HEBRON – Arcanum’s Tanner Delk and Franklin Monroe’s Cole Good both finished in the top half of the Ohio High School Athletic Association state cross country meet on Saturday at National Trail Raceway in Hebron.
Delk finished 42nd in the Division III boys state championship race with a time of 16:50.4 while Good finished 55th in the race with a time of 16:57.2
“It was good,” Good said. “The competition was stepped up so I was happy for that. It was a lot of fun.”
The race began with Delk and Good running near each other. At the first mile marker Good was in 27th place while Delk was in 28th.
“A lot of fun,” Good said of running with Delk. “I love that dude. He’s awesome. It was fun running with him.”
As the race went on Delk was able to pass Good. By the end of the second mile Delk was in 33rd place while Good dropped to 42nd.
“It was definitely familiar to come up behind him and see him there,” Delk said of racing against Good. “It was good that he was there to push me and stuff. I stayed on him as long as I could then I got in front of him. It was a good fight.”
In the end Delk finished in the top quarter of racers with his 42nd place finish.
“It did not go how I expected it to,” the Arcanum junior said. “I wasn’t as strong in the last two miles as I could have been, but I’m not upset with it. My goal was to make it here and see what I could do. Now I know what it’s like so I’ll have a lot more experience if I come back next year.”
After making his first trip to the state cross country meet, Delk is excited about the future and already is determined to make it back to Hebron.
“I’m hoping to definitely come back here next year a lot stronger and more prepared than I was,” he said. “Now I know that the course is like and stuff so that will definitely be an advantage for me.”
Good, who was in the state cross country meet for a second consecutive season, also is excited for a potential return as a senior.
“I’m super pumped,” he said.
For complete results from the state cross country meet, visit http://ohsaa.org/.
