The Indians finished as runners up at Saturday's state cross country meet at Scioto Downs, edging out third-place Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary by 27 points with 152 points. Peninsula Woodridge, a heavy favorite, placed three runners in the top 10 and four in the top 20, as the Bulldogs locked up first place with 43 points.
Nick Meidl took 22nd place and paced the Indians to their best finish at a state meet. Meidl, one of six juniors on this season's squad, crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 27 seconds, earning him all-Ohio honors. Meidl became the first Canal Winchester runner to earn all-Ohio status.
"It feels great," Meidl said. "Last year it was really slow here. This year, it was fast. I fell behind kind of early, and when I saw so many people in front of me, it kind of encouraged me."
Meidl and teammate Cory Irwin battled all season for the top spot among the Indians, with Meidl earning the distinction heading into Saturday's race. Irwin, one of Canal Winchester's strongest runners in the regular season, took 41st (16:52).
"We wanted our kids to run as well as they possibly could," Indians coach John Bender said. "We wanted for them to feel real good when they finished. And they did. With the exception of one, they all felt really good about how they ran.
"I think Cory felt he could have run a little faster, but he had a great season as one of our best runners."
The second-place finish followed a win at last week's regional meet in Troy. Irwin and Meidl finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as the Indians ran away with a regional title. Last week's momentum carried over into Saturday's meet, and, if all goes according to plan, into next season.
"We've been looking at (next season) the whole year," Irwin said. "We just wanted to get a foot in the door this year, and I think we did that with the second-place finish. That was our top priority all year."
Pickerington North's lone bright spot - although he begged to differ after the race - was Nathan Corder. The junior took 26th (16:15). The Panthers' next highest finisher was senior Matt Spencer, who took 104th (17:10). North finished 16th out of 16 Division I teams on Saturday.
"I could have been way up farther. I can't explain it," Corder said. "I was hoping for a top-10 or a top-15 finish. I ran awful."
Changes in the course and a much faster field left Corder fighting to improve on last year's 31st-place finish.
"You had to get out quicker. They changed the course so you didn't get slammed heading into that first pole," he said. "If you were on the inside at that first pole, you were basically walking. There was also a head wind, so that drained all your reserves."
Lauren Kachel led Pickerington North's girls team to an 11th-place finish. Kachel took 42nd place (19:27) and Karissa Magnuson was 45th (19:30).
With its off-season workouts scheduled to begin on Dec. 1, Canal Winchester will take a few weeks to enjoy this year's podium finish before looking at next season.
"It wasn't really an upset. We were expecting it," Irwin said of Saturday's finish. "There was always a chance we could do bad or have a poor performance, but we came through.
"If everybody stays healthy, we'll probably be back next year. We've just got to keep running, and if we do that, we'll be OK."
