wouldn’t count any of them out.

Central Ohio is bringing serious firepower to this year’s Division 1 state meet, with multiple contenders for podium finishes and even state titles. From marquee names like Celia Schulte, Brooke Chapman, Marisa Heil, and Elena Aldrink to under-the-radar athletes looking to break through, the depth in this region is undeniable. With race day approaching, we can’t wait to see how these athletes rise to the challenge and represent Central Ohio on the biggest stage of the indoor season.