Rest of State Girls Recap

The 2024 state championships showcased remarkable performances, particularly from Uniontown Lake’s Daniela Scheffler, who capped off an undefeated season with an individual title. In the team competition, the Lancaster Golden Gales emerged victorious, continuing the trend of strong Central Ohio teams dominating the race. Let’s take a closer look at the standout individual and team performances from this exciting championship.

Individual State Champion: Daniela Scheffler (Uniontown Lake)

Team State Champion: Lancaster Golden Gales

To no one’s surprise, Uniontown Lake’s Daniela Scheffler took home the individual title, a perfect way to cap off her undefeated season. As a bonus, Scheffler recorded the second-fastest time of her career—or the fastest, depending on your thoughts on the Federal League Championship course.

Equally unsurprising was the strong showing from the Central Ohio trio of Brooke Chapman, Marisa Heil, and Elena Aldrink, who rounded out the top four. All three athletes performed exceptionally well during the cross-country season and truly delivered when it counted most. We go into more detail about their performances here.

In the rest of the top ten, the Lakota West duo of Evelyn Prodoehl and Ava Shepard claimed 5th and 8th places, respectively. Strongsville’s Hannah Jicha took 6th, Avon’s Kaitlyn Reese placed 7th, Dublin Jerome’s Natalie Fouts came in 9th, and Hilliard Davidson’s Erica Kaulen rounded out the top ten.

Among these athletes, Strongsville’s Hannah Jicha stood out the most. Throughout the season, she delivered solid performances, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Boardman Spartan XC Invitational. Yet despite her consistent results, she had not run faster than 18:01 for 5,000 meters. Seeing her cross the line at 17:35 was a pleasant surprise—a remarkable achievement she can truly be proud of.

The team standings tell a similar story, with Central Ohio squads claiming the top two spots: Lancaster triumphed over Hilliard Davidson by 18 points. Outside of Central Ohio (click here if you want a more Central Ohio-focused recap), Mason delivered one of their best races of the season, scoring 143 points to secure third place.

The biggest surprise, however, was Talawanda’s 4th-place finish, worthy of its own paragraph.

Wow. The Talawanda Braves ran an outstanding race. This was a team that had finished 14th at Trinity/Valkyrie and 10th at Centerville’s Saturday Night Lights. Though they showed signs of improvement as the postseason began, their finish on Saturday was wildly impressive. Leading the charge were All-Ohio finishers Lucia Rodbro and Adriana Luking, and, incredibly, every runner in their top seven set a new personal best. It was truly a fantastic way to end the season.

In the end, the championship results showcased a mix of anticipated outcomes and thrilling surprises. Scheffler’s dominance and Lancaster’s team victory were expected, yet the standout performances from athletes like Strongsville’s Hannah Jicha and Talawanda’s surprising 4th-place finish captured the true spirit of competition. With remarkable personal bests and a season’s worth of hard work culminating in success, these athletes and teams have much to celebrate as they close out a memorable season.