OBETZ - Aggressive starts were a staple in Reece Savage's fabulous freshman season, so Johnstown's budding star was not going to change her strategy at the state meet.
Savage rubbed elbows with Ohio's best runners Saturday, and she showed she already deserves a seat at the table. Savage ran a time of 18:40.3 to place seventh in Division II at Fortress Obetz, a facility hosting its first state championships.
"I was really nervous all week," Savage said. "I didn't think I would do as well as I did. I knew I would be somewhat up there, but I didn't think I would be able to place top 10."
Just as she did in winning the Licking County League, district and regional championships, Savage took the lead from the start. She still led at the mile mark before the top three finishers -- Oakwood's Grace Hartman, Hawken's Ella Gibson and Lexington's Halle Hamilton -- took the command and broke away.
Savage did not fall far. She kept her composure and did not back down when the pack swallowed her up.
"In my first mile, the pace I was going I thought I would be able to keep it up, but then when they came close to me, I realized I couldn't," Savage said. "That got me really nervous they were all going to pass me. At the end of the hill (during the third mile), I started trying to pick it up a little bit and catch back up to the pack, so that helped me a lot."
Granville junior Regina Rose made a move late in the first mile, racing to the front pack and was a few steps behind Savage. She eventually placed a career-best 11th (18:49.6), working her way up from 26th last season to earn her second All-Ohio honor.
Rose led the Blue Aces to a sixth-place team finish. It was a tight race as Lexington won its fourth consecutive title, totaling 113 points, and the next four were separated by 27 points from 127 to 154 before Granville's 186.
"This is the last race of the season. I just wanted to leave everything on the course and act first, think second," Rose said. "This is a new experience for a lot of us, especially for the freshmen. This is the first race we've had really strong competition (this season), but going into it, we all knew what we were capable of."
Dylan Kretchmar 43rd (19:48.3), Ella Johnson 53rd (20:00.9), Jenna Unkefer 84th (20:31.4) and Kara Bergeron 99th (20:41.0) rounded out the scoring, and Zoee Lehman 100th (20:42.1) and Sophia Cotts 124th (21:23.3) also competed. Kretchmar and Unkefer were competing in their fourth state meet, a number Rose expects to match next season as the Blue Aces continue to churn out high-caliber runners.
"We have all done a really good job of getting younger people to join the team and come up with us at the front," Rose said. "That is part of what we try to do as a team every year."
Watkins Memorial sophomore Cameryn Wheeler also took her shot Saturday, racing in the top 25 through the first mile of the Division I race before sliding back.
Wheeler was disappointed to not approach her best times in the mid-18s, but her 65th-place finish (19:28.9) was nine spots better than 2019.
"Just from the beginning, I didn't feel the greatest, and all I wanted to do was get up there with those girls," said Wheeler, who won the LCL-Buckeye title and was district and regional runner-up last month. "It was a great season. I couldn't have asked for a better season. It just didn't work out in the end."
The Northridge sister duo of senior Olyvia Ashbrook and freshman Albree Ashbrook raced one more time together in Division III. Olyvia finished 57th (20:16.4) and Albree 96th (21:04.0).
“I was excited to be here as a freshman, but I was so nervous. I was like shaking,” Albree said. “As soon as it started, I got boxed in, so it was the most overwhelming thing I have ever done.”
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