Week of 4/12 Girls Recap

The 2025 outdoor season is officially underway, and with it comes the return of our weekly coverage of Central Ohio distance running. Each week, we’ll be highlighting standout performances, key meets, and rising talent from across the region. From veterans making big leaps to underclassmen turning heads early, there's already plenty to be excited about — so let’s get right into it.

Before we dive into the recap, we wanted to provide a quick rundown of how our coverage will look this season. Once again, the OHSAA has realigned the districts, which means this year’s Pickerington North Region is made up of qualifiers from three Central Districts and the lone Southeast District. Additionally, on the girls’ side, an additional Central district will send qualifiers to the Austintown Fitch Region.

Despite the new regional makeup, we’re going to continue focusing on the teams that competed in the Pickerington North Region during last fall’s cross-country season. That means schools like Sheridan and Chillicothe will still be featured in our weekly recaps, while schools like New Philadelphia and Dover — who competed in the Northeast Ohio Region — won’t be covered until the regional meet.

Stingel Invite: 

The first meet that really jumped off the page for me was the Stingel Invite — specifically the girls 1600 meters. The race was won by Olentangy Orange’s Bella Conforti in 5:03. The sophomore dropped a massive six-second PR, which, at least in my mind, is a great sign of continued progress from someone who ran 5:31 on this same weekend last year.

Right behind Conforti was Lancaster junior Harper Allen, who also ran a big personal best of 5:07 — a three-second improvement over her previous best of 5:10 set last spring. All in all, this was just a great, competitive race, as in addition to Allen and Conforti, we saw five Central Ohio athletes (Ruby Lewis, Mia Fry, and Lainey Fauth among them) finish in 5:20 or faster.

While I’d consider the 1600 to be the deepest race of the day, the girls 3200 meters undoubtedly produced the best performance of the meet with Brooke Chapman’s 10:32. While I’m not necessarily surprised that the Footlocker All-American ran 10:32, it’s still a great sign moving forward.

Also in the 3200 were a pair of seniors — Marysville’s Bailey Gross and Pickerington North’s Mia Eberhardt — who ran 11:15 and 11:23, respectively. I’ll admit, I was pretty surprised to see Gross drop an 11:15. Her previous PR was 11:35 from this indoor season, but after a recent 2:37 in the 800, I had some doubts about her current fitness.

In the 4x800, we saw four teams break the 10-minute barrier. However, only one of those teams was from Central Ohio — so congratulations to the Marysville Monarchs on their sub-10 clocking.

Hilliard Premier: 

The other meet that stood out this weekend was the Hilliard Premier. The biggest winners here were undoubtedly the Dublin Jerome Celtics, more specifically Natalie Fouts and Abbie McBrearty. Fouts won the 1600 meters in 5:04, a staggering 21 seconds ahead of the next finisher. McBrearty also impressed in the 800, running 2:23 to take the win — a sizable improvement from her 2:32 this indoor season.

It was also pretty interesting to see Celia Schulte make a big jump in distance, winning the 3200 meters in 11:17 — a seven-second victory over a solid field.

However, the best race of the day was easily the 4x800. Not one, but two teams broke 9:50: the Hilliard Davidson Wildcats and the Dublin Jerome Celtics. The Wildcats defended their home track, running 9:43 to edge Jerome’s 9:47.

Other Notable Action: 

While most of the action this weekend came from Hilliard Premier and the Stingel Invite, they weren’t the only Central Ohio meets producing noteworthy performances.

One of the biggest highlights came from Katy Zang, who made her return to racing after missing the entire indoor season due to injury. She opened with a solo 10:44 in the 3200 at the Shawnee Seitz Memorial Invite — a strong statement to kick off her outdoor campaign.

At the Dick Dei Track Classic in Wheeling, West Virginia, Olentangy Liberty junior Bridget Snider won the 800 in 2:24, while her teammate, junior Elena Aldrink, took home the 1600 title in a time of 5:03. Liberty athletes clearly made their mark at this meet.

Another result that flew under the radar was from Whetstone junior Miriam Rule, who clocked a 5:19 to place second at the Berlin Invitational — a strong early-season showing that deserves recognition.

Underclassmen results:

Moving forward, we’ll be spotlighting notable underclassmen performances in our weekly recaps — the future of Central Ohio distance running.

This week, the Stingel Invite 3200 meters takes center stage, with three freshmen finishing inside the top seven. New Albany’s Kyla Benedict (11:20), Lancaster’s Brooke Derringer (11:30), and Chillicothe’s Gabby Maranzana (11:31) all ran outstanding times. These are incredible performances not just for freshmen but by any standard.

Another freshman who impressed was Watkins Memorial’s Kate Michael, who ran 2:22 in the 800 at Stingel — finishing less than a second away from the win.

Week one didn’t disappoint. From breakout performances at the Stingel Invite to dominant showings at the Hilliard Premier, Central Ohio’s distance scene is already heating up. With underclassmen showing serious promise, it’s clear the future is bright. We’ll be back next week with more coverage as the outdoor season continues to pick up steam.