For the first time ever, both the Boys and Girls Cross Country teams made the trip to National Trails Raceway for the OHSAA State Championship.

    The OHSAA postponed the event after the course was flooded on November 3rd to November 10th, giving the team an extra week to prepare for the biggest race of the year.

    On the boys side, they looked to improve on on their 12th place finish from last season. Juniors Gavin Frick and Luke Malone were both ranked inside the Top 20 and were in contention to place on the podium.

    Malone ran an excellent race, running to a 19th place finish and earn All-Ohio honors. However, Frick’s race went a lot differently, going out fast and falling off pace early, finishing in a ‘disappointing’ 64th.

    Juniors Michael Gray and Zach Hicks, followed by freshman Colyn McDaniel, rounded out the state qualifying team.

    The team placed 14th, far from their preseason goal of the Top 7. The team looks forward to improving over this offseason during the indoor track season.

“The indoor season should be fun. We’re looking forward to really getting those legs moving faster and dropping a lot of time” said Coach Justin Creps.

    Sophomore Maddie Davis led the way for the girls, racing towards an 11th place finish, earning All Ohio honors.

    Sophomore Morgan Hicks, seniors Ashlyn McDaniel and Maddy Killian, and freshman Reggan Gray rounded out the history-making girls team.

    The team placed 13th, the 2nd best performance by a Jonathan Alder team in school history.

    Both teams will head into the Indoor and Outdoor Track seasons hopping to improve their positions on their incredible 2018 season.