Rams enjoy experience of state meet

By LONNIE McMILLAN

Sports editor

OBETZ — Although the result was not what Upper Sandusky’s state runners Ashton Vent and Evan Hinesman had hoped for, there was no beating the experience Saturday at Fortress Obetz.

Hinesman finished 93rd in 17:28.3, while Vent was 112th in 17:42.7 in the Division II boys race of the state cross country meet.

“It was all about the experience,” Vent said. “Every step on the way here felt like I was becoming president or something. It felt like everyone loved me because of what I could do. It made me feel special all the way through. Even when I wasn’t doing my best, I still felt very special.”

It was everything Hinesman thought it would be and then some.

“It was a really cool experience,” he said. “It was a little more than I expected actually.”

The start is where things went wrong for Vent, he said. He finished his first mile in 76th place in 5:11.1.

“They say at state, people are a little rougher than usual, and I thought our coach was just joking, but he was full-on serious,” Vent said. “I got kicked in the leg about three times, so that really set me under because it hurt.”

Vent simply could not put together the race he wanted after the slow start, falling to 107th place in 11:06.2 at the 2-mile mark before dropping five more spots by the end of the race.

“It closes into a chokehold, so the best opportunity is to start at the front because then it’s hard for people to get around you and you’re able to get your own pace set,” he said.

Hinesman’s race was a little more consistent, though he also was further back at the start than he planned. He was 96th after a 5:16.4 first mile and 97th in 11:01.7 at the 2-mile mark.

“I knew they were going to be fast, but everyone was flying,” Hinesman said. “It makes me get excited for next year and all the work I’ll have to put in to be able to be one of those top guys.”

Marlington junior Colin Cernansky moved up three spots over the final mile to win the race in 15:26.0. Marlington had two other runners in the top five and finished as the team champion with 56 points.

Although the race did not turn out the way he wanted, Vent finished his cross country career exactly where he wanted.

“Knowing that I achieved all my goals in regionals and that I still got to state and ran, I was just honored to even be here,” he said.

For Hinesman as a junior, the race was a learning experience and one that he said will inspire him to work even harder toward his goal of finishing in the top 30 next year to earn All-Ohio honors.

“It wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s how it went down,” he said. “It will help me for next year, for sure.”