Although the Berkshire Badgers girls’ cross country team was comprised of five freshmen this season, they never showed fear. It was the same at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state meet at Fortress Obetz last Saturday, as Berkshire finished in sixth place, scoring 220 points with a 6-17-58-62-77 finish.
“We were ecstatic with how they did today, the five freshmen on the team and the two upperclassmen really put together a show for us,” said Coach Bryan Wadsworth. “I could not be prouder of how they did and they weren’t afraid of the lights, it was awesome.”
Making their first appearance at the OHSAA state meet since 2016, the Badger girls were led by freshman Claire Passow, who finished in 12th place with a personal record 18:35.90, followed by freshman June Dunlap who clinched 26th place with a personal best time of 19:18.10, junior Addison Passow earned 92nd place with a time of 20:16.70, freshman Ashlyn Brzozowski finished 97th at 20:19.70 and freshman Hailey Mitchell captured 119th place with a personal record 20:37.60.
Of the Badgers’ top five runners, the four who recorded personal best times were all freshmen.
Claire fueled Berkshire’s return to the OHSAA state meet by once again being the lead runner, running just behind the front flight of runners wire-to-wire.
After crossing the first-mile mark at 5:44.06 to sit in 12th place, Claire maintained her position throughout the race, earning herself first team All-Ohio honors to wrap up a promising freshman season.
“For a freshman to go out and be able to do that is very exciting,” said the fourth-year coach. “She did a fantastic job.”
The Berkshire pack faced a significant gap at the start of the race but quickly tightened their pack at the first mile mark, and continued making strides, finishing with a split of 2:01.70.
As historic as the season was for the Badger girls, Wadsworth emphasized how the team has just scratched the surface, as every one of the Berkshire’s top seven runners is expected to return next year, with four of its top five just entering their sophomore season.
“We are so excited to have everybody back,” he added. “We are going to put in the miles like we did last year and it is going to be another exciting year and we can’t wait. I wish we could fast forward to it.”
On the boys’ side, Berkshire battled to finish in 17th place as a team, scoring 351 points with a 35-54-81-85-96 finish.
“We learned a lot,” said Wadsworth. “We did not get the start that we wanted, and we were battling some illnesses unfortunately, but we will come back next year stronger.”
In the Badgers boys’ first appearance at the OHSAA State Meet since 2010, junior Aiden Hollingsworth paced the pack by crossing the finish line in 69th place, tying his personal record of 16:47.90, followed sophomore Tripp Wadsworth, who earned 94th place with a personal record 17:05.30, freshman Ben Townsend netted 123rd place at 17:28.0, sophomore Evan Tromba checked in at 129th with a time of 17:33.70 and senior Danny Auth secured 141st place by clocking 17:41.00.
The top flight stampeded down the opening leg of the race to set an electric pace, with the lead runner at the first-mile mark recording a time of 4:43.59. Coach Wadsworth said that Berkshire hoped to run a faster time at the start of the race, but the Badgers did not meet that pace, putting them behind.
Hollingsworth was Berkshire’s lead runner from the start, coming in at 50th place at the first-mile checkpoint, but lagged in the final two miles, finishing 69th and tying his personal record in the process.
“I knew going into this that I would have to work hard just to beat my personal record. Now sitting here knowing how I did, I am happy with my results,” Hollingsworth said.
Coach Wadsworth praised Hollingsworth for leading the team in the final race of the season in spite of the team’s slow start to the beginning of the race.
“Aiden has been leading us all year and had a great day,” he added. “He was hoping for a little faster time, but he went out and led the charge which is awesome.”
Although Berkshire faced challenges in its final race of the season, Hollingsworth has confidence in the team’s future, as the 2026 OHSAA Division III state meet was just the beginning for a Badger boys’ squad that graduates only one senior from its top five.
“This is the first of many years that the Berkshire Badgers are going to the state meet,” the Berkshire junior said. “We are planning to put in all of the work this summer and we are going to come back and show them what we can do.”
