It’s about that time of year again. The fall sports at Jonathan Alder are starting to begin and the Pioneers are already tasting success in the least likely of sports. This Tuesday, Alder kicked off their cross country season at the Ben Logan Invitational and wrapped up the week with more success Saturday, at the Baron Blast.

     Spirits were high on the bus ride home Tuesday after the high school boys team took home 2nd place, and Aziza Ayoub finished an overall 1st in the high school girls race. Luke Malone finished first for the high school boys finishing 4th with a time of 18:53. Michael Gray and Zach Hicks followed finishing in 6th and 9th.

     After the meet, when asked about the team’s performance, Coach Justin Creps replied, “Overall I was pleased with the meet.  We had a lot of runners show a lot of improvement from last year, which is my main goal for this year.”  Creps also expressed his desire to add more runners by the end of the year, “On both the guys’ and girls’ team, we need to continue to develop depth. The guys have four runners performing well, but there is a large gap between our fourth and fifth runners.  We need some of our upper class boys to step up and reduce the points we’re accumulating in the 5 spot.” “Hard work, staying healthy, and experience should help us moving forward,” which Creps said is ideal.

     The Pioneers followed their successful start to the season on Saturday, at the Baron Blast. Aziza Ayoub won her 2nd straight race with a dominating performance, running a 20:38, beating her opponents by 16 seconds. Ayoub commented on her past two wins by saying, “Next is to keep the win streak alive and eventually go sub 20.”

     In the high school boys race, Luke Malone again led the boys team placing 24th, running a personal best 18:23. After the race, Malone commented on his preparation for next week’s race stating, “Just keeping the race as simple as it can be and having fun along the way has helped me do well.” Gavin Frick quickly followed placing 27th, running a personal best of 18:28. Michael Gray, Zach Hicks, and Cole Schrock later finished placing 37th, 38th, and 76th.

     Despite the strong performances, the boys team failed to place in the Top 2, scoring a 127 in a tough field which included state championship contenders from Buckeye Valley, a very strong Olentangy Liberty, and Bellefontaine, who defeated the Pioneers by 6 at Ben Logan.

     Even with the strong efforts from the high school girls, the tough field was too much as they placed 5th at the Baron Blast. Next week the Pioneers look to prove themselves in the Westerville North Classic which insures the best competition from across Central Ohio.