Worthington Christian boys cross country team aims to rebuild leadership after losing six seniors to graduation.
The Worthington Christian boys cross country team graduated six seniors, but Hayden Huffer, Cole Kaiser, Brice Norvell, Aaron Van Dop, William Vargas, and Dylan Wooten, left behind some footprints for the Warriors to follow this season, according to senior Joel Bauman.
“It was great to get to know those seniors before they went on their respective college journeys,” Bauman said. “We had an older crowd of runners last season, so getting mentored by them was one of the things that I remember. The biggest thing they taught me was persistence.”
Bauman, who finished 33rd in a time of 18 minutes, 30.41 seconds at the Division III Central District meet at Hillard Darby, and sophomore Zachary Stull (66th, 21:06.64), are the only two returnees from last year’s district team, which finished ninth with 204 points to finish behind champion Fredericktown (57).
Perhaps the most noticeable absence is Wooten, the district runner-up in 16:26.66. Wooten finished 13th (16:40.04) at the regional meet and then took 56th (16:32.25) at the state meet.
“I was so proud of Dylan for how he executed his senior season,” coach Michael Schaefer said. “He was hungry for the state meet and dialed in physically and mentally until he manifested it. He exceeded his time goal and had a phenomenal postseason. He set a great example for his teammates.”
The Warriors also graduated Van Dop (65th at the district meet, 21:03.4), Vargas (58th, 21:25.15), and Kaiser (79th, 22:53.65). While they didn’t contribute to the team score at the district meet, Huffer and Norvell played key roles in the team’s development.
“Huffer led the junior varsity workouts and was a great spiritual leader for the team,” Schaefer said. “I could always rely on Brice to leave it all on the course when he raced. He ran with grit by pushing himself out of his comfort zone and holding that max effort all the way through the finish line.
“It’s always bittersweet to graduate a big group of seniors. Those guys held the team together. Their leadership and advice reached the underclassmen in ways a coach sometimes can’t. That was a tight group, too, and it was fun and rewarding to watch them grow as athletes and young men.”
Schaefer is expecting great things, however, from his two returnees. Last year, Bauman trimmed off nearly a minute from his sophomore season, and the fact that Stull was thrown into the varsity mix as a freshman may pay dividends this year.
“Joel came along nicely in his junior year. He learned to embrace the hard parts and became a grittier runner. He is set to be our front runner this season, and I’m confident he will do well.” Schaefer said. “Zach learned a lot in his freshman season. He began to realize his potential, started training with the upperclassmen pace groups, and gained confidence.
“Joel has become more vocal and has not shied away from filling the shoes of those six graduates. He has been a strong team ambassador and helped recruit new teammates. He has been diligent this summer and has been helping to pull along the underclassmen. Both must be ready to lead pace groups and hold their teammates accountable to high training and racing standards.”
Schaefer has been pleased with the progress of sophomore Caden Korodi, who has developed into a runner able to “chase Bauman and Stull down on the racecourse.”
The Warriors picked up seniors Michael Vargas and Brady Lawrence, who run cross country for the first time. Freshman Gavin Wooten, who had a successful eighth-grade track season last spring, could also figure into Schaefer’s plans.
After finishing fourth with 92 points last season, Worthington Christian would like to improve its standing in the Central Buckeye League. Bexley, whose runners captured the top three positions in the league championship, was first with 21 points, followed by Columbus Academy (69) and Grandview (91).
Bauman wants to mentor the newcomers like last year’s seniors led him.
“Training up the new guys is my goal,” he said. “I want to leave the team a bit better than we are at the start of the season.”
Schaefer said cross country is all about setting goals and embracing difficult tasks.
“Our young runners need to learn how to embrace that threshold of pain that comes with training and racing and see that hard things are attainable,” Schaefer said. “With time and dedication, hard things get easier and new potentials are realized.
“What would make this season a success is to see the young runners come together like the six seniors did last year and invest in one another with encouragement and accountability. As long as we aren’t afraid of stepping up to a challenge and focusing on self-growth, we’ll move in the right direction.”