Remarkable Seasons Come to an End

Tipp’s remarkable cross country season came to an emotional end on Saturday, November 1st in Columbus at the DII state cross country championships. The boys team just missed winning the school’s first ever state championship, losing by only 3 points to the reigning two-time defending champions, Peninsula Woodridge. The runner-up finish is the third time a Tippecanoe boys cross country team has finished 2nd in school history. Both Tipp and Woodridge were ranked tied for first in the final state polls heading into Saturday and definitely lived up to the hype by making it the second closest margin in DII history. Although obviously disappointed, the boys team held their heads up high and smiled as they hoisted up their runner-up trophy on the podium in front of the highly populated grandstand at Scioto Downs.
The encouraging thing about their 2nd place finish is that almost everyone ran better than the previous meet at the Troy Regional. Jason Salyer capped off his senior season by finishing as the first team qualifier and was 3rd overall with a time of 15:45, the best individual state place in Tippecanoe cross country history. Kevin Fink also earned All-Ohio and podium honors by finishing 12th overall with a time of 16:08, making the tandem of Salyer and Fink the best 1-2 punch in the state. Jason Bruns also capped off a great senior season by finishing in 33rd overall with a time of 16:34. Tyler Feitshans finished right behind him in 35th with a time of 16:36. Matt Zuzolo capped off his senior year by emerging as the team’s fifth runner and was the only one to run a personal best time, finishing in 94th with a time of 17:25. Luke Zerkle finished 109th with a time of 17:41, and Andrew Wharton finished 113rd with a time of 18:15. Through four runners (top 5 runners count in the team scoring), Tipp was ahead of Woodridge by 20 points, but Woodridge’s 5th runner made the difference by running under 17 minutes. 150 runners competed in the race.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Tippecanoe boys cross country program has a lot to be proud of. The program has come a long way in just the past four years. Four years ago, during the senior’s freshman year, the team finished 15th at regionals out of 16 teams. Through hard work, dedication, and the desire to achieve their maximum potential, they finished 8th at state the following year under coach Dave Larson. Unfortunately for the team, Dave had the opportunity to become a principal in Russia, Ohio and had no other choice but to take the job.
Dave was a huge part in the development of the program and made sure to find a worthy replacement. And find one he did in Ron Rohrer from Springboro. Ron had many years of experience under his belt and provided the team, along with assistant coach Nick Culver, everything he could to develop the team into better runners. The team continued to stay focused and work hard under his wing, which resulted in a lot of hardware including a 5th place and 2nd place state finish the next two years.
Though the memory of finishing so close to their drams, but falling just short will stick in their minds, the team’s memories of all the great times they have had together will overshadow any other thought. One of the main reasons why the team has been so successful over the past few years is because of the bonds and friendships they have made with each other. They will all look back on these times in the years to come and will remember all of the funny and great experiences they shared with each other.