Alex Phillip and JCU shine at All-Ohio Championships

Alex+Phillip+after+winning+the+All+Ohio+Championship+8K+on+Friday%2C+Sept.+17.+

Kyle Batista

Alex Phillip after winning the All Ohio Championship 8K on Friday, Sept. 17.

Anna Meyer, Sports Editor
Sep 24, 2021

Despite being an NCAA Division III program competing in the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships last weekend, the John Carroll University Blue Streaks finished third among many NCAA Division I and II programs, showing off their high skill set. 

On Friday, Sept. 17, the John Carroll Men’s Cross Country Team took home the third place accolades at the All-Ohio Cross Country 8K for their impressive performance. The Blue Streaks were the highest placing Division III competitor in the 28 team race. 

The only teams finishing higher than the Blue Streaks were Division I Miami University of Ohio and Division II Walsh University. 

“Going into this race, we prepared as we would for any other,” said Phillip. “The plan was just to train through this race with some bigger races on the schedule this year, so the only goal we had going into the race was to see how many Division 1 and 2 programs we could takedown.”

The Blue and Gold finished three spots higher than Ohio Athletic Conference opponent Otterbein and over 10 spots above Ohio Northern University and Wilmington College. 

Junior Alex Phillip led John Carroll in the 8k race. Phillip took home the gold medal in the 8K race, finishing with a time of  24:52.1. Phillip’s win was significant as he was the only Division III runner in the top ten finishers and he finished 4.6 seconds over the rest of competitors. 

“It felt really good to win my first college race,” said Phillip to the Carroll News. “I think it was a nice moment because I really wanted to prove that Division doesn’t matter, more that you find a place where you feel like you personally feel like you can find success. I hope to carry this momentum over into racing some bigger D1 programs at Paul Short, our meet next weekend at Lehigh University.” 

For his accomplishments, Phillip was named Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week, as well as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III National Men’s Runner of the Week. 

 

Many other Blue Streaks made notable marks in the 8K, contributing to their top-three finish that afternoon. Senior Ian Pierson notched a top 20 finish, while Andrew Mier and Jared Arnold finished in the top 40 runners. 

Adam Shah, Pat White, Ethan Domitrovich and Caleb Correia also competed in the 8K. 

John Carroll will have a few weeks off to prepare for their next meet as they travel to Lehigh University on Oct. 1 for the Paul Short Invite in Bethlehem, PA. 

“As a team, this is the strongest we’ve looked in program history,” exclaimed Phillip. “As the season continues, we hope to bring home the JCU’s first ever OAC Cross Country Title, first ever Regional Title, and then go into Nationals with no expectations. We know that we have the potential to be the best team in the country, but just plan to take it day-by-day until we get the opportunity to run at the National Meet.”