OBETZ — On Ohio’s biggest cross country stage, local boys delivered.

Six runners from the Morning Journal coverage area earned All-Ohioan honors in all three divisions at the Nov. 2 state meet at Fortress Obetz.

Even though Bay had high hopes as a team, having two All-Ohioans would be enough. The Rockets finished eighth with 262 points, but Connor Spellman (12th) and Kieran Ripley (22nd) had a forgettable day.

Dealing with an Achilles injury, Spellman wasn’t going to miss the state meet. He finished with a time of 15:40.92 and was neck and neck in a competitive race.

“It feels good,” Spellman said. “Obviously it’s an unlucky time to get injured. I was worried throughout the training weeks. Ultimately, I knew my fitness wasn’t going to deteriorate – it was all in the head. I started running again this week and it helped me get back to running like I should.

After her individual regional title last week at Boardman, Ripley had another strong performance. He has stepped up this year and firmly established the Rockets’ top three. He narrowly missed the top 20 podium by less than seven tenths of a second.

Michael Hanselman finished 49th, followed by Spencer Grace (138th) and Sacha Jones (139th). The Rockets couldn’t recreate their fourth-place finish from last year, but they capped off their second straight trip to state.

“It’s been amazing,” Ripley said. “I truly love all my boys through thick and thin. We all bonded together and it’s been great. I love my team.

Rocky River also had two All-Ohioans. Ryan Stirm (19th) and Henry Lange (21st) finished in the top 30 and now both own the top five in program history. The Pirates finished 11th as a team with 285 points.

Only a sophomore, Stirm clocked 15:42.78. He occupies the penultimate place on the podium.

“It’s awesome,” Stirm said. “Henry and I had a goal before the season under 15:45. To get this here was exceptional against phenomenal competition. The conditions were excellent and it went very well.

Lange finished one place ahead of Ripley, but missed the podium by less than three-tenths of a second in 15:42.78. Still, he’s proud of how he finished his cross country career.

“I’m happy with what we did this season and how it ended,” Lange said. “Just 0.2 seconds that I was away from the podium would have been great, but I’m really proud that Ryan is up there as a sophomore. There is only more to come.

Two other local runners earned all-Ohio honors in the Division III race and broke school records in the process. Andrew Young of Lake Ridge was 23rd with a time of 15:59.64 and Joe Fox of Wellington was 27th in 16:09.95.

This was Young’s first appearance at the state competition and he did not disappoint. He was an All-Ohioan in track and field last spring, but he’s excited to do it here.

“I came here with no expectations,” Young said. “I wanted to get out quickly. I came out fast, under five, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I just held on until the end. It’s just incredible, a school record. Last (cross country) competition in high school, it feels really good to accomplish that.

This wasn’t Fox’s first rodeo at Obetz. He became the second runner in Wellington history to qualify for the state competition three times. After finishing 51st last year, he picked up the pace. He also broke the three-decade school record by more than 13 seconds.

“It’s amazing,” Fox said. “Early in my high school career, (coach Jeff Hook) told me the record was 16:23. I was about to beat him and I was excited. Throughout high school, I was trying to break that. Breaking it in the last competition of the year was incredible. I’m so happy. It all came together – a PR, a school record, All-Ohio – it’s amazing.

Lake Ridge’s Christian Gorny finished 37th and Open Door’s Trevor Taylor finished 53rd to round out D-III.

In Division I, Westlake’s Jeremy Snyder finished 52nd and Avon’s Nick Thompson crossed the finish line 105th.