Worthington Christian girls hope to return to the regional meet after a one-year absence.
When she looked around the Division III regional cross country championships field at Pickerington last year, Worthington Christian junior Olive Edgel realized she was alone.
This season, she doesn’t plan on being the school’s only representative at the regional meet.
“I was really excited to be there, but I wished our whole girls’ team could be there too,” said Edgel, who placed 38th at the regional meet in a time of 20 minutes, 56.40 seconds, but failed to advance to the state meet. “My goals for this season are to break the 20-minute mark, qualify for the states, and have our whole girls’ team reach the regional meet.”
On paper, the Warriors, who placed ninth at the regional in 2023, appear to have the right experience to make a run at the regional meet. Worthington Christian returns five of its top seven finishers who competed at the Division III Central District meet last year.
Yet according to Warriors coach Michael Schaefer, that doesn’t guarantee his team anything this season.
“You can’t take success for granted and you can’t lose heart,” said Schaefer, whose team finished fourth in the Central District meet and tied for third in the Central Buckeye League meet last year. “If anything, once you accomplish a goal, you will likely have to work harder next season just to do it again. There are a lot of fast girls in this sport, and you must be willing to work harder than your opponent.”
Worthington Christian returns seniors Elise Meyer and Bekah Webster and juniors Edgel, Berkley McMahon, and Zoe Ryan. Edgel had a breakthrough season during her sophomore year, placing seventh in the district meet in 20:47.26. The Warriors scored 116 points to finish fourth, and only the top three teams—Northmor (57), Fairbanks (66), and Mount Gilead (69)—advanced to the regional meet.
Schaefer said one of the lessons the junior learned is that cross country often is an uphill climb.
“Olive probably learned that success in cross country doesn’t get any easier as the seasons progress,” Schaefer said. “Everyone is driven and keeps getting faster. She has been very dedicated this summer with logging miles and putting in the work. I think she’ll be coming in this season stronger than ever.”
Worthington Christian graduated one runner in Kenzie Krapenc (who was 37th, 23:03.00 at the district meet) and lost senior Elizabeth Fry (58th, 25:48.5) to a transfer to another school.
“Every team needs a Kenzie,” Schaefer said. “I knew she’d always give 110%. She got faster nearly every race. I could give her an opponent to chase in every race and count on her to catch them to help the team score. She was also very calm in stressful situations. Her demeanor would help the rest of the girls calm their nerves.”
Rounding out the Warriors’ top finishers at the district meet were Meyer (20th, 21:57.26), Webster (30th, 22:35.51), Ryan (30th, 23:07.01), and McMahon (55th, 24:54.76).
Schaefer hopes the experience his runners gained last season will help them improve their finishes in the Central Buckeye League and the postseason. At last year’s CBL meet, the Warriors tied Columbus School for Girls for third place with 92 points each, finishing behind champion Grandview (27) and Bexley (60).
“(When I think back about last season), the thing that stands out is our girls had a lot of depth,” Schaefer said. “Despite graduating our school record holder (Emma Unger, who took ninth in the 2023 Division III state meet with a time of 18:48.7, to eclipse a 30-year-old record set by Michelle Burson), the season prior, our girls came back with a very strong team finish in the district meet. They were resilient and didn’t let setbacks derail their long-term goals.
“Elise worked hard to have a great district race last year despite nursing an injury all season. Bekah made it onto our all-time top 50 girls list last year and continues pushing herself by putting in quality work this summer. Zoe is coming off a fantastic track season where she helped the girls 4×400 4×400-meter relay break a 29-year-old school record. Berkely gained confidence and made huge improvements over last season to become our sixth girl.”
The team will be bolstered by the addition of senior Ava Holbrook, who played volleyball last season. Holbrook was a district champion (5:36.4) and placed 11th in the regional meet (5:33.55) in the 1,600 run for the track team last spring.
“We are glad to have her for one season because she’s a team player and a real workhorse,” Schaefer said. “She’s been doing quality work this summer and is ready to make the most of her cross country season.”
After qualifying for the 2023 regional meet, missing a chance to return to the regional meet by one place last year drives the team this season.
“The girls want another team regional qualification, and maybe more. As a coach, I want to see these seniors instill their passion and drive the younger girls,” Schaefer said. “As long as our girls continue building one another up and keep honoring God as the center of their focus, they will do great things.”