Perkins' Smelcer 3rd, PC's Wiechman 4th at state meet

OBETZ — For area runners, months of tears, smiles and countless workouts reached a muddy and slippery conclusion at the OHSAA state cross country championships Saturday. For Joel Smelcer, Morgan Wiechman, Sage Edgerly-Bork and Cole Zang, those efforts in training and in this season resulted in being recognized as first-team All-Ohio runners. Perkins' Smelcer finished an outstanding junior campaign finishing in third place in the Division III boys race, running a time of 15:25.61. "At the start, I saw someone slip," Smelcer said. "I wanted something faster, but overall this has been a great season. I am so thankful for my teammates for helping push me." The performance featured Smelcer improving on his 2024 state placement by 58 places. "It was nice to visually see people to push me into the place I got today," Smelcer said. "I will continue to work hard and hopefully be back here next year at the top of the podium." Another impressive finish came from Bowling Green State University commit Morgan Wiechman. The Port Clinton senior finished her record-breaking career racking up her fourth All-Ohio award running 18:24.12 to finish fourth overall. "This is a sport I have grown up with," said Wiechman, who was in the lead at the 1,600-meter mark. "You come out with goals, but sometimes you do not reach them. But, I am happy with how I did today and I am so excited to have met outstanding people and friends along the way." For Port Clinton coach Nicole Wiechman, it wrapped up a bittersweet moment for the mother-daughter duo. "She (Morgan) had a great season and each race she went faster than last year," coach Wiechman said. "She is my greatest coaching accomplishment. I am very excited to see what she does this track season and at BGSU next fall." Wrapping up the area first-team All-Ohio performances were Huron's Sage Edgerly-Bork and Margaretta's Cole Zang in the Division IV boys race. Edgerly-Bork finished in fifth place, running 15:57.90, while Zang finished sixth in a time of 16:00.12. "Today was good," Edgerly-Bork said. "I wish the time was a little bit faster, but I beat some pretty fast runners and the course was not the best." For Huron coach Taylor Miller, the meet wrapped up a cross country career she could not be more impressed by. "Sage ran a race today I could not be more proud of," Miller said. "I know he might not enjoy the time per se, but he improved his state position by six places and got to step up on that podium." Zang, a sophomore for the Polar Bears, knows that months of training paid off, but there is more to come. "I am just glad I was able to run a great race today," Zang said. "I think next year will be a big year for me." Other area athletes that competed Saturday were Sandusky SMCC athletes Eli Etchill (72nd, 16:57.64) in the Division IV boys race and Nicolette Hile (105th, 20:49.77) in Division IV girls. In the Division III boys race, Port Clinton's Charlie Simpson finished 122nd with a time of 17:11.86. In the Division III girls race, Bellevue's Reese Meacham finished 85th in 20:13.24. In the Division II girls race, Norwalk's Saige Konik finished 106th in a time of 19:58.97.