Newark, Heath fight to finish in Newark Catholic meet

GRANVILLE - The drop in times will come later.

The way Heath and Newark battled Saturday, however, should be sign of great things to come. Heath's Taylor Hopkins won the individual title, but Newark denied the Bulldogs a repeat title in the team standings during the Newark Catholic Invitational held on the grounds of the Bryn Du Mansion.

Hopkins, who earned All-Ohio honors in his first season of cross country in 2015, wanted to break the 16-minute mark Saturday. A winning time of 16:32.4 was far from simply a consolation prize.

"We just came in here thinking, 'Let's win this for another year,'" Hopkins said. "(Liberty Union's Kelton French) went out quick, so I figured I had to go out. ... I am coming in a lot more confident. I really think I can make a push for the state meet. My goal is to win it obviously, but we'll see."

Heath did everything it could to ensure that repeat, but Newark was just a little bit better. The Wildcats scored 35 points to Heath's 44. Both were well ahead of third-place Watterson's 90.

Newark's Owen Keith (17:01.2) and Jacob Todd (17:13.2) respectively placed in second and fourth. The Wildcats had five runners place in the top 13 and under the 18-minute mark.

"I am getting closer to Owen every step I take, so I am getting excited to get down toward the middle of the season," Todd said. "Every race I am thinking of how to push myself more just to get that extra edge. I was a little closer than last week (during the preseason meet at National Trail Raceway), so I am doing something right."

Keegan Znosko placed seventh (17:25.8), Bruce Davisson ninth (17:31.3) and Monte Street (17:54.0) 13th for Newark. The Wildcats could see their times drop further when they begin to incorporate speed workouts into their training next month.

"We are all getting closer as a pack, so that will look better for districts and regionals," Todd said. "It's cool because all of the work I have been putting in is paying off, and they put in a lot of work, too. It's going to be a good season to come."

Heath also had five finish right at the 18-minute mark or below. Following Hopkins were Nick Lee in fifth (17:18.4), Caleb Large in 11th (17:33.4), Chandler Wilhelm in 12th (17:51.0) and Wyatt McQueen (18:00.6) in 15th.

The Bulldogs won the Licking County League-Cardinal Division and Division II district titles a season ago before qualifying to the state meet. They will test themselves early this season, competing at Westerville North, Watkins Memorial and Galion the next three weeks.

"Our expectations are to get back to the state and finish top 5 as a team," Hopkins said. "I think we can do that because we have Chandler, Nick and Caleb all coming back, who are a lot better, and we have some depth this year. We have a lot of guys fighting for that fifth spot."

Newark Catholic's Caleb Bemiller in 33rd (18:43.9) and Ben Bemis in 36th (18:53.3) led the host Green Wave to a seventh-place finish out of 20 teams.

Campbell with impressive debut

Adrenaline might have gotten the best of NC freshman Charlotte Campbell at the beginning of her first high school girls race, but once she settled down, she held her own against a strong field.

Campbell placed 14th in 21:48.2 to lead local competitors. The race featured state-caliber competition, including Liberty Union champion Sydnee Mangette (18:50.8) and Fairfield Christian runner-up Kyleigh Edwards (19:23.3).

"It was pretty good, but it was pretty hard, though," Campbell said. "Mostly on the hills it was tough. ... I am always a little nervous, but I try my best."

Licking Valley finished 11th out of 19 teams, led by the trio of Reaghan Beaver in 34th (23:19.9), Lauren Montgomery in 39th (23:35.4) and Siarra Hoover in 40th (23:43.1). Newark's Mackenzie Morton in 42nd (24:00.0), Heath's Madison Slee in 44th (24:03.4) and Northridge's Megan King in 46th (24:04.9) were not far behind them.

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt