The 2026 cross country season ended with two teams atop the OhioVarsity.com power rankings, a state championship for West Geauga’s Ian Res, and a collection of personal-best performances that highlighted a successful postseason for area runners.
Mentor Boys Cross Country captured the final boys power rankings championship with a combined season-best five-runner time of 78:55.30, while Crestwood Girls Cross Country claimed the girls title at 97:08.80.
The championships were determined by OhioVarsity.com’s five-runner power rankings formula, which combines the fastest 5,000-meter performance of each team’s five quickest distinct runners. Those times can come from different meets.
The rankings measure a team’s best reported five-runner potential throughout the season rather than its performance in any single race.
For Mentor and Crestwood, those rankings reflected successful seasons that also included impressive performances at Saturday’s OHSAA State Cross Country Championships at Fortress Obetz.
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Mentor’s depth delivers boys championship
Mentor separated itself from the competition by placing all five of its fastest runners under 16 minutes during the season.
Carter Schaubert led the Cardinals with a season-best 15:42.00, followed by Vinny Klima (15:43.00), Corbin Ott (15:47.10), Gabe Tulenson (15:47.50) and Shawn Castiglione (15:55.70).
Their combined 78:55.30 was 2:03.70 faster than runner-up Kenston Boys Cross Country, which finished at 80:59.00.
Chagrin Falls Boys Cross Country placed third at 81:53.42, followed by University School Boys Cross Country (82:22.40) and West Geauga Boys Cross Country (84:17.30).
Mentor also backed up its rankings championship with a seventh-place finish in Division I at the state meet, scoring 246 points. Schaubert led the Cardinals with an 18th-place finish in 15:42.8, earning First-Team All-Ohio honors.
The Cardinals displayed their depth throughout the postseason. They won the Division I Northeast regional championship at Boardman with 46 points and finished their state championship race with just 52 seconds separating their first and fifth finishers.
Kenston also delivered an impressive performance at state, finishing fourth in Division II with 220 points, just three points behind North Canton Hoover.
Matthew Collins placed 28th in 16:00.3, while Tyler Cingcade finished 44th in 16:13.1. Both earned Second-Team All-Ohio recognition.
Chagrin Falls finished sixth in Division III with 241 points. Gilmour Academy placed 15th with 326 points, while Berkshire was 17th with 351.
In Division IV, Independence placed ninth with 268 points.
Final boys power rankings — Top 10
| Rank | Team | Combined 5K |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mentor | 78:55.30 |
| 2 | Kenston | 80:59.00 |
| 3 | Chagrin Falls | 81:53.42 |
| 4 | University School | 82:22.40 |
| 5 | West Geauga | 84:17.30 |
| 6 | Berkshire | 84:23.30 |
| 7 | Independence | 84:52.70 |
| 8 | Orange | 85:08.20 |
| 9 | Gilmour Academy | 85:41.00 |
| 10 | Edgewood | 86:27.00 |
Crestwood holds off Berkshire and Kirtland
The girls’ championship featured a more competitive race among the top teams.
Crestwood finished first with a combined 97:08.80, while Berkshire Girls Cross Country placed second at 98:22.90 and Kirtland Girls Cross Country finished third at 98:46.50.
Just 23.60 seconds separated Berkshire and Kirtland for second place.
Crestwood’s championship lineup included Luci Maschek (18:21.00), Madiegrace Gonczy (18:46.00), Piper Seibold (18:46.00), Piper Freedline (20:08.00) and Abby Pfost (21:07.80).
The Red Devils also proved their ability to perform together at the state championships, finishing fourth in Division III with 198 points.
Maschek placed seventh in 18:27.6, while Gonczy finished 20th in 18:57.6 and Seibold was 21st in 18:58.2. All three earned First-Team All-Ohio honors.
Berkshire finished sixth in Division III with 220 points, led by Claire Passow, who placed 12th in 18:35.9. June Dunlap added a 26th-place finish in 19:18.1.
Kirtland finished eighth in Division IV with 243 points, led by Kylie Sayle, who placed 22nd in 19:07.1. Mila Delgado finished 48th in 19:41.0.
Sayle earned First-Team All-Ohio honors, while Delgado earned Second-Team recognition.
Mentor Girls Cross Country placed fourth in the final power rankings at 99:11.30, followed by Kenston at 100:13.00.
Mentor finished 18th in Division I at the state championships with 394 points, led by Carmella Curtis, who placed 10th in 18:31.5.
Final girls power rankings — Top 10
| Rank | Team | Combined 5K |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crestwood | 97:08.80 |
| 2 | Berkshire | 98:22.90 |
| 3 | Kirtland | 98:46.50 |
| 4 | Mentor | 99:11.30 |
| 5 | Kenston | 100:13.00 |
| 6 | Chardon | 103:09.30 |
| 7 | Chagrin Falls | 105:20.68 |
| 8 | Fairview | 105:54.97 |
| 9 | Orange | 106:15.00 |
| 10 | Conneaut | 106:50.20 |
Res leads memorable state championship performances
West Geauga senior Ian Res delivered the area’s biggest individual performance at state, winning the Division II championship in 15:22.8.
Res defeated Tallmadge’s Donevan Noah by 1.9 seconds to capture the individual championship and complete a successful postseason that included the CVC Chagrin Division championship and the Division II regional title.
His state championship time was 9.5 seconds faster than the 15:32.3 he ran to win the regional championship at Boardman.
Res also finished the season atop OhioVarsity.com’s boys 5K leaderboard with a season-best 15:20.30.
On the girls’ side, Chagrin Falls junior Gabby Byrne recorded the area’s highest finish in the Division III championship race, placing fifth in 18:17.6.
Byrne also finished the season with the area’s fastest reported girls 5K at 18:16.68.
Several other runners earned high finishes at Fortress Obetz.
Sam Steimle of Grand Valley placed 10th in Division IV boys in 16:05.9, while University School’s Brennan Coley placed 16th in Division II in 15:53.2.
Marina Campbell of Orange finished 18th in Division III girls in 18:55.3, while Andrews Osborne Academy’s Muthoni Mutiso placed 20th in Division IV girls in 19:03.7.
In all, 23 area athletes earned All-Ohio recognition, including 13 First-Team selections and 10 Second-Team honorees.
Runners save some of their best times for state
Beyond medals and team placements, one of the strongest stories from the final weekend involved runners continuing to improve even after months of racing.
OhioVarsity.com’s XC Intelligence identified several athletes who recorded new season-best performances during championship week.
On the girls’ side, Kirtland’s Delgado led the latest improvement chart by cutting 19.90 seconds from her previous season best to finish in 19:41.0.
Berkshire’s Ashlyn Brzozowski improved by 19 seconds to 20:19.0, while Mutiso lowered her season best by 18 seconds to 19:03.0.
Kirtland’s Nadija Mrva cut 15.10 seconds to reach 20:04.0, while Berkshire’s Dunlap improved by 11 seconds with her 19:18.0 at state.
The boys also delivered important late-season improvements.
Kenston’s Collins improved by 13 seconds to 16:00.0, while Independence’s Archer Dlugolinski cut 10.60 seconds to finish in 16:45.0.
Schaubert lowered his season best by 9.80 seconds to 15:42.0. Gilmour Academy’s Evan Lindley improved by nine seconds to 16:09.0, while Chagrin Falls’ TJ Mitchell cut 6.40 seconds to finish in 16:20.0.
Those performances were especially significant because they came at the most important meet of the season.
Team improvements tell another story
While the state championship races determined postseason honors, the season’s broader statistical trends highlighted programs making considerable progress.
Among girls’ teams, Eastlake North Girls Cross Country improved its five-runner average from 28:26.54 to 25:54.00 across its latest three recorded meets, a reduction of 2:32.54.
Rootstown lowered its average from 24:26.38 to 22:13.88, a 2:12.50 improvement. Brush improved by 1:54.62, from 25:42.60 to 23:47.98.
On the boys’ side, Gilmour Academy recorded a 2:40.16 improvement across its latest three-meet trend, while Grand Valley improved by 1:33.60.
Those averages reflect the teams’ five scoring runners at each meet rather than an ideal lineup assembled from season-best times. Course conditions, competition, and lineup changes can affect comparisons, but the trends highlight progress beyond the top of the leaderboard.
A season defined by depth and development
The final rankings demonstrated two different paths to success.
Mentor relied on an exceptionally fast and closely matched group of five runners to establish itself as the area’s top boys team.
Crestwood combined elite front-running performances with enough lineup depth to hold off Berkshire and Kirtland in the girls’ rankings.
And across the area, athletes such as Res, Byrne, Delgado, Collins, Dlugolinski and others demonstrated that significant performances can come at the very end of a long season.
The power rankings crowns belong to Mentor and Crestwood.
The individual state championship belongs to Res.
But the full story of the 2026 cross country season stretches well beyond the champions, with area runners earning All-Ohio honors, programs recording impressive state finishes and athletes continuing to improve through their final races.
Explore the results and final rankings:
- Complete 2026 OHSAA State Cross Country Championships results
- Res wins state title; 23 area runners earn All-Ohio honors
2026-2027 Boys Cross Country Power Rankings
How Cross Country Power Rankings Work
Runner score: each runner contributes only his or her fastest entered 5K of the season.
Team score: the five fastest distinct eligible runners’ season-best times are added together.
Ranking: lowest combined five-runner time is No. 1.
Different meets: the five season-best times may come from five different meets.
Visibility: hidden teams and hidden/inactive roster athletes are excluded. Teams need five qualifying runners to appear.
2026-2027 Girls Cross Country Power Rankings
How Cross Country Power Rankings Work
Runner score: each runner contributes only his or her fastest entered 5K of the season.
Team score: the five fastest distinct eligible runners’ season-best times are added together.
Ranking: lowest combined five-runner time is No. 1.
Different meets: the five season-best times may come from five different meets.
Visibility: hidden teams and hidden/inactive roster athletes are excluded. Teams need five qualifying runners to appear.
