For the past handful of years, Amherst’s boys cross country team has participated in the OHSAA Preseason Invitational at Fortress Obetz in Columbus.
Fortress Obetz is the site of the state cross country meet, and the preseason meet gives teams an opportunity to get an early look at the course.
“We’ve gone down the last several years to kind of immerse ourselves in the course and the atmosphere, to get used to it,” said coach Rob Glatz. “Our goal is always to qualify for the state meet. I think this year it’s within reach, which is exciting.”
That goal seems to be attainable because on Aug. 19 the Comets placed second in the Division I race in a field of 41 teams. Worthington Kilbourne won the meet with 117 points, with Amherst next with 184. Rocky River took third with 202 points, and Avon was 16th with 429.
In the girls Division I race, Avon was third behind defending state champion Mason and West Chester Lakota West. The winners had 124 points, with Lakota West just three points behind. The Eagles tallied 154 points, two ahead of Perrysburg, which won the state title in 2021. Westlake was sixth with 193 points, Rocky River was seventh with 227 and Amherst was 14th with 468.
The top area girl finisher was Sarah Peer of Westlake, who took second. The senior crossed the line in 18:01.96, well behind the winning time of 17:29.44 for Evelyn Prodoehl of Lakota West. Avon’s Kaitlyn Reese was sixth in 18:38.93 and Rocky River senior Brianna Chaves was 11th with a 19:11.87 clocking.
As for Amherst’s boys, Glatz said he was expecting the team to do well, but the thought of finishing second never crossed his mind.
“I knew we were going to be successful, but I didn’t realize we were going to be second place,” Glatz said. “I’ve told the boys since Day 1, ‘We’re going to do something special this year.’ But if we’re going to do something we’ve never done before, then we have to do things we’ve never done before, which is what we’ve been doing with our training. We’ve been pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone.”
The Comets were led by their dynamic duo of Ty Perez and Luke Bowlsby, who placed seventh and eighth, respectively, with personal record times of 15:54.90 and 15:55.20. It was the first time under 16 minutes for both of Amherst’s senior frontrunners.
“The boys performed well,” Glatz said. “Obviously, Ty and Luke really stepped up, breaking 16 for the first time. It’s pretty incredible to start off the season that way. Having that 1-2 punch up front really helps, but I’m super-proud of my secondary pack. We’ve got a group of about six or seven guys who can step up to be our 3-4-5.”
At Fortress Obetz, those spots were filled by Ben Susi (44th, 17:01.16), Henry Isaacs (53rd, 17:10.71) and Matthew Walker (78th, 17:27.61). All ran personal record times, including Walker, who lost one of his shoes early in the race but still ran a huge PR.
“It was kind of inspiring to see him push so hard despite running with just one shoe,” Glatz said. “He lost his shoe at the 800-meter mark but then he kept on going. He ran very well.”
Glatz attributes the early success to a great summer of training, but he stresses that nothing has been accomplished yet and that the Comets need to remain focused on the goal of qualifying for the state meet. Should they reach that goal, it would be the first time since 1995, when Glatz was on the team.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Glatz said. “I’ve told the boys that we need to be humble and hungry and keep our eyes on our goal, which is qualifying for the state meet. We’re working hard right now, but I’m sure that later on in the season when we start to get into championship mode, we’ll be faster. That’s one of the reasons that I’m so excited, that the boys ran so well despite us pushing them harder than we ever have before.”
