Last Saturday, the Boys and Girls Cross Country teams both ran at the Regional Championship in Pickerington.

    As the teams arrived in Pickerington, the rain was coming down and the temperatures were close to freezing. The combination of the weather and the mud made for a tough race ahead.

    The Girls were seeking to qualify for the State Championship for the first time in school history and the Boys team for the first time since 1989.

   Freshman Morgan Hicks led the girls team placing 8th, individually qualifying for the State Championship. Along with Hicks, freshman Maddie Davis also individually qualified, placing 14th.

    The Girls just barely missed out on the State cut-off. The team placed 7th, but only the top 6 moved onto the State Championship. Alder missed out on 6th-placed Dover by only 4 points.

    On the Boys side, sophomores Luke Malone and Gavin Frick led Jonathan Alder, coming within a second of each other, placing 19th and 21st, respectively. Both individually qualified for the State Championship.

    Senior Jase Headings and sophomores Michael Gray and Zach Hicks rounded out the Top 5.

    The Boys team qualified for the State Championship for only the second time in school history, placing 5th, beating the final two qualifying teams by more than 85 points.

    The remaining nine runners for Jonathan Alder will compete at the OHSAA State Championship on November 4th at 11:45am and 2:15pm at National Trails Raceway in Hebron.