Division 1 Girls
Ewert Leaves No Doubt En Route To Second State Championship
Wire-to-wire. Start to finish. This year's Division 1 race was never in any doubt.
National talent Taylor Ewert (Beavercreek) continued to pad her incredible resume with an all-time victory in Girls Division 1 race on Saturday.
From the gun, it was all Ewert all the time. Her 5:18 first mile was already 12 seconds ahead of teammate Savannah Roark and Medina's Juliette Keller. But the lead continued to grow as the pack continued to fade in her rearview mirror.
Through 2 miles, it was Ewert in 10:58 followed by Roark in 11:17. The lead had grown to 19 seconds over her teammate and the Beavercreek duo was rolling. Roark had begun to build a 5 second gap on Keller, Toledo Notre Dame's Lauryn Mick, and Princeton's Maria Kaylor. Kaylor wasn't on many radars heading into the race. After missing out on the state championship in 2018, Kaylor had returned well in 2019, running 11:00 in the 3200 over the spring and 18:21.10 season best heading into the weekend. This would prove to be a career day for the Princeton senior.
Ewert's 2 mile was split was a US No. 9 on its own, but she was able to close the door with a third mile right around 5:50. Her 17:22.40 was a National Trail Raceway state course record in Division 1 and overall. It was also, oddly enough, her slowest time of the year so far. Needless to say, Ewert is in national contender form and should have no trouble qualifying through to the national meets in the coming weeks.
Syracuse commit Roark finished runner-up making it two Beavercreek athletes across the line before anyone else. Roark's 17:48.60 was her fifth mark under 18:00, three seconds off her personal best, and that's not including her 16:53 3 mile time from the McQuaid Invitational. Roark improved 14 places since last year.
In third was the aforementioned Maria Kaylor. Of all the improvements on the day, going from DNR to 3rd overall is pretty special. Of course, Kaylor was no slouch heading into the weekend. While her 3rd place finish and 23 second personal best (17:51.80) were both stunning, the senior had several sub-18:30 performances to her name. A career day for Kaylor should set her up well heading into track season as she builds upon her first career all-state medal.
Rounding out the top five were Mick, just a tenth of a second behind Kaylor in 17:51.90, and Brunswick's Emily Bardwell in 17:55.90. Medina's Keller made it six across the line under 18:00 in 17:58.30.
Division 1 Girls Finish Line Video:
Beavercreek Sends National Message With Team Victory
Any team who wins a state title in Ohio's Division 1 deserves national attention. The 2019 Beavercreek squad who took home this year's team trophy, though, demands your attention.
Having already mentioned the team's top two athletes, because they pulled in an unprecedented 1-2 finish, we'll keep it brief: This squad is dangerous.
The senior duo of Ewert and Roark earned the top two spots in Division 1 on Saturday, but it was the top 10 finishes from Jodie Pierce and Juliann Williams that really turned the heads of spectators. The third and fourth scorers for Beavercreek crossed in 18:03.0 (7th) and 18:12.0 (9th). With four across the line, Beavercreek was already sitting on 15 points. Senior Kendall Hobbs closed the door for her squad with a 55th place finish, giving her team 36 points to cap off the 70 point victory over Lakota East.
Already ranked third in the most recent MileSplit50 team rankings, Beavercreek is at an important crossroads. With four seniors in their top five and two sophomores at six and seven who are still developing, this is the year for them to go for gold. With a strong postseason and continued excellence from that fab four up front, we could be saying "National Champion Beavercreek" in a month...
Interview with the Beavercreek ladies:
Interview with Coach Howard Russ: