The Aurora Greenmen girls’ cross country team did not notice the frosty weather at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II state cross country meet last Saturday at Fortress Obetz. The Greenmen girls were kept warm with the adrenaline and excitement of winning the OHSAA Division II state title, scoring 80 points with a 1-5-7-26-41 finish.
“I am speechless, so it is hard to wrap it up into words,” said Coach Laura Bell-Peters. “I am not sure they realize what they have just accomplished in school history. It is truly remarkable. When they were in eighth grade, we knew that they were a special group and coming in, they work hard and are easy to coach and they do what they are supposed to do.”
It marked the first time in school history that an Aurora girls’ cross country team won a state championship.
Last Saturday, sophomore Audrey Miller led Aurora by finishing in fourth place with a time of 17:49.50, followed by sophomore Claire Jenkins who captured 12th place at 18:22.00, sophomore Evelyn Jenkins earned 14th place by clocking a time of 18:28.20, sophomore Mia Paech landed in 40th place with a personal record 19:10.40 and freshman Makayla Cicero snagged 60th place with a time of 19:25.20.
According to Claire, the Greenemen girls were motivated to improve upon their previous finish at the 2025 OHSAA Division II state meet when they captured sixth place. A year after their debut at the state level, Claire said that Auroa was better prepared to claim the state banner.
“It helped because knowing the course and knowing the competition and who is going to be there,” noted Claire, who came in 13th place last season. “I knew what to expect coming into here and getting out, you need a good place, it just really benefits knowing the course so we could do well.”
Like she had done all year, Miller, who finished in 40th place last year, once again led the Aurora pack, crossing the first mile checkpoint in first place. She lagged in the second mile, slipping into third place after running 5:43.40 and finished in fourth place.
Miller acknowledged that she intentionally wanted to start slower so she could finish stronger but could not find the energy to close the gap with the lead runners.
As she crossed the finish line, Miller said she was less concerned about where she placed but where her teammates sat in the final mile.
“I was thinking about where my teammates were,” she added. “I was watching, hoping and rooting my teammates on, hoping that they are all having great races and I was really excited to see everyone come through the line fast.”
Entering the final mile, Aurora trailed the Bishop Watterson Eagles, the reigning Division II state champion, by one point.
The 22nd year coach said that the Aurora girls wanted to start slower so they could run a stronger second half of the race. She added that the Greenmen had enjoyed quick starts throughout the season and were well-conditioned to maintain their lead but realized that a different strategy was needed for the state meet,
“Saturday’s competition was higher and more intense,” Bell-Peters said. “I could tell that a couple of them were holding back and it is what they mentally felt good about for their race and what their strategy was for the day.”
Claire and Evelyn finished only 6.2 second apart, as Evelyn picked off Eagles’ junior Campbell Retzke in the final mile, enabling the Greenmen’s top three runners to record single-digit finishes and earn first team All-Ohio honors.
“I knew that there was a Bishop Watterson runner I wanted to beat and she is amazing too and is just a strong runner,” said Evelyn, who recorded 35th place last year. “Having that feeling just to get past her and help benefit my team, I think that helped it and just knowing how good of a spot we all were in as well.”
Ultimately, although the Eagles had four runners score in the top 20 compared to only three Aurora girls capturing scores in the top 20 and final two Aurora runners earned scores in the top 41, including Paesch’s personal record time which scored 26 points.
Bell-Peters lauded the team for making good on their promise to win a state championship when they first entered the varsity cross country program and highlighted Miller’s performance on Saturday, as another example of how far Miller has advanced as a runner in only the three years she has been running competitively.
“I attribute that all to her for her hard work,” she added. “It has nothing to do with me. She is extremely dedicated and has big goals and just worked hard coming into the season. What she did this year is not typical.”
Claire said that the sweetest part of Aurora’s victory was that the same team would return for the next two years, giving the Greenmen a chance to establish a new tradition of running excellence in Ohio.
“That is crazy that we work really hard and I like that it is such a young team,” she said. “We work hard and have confidence.”
