Eastern’s Logan Lainhart (left) and Cy Young (right) tackle the 5K course at the University of Rio Grande Division II SE District Meet, leading the Warriors to the finish line to help their team qualify for the regional championship meet at Pickerington.

 

By Wade Linville – 

The Eastern Warriors were en route to the Pickerington Division II Regional Cross Country Championship Meet on Oct. 28 after placing among the top nine teams in the Southeast District Division III Championship Meet at the University of Rio Grande on Oct. 21.
Only the top nine teams and the top 36 individuals from the SE District Division II Meet qualified for the regional championships at Pickerington, and the Warriors would place eighth of 21 teams to advance.
Competing at the Division II level was a step up for the Warriors after being on the Division III level in prior years, but last Saturday they proved they were able to compete with the teams of runners from Division II schools.
Leading the way to the finish line for the Warriors in the district race was sophomore Cy Young, placing 28th on a field of 193 runners with a finish time of 17:28.75.
Eastern senior Logan Lainhart wasn’t far behind Young, placing 31st overall with a time of 17:31.69.
The third Eastern runner to cross the finish line was senior Garyn Purdy, placing 44th overall with a time of 17:56.16.
Eastern freshman Andres Vargas placed 85th with a time of 18:58.02, and rounding out the Warriors’ top five was sophomore Dustin Jimison who placed 86th with a time of 19:03.60.
The Eastern Warriors finished with a team score of 266.
Winning the SE District Division II 5K boys’ race at Rio Grande was the team from Sheridan High School with a score of 33.