Shultz revels in her All-Ohio finish at state cross country
Loudonville’s Tess Shultz earned All-Ohio honors for the second consecutive year by placing 10th at the Div. III state tournament on Nov. 4.
Minutes after her All-Ohio run at the OHSAA Division III State Championships, Loudonville’s Tess Shultz soaked it all in.
The junior’s goal was simply to get back on the podium after doing it a year ago, but a top 10 finish — like her 10th-place showing she had Nov. 4 on her sport’s biggest stage — made the moment even more surreal.
“The goal was just getting on the podium and hopefully things would work out,” Shultz said after clocking an 18:49.71. “I just have so much support from my school; it’s been amazing.
“I can’t wait to start indoor (track). It’s going to be an amazing offseason. I get to run with my friends and just have fun.”
Shultz, Meghan Schwartz of Garaway and the West Holmes girls team took part in the annual state meet on Nov. 4 at Fortress Obetz.
And for the Loudonville upperclassman, it was making sure she didn’t leave anything in the tank when she entered the final mile.
After solidifying herself among the top 20 for most of the race, she then moved up five spots on the next mile, and then after hearing Redbirds coach Whitney Snyder shout exactly what place she was in, she realized she could go for even more.
“I ran past my coach, and she’s like ‘you’re in 13th place,’ and I was like ‘What?’” she said, admitting she thought she was 16th. “That was so awesome. I didn’t expect to get the time that I did; it’s just amazing.”
The finish was the second straight All-Ohio finish.
Speaking of streaks, West Holmes’ girls team was making its third consecutive trip to the Div. II meet. The Knights went on to place 20th in the field, paced by junior Noelle Smith’s 76th-place finish in 20:10.
Making the state-qualifying season even sweeter for West Holmes is the fact it overcame some early-season injuries and roster shuffling to make another November to remember.
From junior Zora Starner just getting cleared from injury prior to the Ohio Cardinal Conference Meet to sophomore Katherine Kaster being available for the entire postseason after running in just a handful of regular-season meets as she competed on the school’s soccer team, the Knights found a way to get it done.
“It’s nice to be here with the team and to experience it with my friends,” Smith said. “I feel like it makes this even more of a goal for next year, especially for me to make the podium and get All-Ohio. That was the goal today, but everything isn’t going to go the way it’s going to go.”
Also for the Knights, Alexis Wagers checked in at 122nd overall in 21:03.27 while Lexy Starner (134th, 21:24.65), Kaster (146th, 21:39.10) and Zora Starner (22:02.94) all factored in the scoring.
“The great thing about this team is it is full of self-determined individuals who all take initiative in their training,” West Holmes coach Kevin Beachy said. “They are all leaders and examples for others.”
For Smith, who improved on her state finish from last season by 18 spots, the race was unlike anything she has experienced in her prep career.
“That was probably the hardest race that I ever ran in my life,” she said. “Every time I tried to make a move, there happen to be three girls in front of me, so it was pretty hard. Even if the time didn’t come how I wanted it to, I still gave it my all, and I’m happy with how I did.”
Schwartz competed in her second state meet in a row, placing 63rd overall in the Div. III race with a time of 20:04.24. It was quite a season for the senior, who clocked a personal-record 19:30.12 at the Tuscarawas All-County meet in September and earned the 24th and final state-qualifying spot in the Pickerington Regional last month.