Magnificat’s Clare (1003) and Abby (1002) Fischer cross the finish line during the Division I race of the 2008 OHSAA Cross Country Meet at Scioto Downs in Columbus. The twins finished 18th and 19th, respectively, last Saturday for the state champion Blue Streaks. (Photo courtesy of John Zangmeister)

Streaks are state champs
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Jan. 9, 2008

There are a number of words Magnificat head coach Anjanette Arabian-Whitman uses to describe her cross country team:

Hard working.

Goal oriented.

Well organized.

After last Saturday’s Division I state cross country championship meet at Scioto Downs in Columbus, Arabian-Whitman can add two more monikers to that list:

Undefeated.

State champions.

On a warm and sunny day, the Blue Streaks capped off an unbeaten season in fine fashion. They scored 68 points to easily outdistance runner-up North Canton Hoover’s 121 and win the Division I championship.

Looking at the scores of the next few teams showed just how dominating the Streaks’ performance was. Springboro was third at 136 points, followed by Upper Arlington at 142, Cincinnati St. Ursula at 155 and Oak Hills at 187.

The next-best Cleveland area school was North Royalton, which finished eighth at 234, followed by Hudson at 237.

“I have a very hard-working group of girls,” said Arabian Whitman as she and her team embarked on the return trip to Rocky River. “They are very goal oriented, and they knew every week what they wanted to accomplish in that week’s race.

“To them, this was another meet to prepare for. They planned out what they wanted to do and got it done,” she added.

Magnificat was led by junior Madeline Chambers, who finished fifth overall with a time of 18:17.91 and claimed All-Ohio honors. Clare and Abby Fischer gave the Streaks three finishers in the top 25, finishing 18th and 19th, respectively. Clare ran an 18:59.75, while Abby came through right behind with her time of 19:00.14.

“This race was very similar to the race we ran last weekend at regionals,” said Arabian-Whitman. “The girls know they have to race both against themselves and the competition, so that’s how they plan their strategy. As a group, we did the same thing today, only against more competition.

Magnificat’s Abby and Claire Fischer, followed closely behind by teammates Abbie Marquard, Mary Whitmore and Erin Riley, get off to a good start in last Saturday’s Division I state cross country championship meet in Columbus. The Blue Streaks finished the season undefeated and won the Division I state championship. (Photo courtesy of John Zangmeister.)

“The big thing was, nobody had to come out with major fireworks to get this done,” she said. “All they had to do was do the same things they had done the previous week. There were no personal records set today. They all ran solid races, which was the key because strange things can happen at the state meet.”

Kat Stultz was the fourth finisher for the Blue Streaks, coming in at 29th with a time of 19:17.17. Abbie Marquard rounded out the top five with her time of 19:36.24, good for 46th.

Erin Riley was 85th with her time of 20:18.39, while Mary Whitmore was 109th with a 20:51.17 out of 144 runners. The team’s alternates were Bridget Cooney and Bridgette Coyne. All of them helped Magnificat better its second-place finish of a year ago.

“We didn’t hit our time goals, but I think the weather affected everybody today,” said Arabian-Whitman of the unusually warm early November weather in Columbus.

“I’m just very proud of these young ladies,” she said. “They, quite honestly, are an amazing group. We have a team grade point average of 3.9. They are very smart, well organized and know their priorities.

“They do well for themselves and their teammates because they work at it all year round. They take a couple of breaks, but they pretty much run and train all year. They follow a training schedule and set their goals in a realistic fashion. Lofty, yes, but realistic,” she said.

There’s one more hurdle for the Blue Streaks to take on. The team will compete in the Nike Team Regional on Nov. 15 in Terre Haute, Ind. Last season, Magnificat took fifth at that meet to top all Ohio entrants.