This past Saturday saw the best of Ohio's high school cross country programs meet in Columbus for the state meet and the Jags were there to be part of it. With perfect weather and course conditions, all the races made this year's edition of the state meet the fastest in history, producing some of the best performances ever in Ohio and across the country. SJA was a big part of this day, finishing 11th in the 20 team Division 1 field and having all 7 runners set personal bests.
The Jags were led by sophomore Sofia Koons, who for the 2nd year in a row earned All-Ohio status with her 27th place finish. Sofia's time of 18:26 also bumps her to the 3rd fastest in school history. Not too far behind was senior captain Bridget Mullen who finished 45th overall and broke the 19 minute barrier with her time of 18:54.
Sophomore Avery Stives also dropped a lot of time off her previous best with her 19:14 effort - she now sits number 13 on SJA's all-time list. Senior captain Grace Harris ran a spirited last mile to finish as SJA's 4th runner and break the 20 minute barrier for the first time with her 19:54 finish. Running a tremendous race in her first state meet as a freshman was Elizabeth Siefker who just missed breaking 20 minutes as did junior Amelia Litten - they finished in 20:01 and 20:04 respectively. Carolyn Skrha, also just in 9th grade, ran her fastest race of the season and finished not far behind her teammates with her 20:22.
The team had an average of 19:17 which is the best average SJA has ever had at the state meet, even better than the 4th place team's average of 19:39 from 2002. It was an exceptional day for the Jaguars as they continued their tradition of excellence in the OHSAA tournament, greatly exceeding their 16th pre-race ranking and competing as the only private school in the Division 1 girls race.
