Crowds in excess of 10,000 annually trek to Scioto Downs Race Track in Columbus for the OHSAA cross country championships.

Best in the Long Run

Annual OHSAA cross country state meet continues to draw in excess of 10,000

December 10, 2008

Every year on a Saturday in mid-autumn as the leaves are changing colors and just before the temperature is ready to plunge, one of the more unique traditions in Ohio high school athletics takes place: the annual OHSAA state cross country meet. Family members, friends, students, and supporters of the sport – more than 10,500 in 2008 – from all corners of the state gather in central Ohio to watch the best high school long distance runners compete in the pinnacle meet of the season.

The 2008 version of the event, held November 1 under blue skies and a bright sun, wrapped up another successful cross country season. “There’s not another high school cross country event in the country that can compare with the tradition and atmosphere we have here. It’s really become a phenomenon,” said state meet manager Terry Oehrtman.

The cross country state tournament does indeed have a long and illustrious history. The first state meet was held in 1928, making the cross country state meet the seventh longest-running tournament in Ohio high school athletics. The meet has had several defining moments over those 80 years.

From the early success of schools from the big cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Akron to the domination of teams from the small towns of Caldwell and Minster and especially the national attention it received in 2007 when Claire Markwardt of Burton Berkshire valiantly crossed the finish line with a broken leg to help her team finish fourth, the cross country meet has never failed to be a day of excitement and heroics.

The success and tradition of the state meet rose to another level in 1985 when the championships were moved to the Scioto Downs Race Track in Columbus. Both athletes and state tournament officials count themselves extremely fortunate for having access to the facility for the state meet.

Scioto Downs has proven to be very spectator-friendly with its large, covered grandstand and its ability to allow movement of mobile cross country fans who follow runners along the course. “Scioto Downs is unlike any other cross country facility,” said Oehrtman, whose involvement with the sport spans 40 years. “It combines large-crowd amenities with a good, fair course featuring a variety of terrain for the athletes.”

Scioto Downs has, in fact, become synonymous with the OHSAA state meet. “When you talk to coaches, they don’t refer to the state meet as the state meet,” explained Oehrtman. “They don’t say ‘We hope to make it to state’. They say ‘Our goal is to make it to Scioto Downs’.”

Look only to the attendance numbers to see the impact Scioto Downs has had on the annual event. Paid attendance hovered around the 5,000 mark prior to 1985 and for the first few years at Scioto Downs. Attendance this decade, however, has ballooned to over 10,000 who turn out every year for the meet. Oehrtman attributes the attendance explosion to several factors combining to make the event such a special day: fine cross country athletes, general good luck with the weather, long-time meet managers Herb Hartman and Kevin Lewis who have helped promote the sport, and the access of the Scioto Downs facility.

Give credit to those thousands who regularly fill the large grandstand and the surrounding course for creating an atmosphere the runners don’t soon forget. Cross country fanatics are a little different than fans of the more traditional spectator sports, say, football or basketball, for example. These fans have what Oehrtman calls “their own separate culture”.

Spectators arrive early in the morning, decked out in school colors, a little face paint perhaps, with noisemakers and homemade signs in support of their favorite runners. When the race begins, fans begin a race of their own out of the grandstand and around the course to follow and cheer on the runners. It is that kind of support that has made the cross country state tournament such a special event.

In addition to the growth of the state meet, the sport of cross country in Ohio continues to gain in popularity. Just in this decade, participation in the sport of cross country has risen 16 percent in Ohio and over 18 percent nationwide, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Steve Neil, OHSAA assistant commissioner who oversees cross country, doesn’t see that popularity decreasing any time soon. “With the continued push towards leading healthier lifestyles and the ongoing fight against childhood obesity, cross country is a sport you will only see continue to grow in terms of participation,” Neil said.

Neil also notes an increase in the number of 5K, 10K, and marathon races across the country that point to more and more people enjoying and seeing the benefits of long distance running.

Carson Cheek, historian for the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches, has seen the sport take tremendous strides over the years and is also excited about its future. “Since I first got involved with the sport in the 1970s, the outside perception of cross country has come a long way,” Cheek said. “It’s finally being recognized for the amount of intensity and preparation that go into training and competition which is extremely deserving.”

People like Oehrtman, Cheek, and Neil are committed to keeping cross country and the state meet at its prominent level in Ohio.

“We have to make the sport appealing and attractive to athletes who have an increasing number of options to choose from in the fall,” Cheek said. “We have the coaches and the programs and the coaches association to get that job done and continue the success and tradition of cross country and the state meet in Ohio.”

By Brian Day, contact bday@ohsaa.org

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