LHS Women’s Cross Country Team Grabs 1st Place at Season Opener!

by Cassie Mattia

Loveland, Ohio- LHS Tiger Athletics kicked the Fall sports season off with a bang as the Women’s Cross Country Team collected their first 2021 victory on Saturday at the Ohio High School Athletics Association (OHSAA) Cross Country Season Opener!

Both Loveland’s Women’s and Men’s Cross Country Teams competed Saturday against 43 (scored) teams from all across Ohio at Fortress Obetz in Columbus, Ohio, which is also where the OHSAA’s 2021 State Cross Country Meet will be run this year.

Both Tiger teams are being looked at with high expectations this year as they have a squad full of veteran runners returning including 2020 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Runner of the Year Senior Ryan Chevalier and 1st Team All-ECC Jesse Gibbins and Emmy Sager.

Loveland did not disappoint their supporters at the first meet of the 2021 season as the Women finished in 1st place out of 43 very talented teams and the Men finished in 3rd place. The Women finished with a score of 90 (11-12-18-20-29-108-130), a team time of 1:38:48, a runner average of 19:46, and a mile average of 6:22. The Men finished with a score of 185 (5-13-38-50-79-116-132), a team time of 1:26:04, a runner average of 17:13, and a mile average of 5:33.

For LHS’s Women’s Cross Country Team, Junior Madison Conatser finished 11th with a time of 19:27.8, Senior Jesse Gibbins finished 12th with a time of 19:33.7, Senior Sarah Madix finished 18th with a time of 19:40.5, Senior Emmy Sager finished 20th with a time of 19:51.5, Junior Ally Colegate finished 29th with a time of 20:13.6, Senior Maaike Snider finished 108th with a time of 22:00.2, and Sophmore Lauren Gard finished 130th with a time of 22:24.8.

The Men’s Cross Country Team also had some impressive finishes with Senior Ryan Chevalier finishing in 5th with a time of 16:13.6, Junior Brady Steiner finishing in 13th with a time of 16:44.9, Senior Sam Neiger finishing in 38th with a time of 17:26.1, Freshman Nick Huff finishing in 50th with a time of 17:38.1, Junior Grant Hanson finishing in 79th with a time of 18:00.4, Senior Andrew Waple finishing 116th with a time of 18:21.8, and Junior Alex Saletta finishing in 132nd with a time of 18:32.7.

For the full meet results click here.

Congratulations to LHS’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Team’s on their 1st and 3rd place finishes in their first meet of the 2021 season! We are looking forward to seeing all the Tiger success this year! Thank you to LHS Cross Country parent Paul Madix for providing us with both the stats and photos from the opening meet!

The Tigers will compete again on Friday, August 27th at Christ Church for the Moeller Prime Time Invitational at 8:45 P.M.

Tentative 2021 LHS Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Schedule

8/24 Sat, OHSAA Season Opener, 10:00 a.m. at Fortress Obetz

8/27 Fri, Moeller Prime Time Invitational, 8:45 p.m. at Christ Church

9/4 Sat, Loveland Invitational 8:45 a.m. at Home of the Brave

9/11 Sat, Mason Invitational 9:00 a.m. at Corwin Nixon Park

9/18 Sat, Asics Woodbridge XC Classic TBD at Irvine, California

(Top 7 Times from the OHSAA Season Opener & possible wildcard. Pending approval from OHSAA & Loveland Schools)

9/25 Sat, Loveland Sunset Invite 6:00 p.m. at Loveland High School

10/2 Sat, Saturday Nights Lights TBA at Centerville HS

10/16 Sat, ECC Championships TBD at Home of the Brave

10/21 Thur, Southwest Ohio Championships 5:45 p.m. at Site TBD

(Based on the ECC Championship results, all remaining non-Top 7 will compete)

10/23 Sat, District Championships TBD at Voice of America

(Top Seven will compete)

10/30 Sat, Regional Championships ** TBD at Troy, Ohio

11/6 Sat, Ohio State Championships ** TBD at Fortress Obetz

** Team or Individuals must qualify for the Regional & State Championships

*** Start Times will vary due to our participation in multiple races.

For more LHS sports updates stay tuned to the Sports 411 With ME, Cassie Mattia!