Zach Kreft has a decorated high school and college career, including his most recent 4th place finish at D2 XC Nationals. Hunter dives into the story of Zach Kreft. Hear about the highs and lows of his collegiate career and how he put the pieces together to become one of D2's finest distance runners. Going from a 24:30 8k runner / 14:04 5k runner to a 23:14 / 13:51 guy in less than a year, Zach offers some fantastic advice on how to mentally approach the sport. Kreft discusses the relationship he had with former teammate and 2022 10k Outdoor National Champion, Dylan Jacobs, and how Jacobs bettered Zach's running. Lastly, get to know Zach Kreft as we give him some rapid-fire questions in a fun and entertaining episode!

It's been a minute since we caught up to discuss the highlights of the last few weeks of racing.  Boy was it an exciting one as we had a Division 2 Cross Country NCAA national championship to talk about, highlighted by a Zach Kreft 4th place finish, as well as some high school national meets & national meet qualifiers.  Congrats to all of those participated in this meet, way to represent Ohio well!  We also give a kudos to our former OHSAA runners tearing it up at the collegiate scene at Boston University this past weekend.  We hit you guys with Hunter's final power rankings of the 2022 XC season for both mens and womens.  Graham then gives his review of how the Ohio high schoolers faired at their respective national meets.  The Connor Ackley GOOAT talks are also discussed in the episode!  You aren't going to want to miss our most exciting podcast to date!

Time Stamps:

College

0:16 D2 Nationals XC (M)

7:28 D2 Nationals XC (W)

8:40 Power Rankings College Individuals

14:22 College Kudos

15:45 Why are times at all levels getting quicker (a discussion)

High School

19:32 Garmin RunningLane XC Championships

21:48 Footlocker Midwest Regional

26:05 NXN

28:55 Newbury Park drama

32:10 Best Runner in Ohio History Talk... Again!

College Nationals for Division 1 and 3 was this past weekend and we have a lot to talk about!  Anthony Camerieri  of Ole Miss and Addie Engles of OSU are our top Ohio High School Finishers at the big stage of division 1 nationals!  Alex Phillip (King of Carroll) goes back to back on them for his 2nd XC title in a row, 5th national championship total.  There are heavy rumors of him transferring next semester.  We discuss in depth on this possibility.  Also we review a big day in division 2 regionals where Cedarville women and Walsh men get the auto bids, as well as Fisher of Findlay and Evan Leist of Cedarville University.  Lastly, we look at the results from our high school seniors at the Mid-East CC Championships.  A great weekend overall for Ohio Running!

Time Stamps

Mid-East XC Championships 0:22

Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Women) 6:02

Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Men) 12:30

Division 2 NCAA Regional Championships (Men) 16:24

Division 2 NCAA Regional Championships (Women) 21:49

Division 3 NCAA National Championships (Women) 28:23

Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Men) 30:00

Connor Ackley has done the impossible: he now has the fastest time in Ohio High School history with an absurd 14:29, beating Zach Kreft's previous record by milliseconds and securing his berth to NXN.  That leads us to the ultimate question, is he the GOOAT (Greatest Ohioan of All Time)?  We (briefly) discuss this as well as the rest of the craziness of this Nike Regionals meet.  This was the fastest race of the year in the country! A lot of big prs for our Ohio athletes including Tommy Rice going sub 15! We wrap up by giving our takes on who we think will place the best for D1 and D3 nationals this weekend for Ohio teams and individuals collegiately.  Lastly, we also give a synopsis on what to expect for D2 regionals this upcoming weekend!  Tune-in for all the latest updates regarding Ohio distance running!

Time Stamps

NXR Boys :20

NXR Girls 7:00

Connor Ackley GOOAT Talk 21:31

Division 3 Top Ohio Team/Individual Predictions 28:10

Division 2 Regionals Predictions 31:04

Division 1 Top Ohio Team/Individual Predictions 33:35

QOTW 41:49

Ohio State Women's Cross Country came into the region ranked 6th, with an outside shot looking in at a nationals.  They pulled off a huge day with a 2nd place (automatic qualifier) finish.  We talk about our immediate reactions to the D1 Great Lakes Region as well as our predictions for the D3 Great Lakes Region.  Will Toledo's women make it to the big dance?  How did Baidy Ba become Ohio's top finisher?  What is JCU going to do? A lot of insane results across the board that we discuss in this episode!  

Time Stamps

D1 Great Lakes Region W 0:17

D1 Great Lakes Region M 8:25

GMAC Review 11:59

D3 Region Preview M 15:35

D3 Region Preview W 17:33

QOTW 18:21

We recap an exciting conclusion of the OHSAA XC season at Fortress Obetz, where the State Championships were held.  It was an exciting finish to the season in every division, and we want to keep you updated on it all!  Some of the highlights included Colin Cernansky getting the win over Jack Agnew, Katie Clute held the fort down over on the Division 1 side, and Mason got both division 1 team wins.  We also discuss who we think has a realistic shot at making the National Meets.  Tune in to see how this past weekend unfolded!

Time Stamps

Division 1 Boys 1:49

Division 1 Girls 8:35

Division 2 Boys 13:17

Division 2 Girls 16:55

Division 3 Boys 19:44

Division 3 Girl 22:45

Freshman Highlight 27:07

National Preview 31:45

GlenOak senior and local stark county legend sits down and has a chat with Noah Graham.  In this episode Noah and Tommy go on about his recent commitment to the University of Tennessee.  They also talk about his recent state championship in track and discuss some big races in his career.  Tommy talks about the state meet where he will go up against Ohio's finest in attempt to gain another state champion medal.  Best of luck to Tommy the rest of this season as well as his high school career!

Noah Graham was able to sit down and have a chat with Olmstead Falls senior, Katie Clute.  Clute, a recent Oregon University commit, shares her thoughts on the commitment process and how she was able to wind up finding her next home in Eugene, Oregon.  Katie also talks about her past races of her exceptional high school career.  Lastly, Noah talks to Katie about the future of her high school career, including a potential post season plans after the state xc meet.  Katie has the 21st fastest time in the country right now and we are honored to have her on the podcast!

Hunter has a chance to sit down and talk to D3 reigning 5k champion, Jamie Dailey.  Dailey takes us through his humble beginnings at Bay high school through his crazy progression throughout college.  Some great advice for runners at all levels from Mr. Dailey, himself!

With one week until the big showdown at Fortress Obetz, we breakdown every race with our team and individual predictions to get you ready for one of the biggest state meets in recent memory!  There are big narratives in every division on teams and individuals, centered around a state sized battle between Tommy Rice of Glenoak and Connor Ackley of Hilliard Davidson.  We also give regional recaps of the 24 races this past weekend so that you are fully up to date on how everyone is looking going into the biggest race of the year.  Sit back and enjoy the show of our deeply talented state! TIME STAMPS Division 1 Region 1 0:48 Division 2 Region 5 8:05 Division 3 Region 9 11:08 Division 1 Region 3 15:43 Division 2 Region 7 24:40 Division 3 Region 11 27:46 Division 1 Region 4 28:52 Division 2 Region 8 31:24 Division 3 Region 12 34:04 Division 1 Region 2 37:22 Division 2 Region 6 39:02 Division 3 Region 10 40:23 Our Projections 43:13 QOTW 55:42

We are breaking down some exclusive sneak peaks of the conference meets this weekend for this episode!  Who will take the crown on our men's and women's conference meets that have Ohio implications?  There are some thrilling matchups this weekend include a showdown between Miami and Toledo's men's squads, JCU vs Otterbein men's team race in the OAC, and Joy Chirchir of Toledo against Carmen Riano of Miami individually for the MAC title!  Tune-in for this exciting content!  We also want to wish our best to all Ohio rooted runners that will be showcasing their talents for conference weekend! Video up on our YouTube: Talkin’ Shop: Ohio Distance Running Podcast. Time Stamps Quick Meet Recap  0:48 Lockhaven Go Fast River Run  2:22 AHU D2 Festival Showcase   2:37 Upcoming Conference Meets OAC  5:38 MAC 14:03 Horizon 24:05 American 26:25 Other Conferences 28:23 QOTW 29:10

In this episode, our very own Noah Graham extensively covers each division’s main takeaways from the district weekend. We go through several key district meets, talk about upcoming weeks of racing, and get ready for an exciting state championship meet in two weeks.  There were exhilarating meets this past weekend from both the girls and boys side that you won't want to miss!  We also want to mention that you can donate to the Owen Grubb family fund here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/owen-grubb-family-fund?qid=7584ec44209ae8b8516958af0a2d0933.  You can also buy a t-shirt: https://werun4owen.itemorder.com/shop/product/28048402/.   Time Stamps Division 1  2:45 Division 2 18:06 Division 3 22:57 Future Meet Predictions 29:42

We dive into current Ohio distance running from this past weekend and share our knowledge on the best teams and individuals in the state.  We first look at the collegiate scene by giving you recaps on the Penn State National Open, Nuttycombe Invitational, Bradley Pink Invitational, and more!  We then give a quick glance at our top 5 collegiate teams in this latest edition of our power rankings on both the men and women side.  Noah Graham gives us the rundown on this crazy year for freshman in OHSAA, with 5 already sub 16 on the cross course.  We then discuss why this may be the case and how the new evolution of running has come on in full force.

Time Stamps:

COLLEGE 1:08

Collegiate Meet Recaps

Penn State National Open 1:08

*Tyler Clark not Tyler Coon with the 54 sec time improvement, sorry!

Arturo Barrios Invite 3:57

Nuttycombe Invite 7:25

Bradley Pink Invite 11:06

Jenna Strong Invite 12:58

Shoutouts 13:24

*Ondracek ran at Penn State not Bradley this past weekend

**Big Tens not MACs for Arjun

Falcon Invite 15:35

Augustana Invite 15:58

Oberlin Invite 17:25

Team Power Ranking 17:35

Performance of the week (College) 20:35

Rapid Fire Questions 22:00

HIGH SCHOOL 25:32

Ackley and Rice 26:00

Freshmen Spotlight 26:45

Performance of the week (High School) 39:45

QOTW 40:08

On this episode, we look at collegiate races that Ohio teams ran at the past week including the Lehigh Paul Short Invitational, Louisville XC Classic, and the D3 Nationals Preview. We also give our take on the current top 10 collegiate runners in Ohio. On the high school side of things, we look at boys and girls power rankings for individuals and teams as well breakdown some key meets from prior weekends. 

Time Stamps: 

0:00 Intro 

1:00 COLLEGE 

1:07 Lehigh Paul Short Invite 

6:45 Louisville XC Classic 

10:43 D3 Nationals Preview 

12:19 Joe Piane Invite 

13:42 College Individual Power Rankings 

18:10 Ohio Runners Shoutout 

20:00 HIGH SCHOOL 

23:00 Boys Individual Power Rankings 

31:50 Boys Team Power Rankings 

36:45 Girls Individual Power Rankings 

41:22 Girls Team Power Rankings 

44:20 Performers of the Week 

45:30 Question of the Week