At the Division II Cross Country Regional meet this past weekend in Boardman, Tallmadge runners punched their ticket to the State championship. The boys team finished fourth out of 20 led by seniors Tommy Naiman (10th) and Dawson Ansley (13th). On the girls side, junior Ana Crangle was able to advance as well with a 20th place overall finish.

The athletes will leave Friday morning as they travel down to Obetz Fortress in Columbus. The boys run at 12 p.m. Saturday and the girls run at 1 p.m. Saturday. 

“Since I started running the goal has been to get a team down to the State meet. It means the world to me. This is the first time in 32 years that Tallmadge boys have made it. I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to impact this team and the program as a whole. Individual accomplishment is one thing but this is on another level,” Naiman said. 

Naiman is very familiar with this setting seeing as this is his second trip to the State championship in the past two years. Naiman ran as an individual qualifier with a time of 16:53 at the 2019 State meet. 

“Overall I’m most thankful I was able to do this for Coach [Jeremy] Huth because I know he’s always wanted to get a boys team down to Columbus,” Naiman said.  

The last time the boys team qualified for the State championship was 32 years ago, in 1988.

Coach Huth said, “We want to compete, not just be content with being there.  I feel we can finish in the top 10, which would be a huge accomplishment.  We were ranked 21st last week but beat NDCL who was ranked 20th.”