Finalists announced for Super 12 boys cross country

The runners on the ThisWeek Super 12 boys cross country team don’t take shortcuts to success.

All the honorees are finalists to be named Captain – our boys cross country Athlete of the Year.

Our top athletes in all 30 sports will be among the honors revealed during the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards, presented by Encova Insurance and in partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine and Raising Cane’s. The event’s site, time and date will be announced soon.

To read bios of previously announced honorees, visit dispatch.com/sports/central-ohio-high-school-sports-awards.

Below is the Super 12 for boys cross country:

Connor Ackley

School: Hilliard Davidson

Year: Junior

Ackley led the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the Division I state meet at Fortress Obetz, placing second (14 minutes, 58.1 seconds) to earn all-state honors.

He also finished first (16:26.0) at the regional, district (15:27.4) and OCC-Central Division (15:03.1) meets to help the Wildcats win all three.

He was the Super 12 Captain as a sophomore.

Isaac Frank

School: Dublin Coffman

Year: Senior

Frank’s performance at the Division I state meet was one of the biggest reasons why the Shamrocks turned in a runner-up finish (144) behind Mason (106) and one point ahead of third-place Davidson.

After placing fifth (16:17.0) at district and 21st (17:36.0) at regional, Frank ran 15:52.1 at state to finish 28th, which was sixth among area runners and second for Coffman.

Ben Gabelman

School: Westerville North

Year: Sophomore

Gabelman was the Warriors’ top runner in 10 of his 11 races and finished 26th (15:51.3) in the Division I state meet.

Gabelman and teammate Andrew Bracken were North’s first state representatives since 2016. Gabelman was OCC-Capital champion (15:38.8) and district 1 runner-up (15:53.3) before finishing eighth (17:08.0) at regional. 

Cris Kubatko

School: Watterson

Year: Senior

Kubatko finished in the top 10 in every race in which he competed this fall. He placed 10th (16:00.3) at the Division II state meet, helping the Eagles finish a program-best fifth.

After finishing second (16:38.0) in the CCL meet, Kubatko was runner-up (16:20.3) in the district 2 race and seventh (17:32.5) at regional.

Kaiden Lanoy

School: Lancaster

Year: Junior

Lanoy helped the Golden Gales win the OCC-Buckeye championship by capturing the title in 15:57.2. He followed with a third-place finish (16:00.9) in district 2 and a 12th-place finish (17:19.2) at regional.

Then in his second appearance in the Division I state meet, Lanoy was 43rd (16:00.6) to help his team place ninth.

Max Latshaw

School: Watterson

Year: Senior

The CCL champion in 16:38.0, Latshaw then won the district 2 title (16:07.8) and followed with a sixth-place finish (17:30.8) at regional as the Eagles were fourth.

In the Division II state meet, he placed 11th (16:01.6) for the second-best area finish behind Kubatko.

Latshaw holds the program record of 15:30.0.

Will McGraw

School: Dublin Coffman

Year: Junior

After finishing seventh (15:59.6) in the OCC-Central meet, McGraw placed fourth (16:02.8) in district 1 and ninth (17:12.3) at regional.

Then at the Division I state meet, he finished 37th (15:57.5) as the Shamrocks placed second to earn a team trophy at state for the first time since winning the 2011 championship.

Steven Miller

School: Worthington Kilbourne

Year: Sophomore

Miller finished 29th (15:52.3) in his first trip to state after placing 10th (17:16.3) on a muddy course at the Division I regional at Pickerington North, helping the Wolves reach state as a team for the first time since 2005.

Having already won the OCC-Capital meet as a freshman, Miller set a personal record (15:47.0) on his way to a second-place finish in this season’s league meet.

Nick Puhl

School: Hilliard Davidson

Year: Senior

Puhl played a key role in Davidson’s postseason success, highlighted by finishing sixth (15:25.8)  in the Division I state meet to earn all-state honors.

He finished second at regional (16:42.3) and district (15:35.4) and third in the OCC-Central meet (15:23.6) to help the Wildcats win championships in all three events.

Sam Ricchiuti

School: Dublin Jerome

Year: Sophomore

Ricchiuti led the Celtics in the Division I state meet, finishing 45th in 16:01.8. He also led Jerome to a district 2 title by finishing second in 15:42.4.

Ricchiuti was fourth (16:55.0) at regional as the Celtics finished fourth to earn a state berth, and he won the OCC-Cardinal meet (15:53.4) to help Jerome capture the team title.

He also was a standout in soccer, helping the Celtics advance to a state semifinal.

Saketh Rudraraju

School: Olentangy Orange

Year: Sophomore

Rudraraju finished 16th in the Division I state meet in 15:39.2 to earn all-state honors despite losing both of his shoes only 400 meters into the course. He was the top sophomore finisher.

He also finished third (16:55.0) at regional and won the district 2 race in 15:41.9. He was fourth (15:29.9) in the OCC-Central meet.

Liam Shaughnessy

School: Dublin Coffman

Year: Junior

A two-time all-Ohio runner, Shaughnessy was runner-up in the OCC-Central in 15:22.0 and followed by winning the district 1 title in 15:42.3 and placing fifth at regional in 16:56.0.

At state, Shaughnessy ran 15:24.8 to place second among area competitors and fifth overall for the state runners-up. He also made the Super 12 as a sophomore.

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