The Garfield G-Men cross country team’s presence will continue to grow at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state meet. Sophomore Lina Kaufman repeated as a state qualifier, earning fifth place with a time of 18:57.00 while the boys advanced junior Owen Thomas, who earned third place with a time of 15:38.70 and freshman Lucas Thomas who landed in fifth place at 15:42.10 at the OHSAA Division III regional meet last Saturday afternoon at Boardman High School.
“It is a big step in the right direction,” Coach Justin Thomas said. “Going into the season and being a first-year coach there and getting to know the kids, we put a lot of big expectations out there. Sending three individuals puts us on the right path of what we are trying to build. We are not just looking at a one-year thing, we are trying to build something special.”
After becoming the first Garfield female runner to individually qualify for the state meet last year since Caroline Hahn in 2012, Kaufman is now a two-time state qualifier and will race in the OHSAA Division III state meet at Fortress Obetz on Saturday afternoon at 1:40 p.m.
“I think being more familiar with the course is going to help a lot,” said the first-year coach. “I think she is running more confident right now. If you are running confident, you are hard to beat.”
On Saturday, Kaufman experienced a fast start to the race, running with the top flight but lagged at the halfway point.
According to Coach Thomas, Kaufman was in seventh place at the two-mile mark but shifted into a different gear in the final mile, picking off two runners and was hot on the heels of Berkshire freshman Claire Passow and freshman Luci Maschek from Crestwood, ultimately securing fifth place to earn a return to the OHSAA Division III state meet.
He called Kaufman’s regional race her best of the season.
“She did not panic, she got out just like we talked about from the pack that we wanted her to be with and what made it the best race of the season was how she closed it,” he added. “In the last mile-and-a-half, coming back around to that second loop at Boardman, she really pieced that race together.”
On the boys’ side, the Thomas brothers ran at the front and maintained a firm lead to each net state berths, the second one for Owen but his first as a G-Men, with his first state berth coming during his freshman year when he attended Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, and the first one for Lucas, who has made a strong impression in his debut season at Garfield.
“They have just been fun to watch,” said Coach Thomas of his sons. “They are brothers and are only two years apart and have been running together for years, Owen loves to challenge Lucas and Lucas loves to push Owen and they make each other better, they executed really well on Saturday.”
The Thomas’ became the first Garfield runners to individually earn state berths to the OHSAA Division III state cross country meet since Tyler Klouda secured a state berth as a sophomore in 2016.
The Garfield duo will wrap their cross country seasons when they race at the OHSAA Division III state meet at Fortress Obetz on Saturday afternoon at 2:20 p.m.
“Owen is going to line up hungry this weekend and know that he is going to cover any move that anyone makes, and he believes he can run with anybody in the state,” added Coach Thomas. “Lucas is going to do what he always does, he is going to line up, he is going to compete, and he is going to make sure he puts it all out there even though he is a freshman.”
On Saturday, the Thomas brothers started strong, but Coach Thomas noted that Owen had to make up more ground than he anticipated at the mile mark as Canton South junior Logan Howard made a big move to take a lead.
Owen persevered and was on the verge of picking off Howard and senior John Brock from Woodridge but could not close the gap in time, finishing in third place.
Coach Thomas said that Owen took a year from competing in high school cross country but still competed in independent national meets across the country last year, and that experience sharpened him for his triumphant return.
“He got to race against some of the best kids in the country three different times and I think that helped him realize his potential but also what it is to line up in these bigger races and be able to compete against some of the best not only in the state but in the nation,” he acknowledged.
Coach Thomas said that Lucas was more conservative at the start of the race and accelerated in the final stages, netting his first career state berth in what has been a memorable freshman campaign.
“He likes to close well so if we can stay in contact and drop down after mile two and three, that is what we need to do and he executed that on Saturday and did a great job,” he added.
