Last Saturday, the boys and girls cross country teams traveled to Galion for the 41st Galion XC Festival.

    This week, the weather was much more of a factor than the previous week as it reached 81 degrees just before the start of the high school races.

    The boys team entered the day looking to pull off a few impressive upsets over some of the state’s best.

    Sophomore Gavin Frick led the surge on Saturday, placing 12th overall and running a 16:40.

    Following Frick, sophomore Luke Malone and senior Jase Headings placed 25th and 29th, respectively. Sophomores Zach Hicks and Michael Gray rounded out the team’s Top 5.

    The team scored incredibly well, placing sixth overall in a field of state contenders. The team pulled off upsets over 12th ranked Buckeye Valley, 17th ranked Milan Edison, and 18th ranked Van Wert.

    On the girls side, freshman Morgan Hicks led the way, placing 4th overall and running a 19:32. Freshman Maddie Davis and junior Ashlyn McDaniel followed, placing 14th and 16th, respectively.

    Senior Lexi Thorpe and freshman Avery Hecht rounded out the team’s Top 5.

    The girls team placed 3rd, just behind District competitors Buckeye Valley.

    The team runs next at the George Rogers Clark Invitational in Springfield on September 23rd.