Talkin’ Shop: The Ohio Distance Running Podcast

The Rise of Zach Kreft (College Interview #2)

Zach Kreft has a decorated high school and college career, including his most recent 4th place finish at D2 XC Nationals. Hunter dives into the story of Zach Kreft. Hear about the highs and lows of his collegiate career and how he put the pieces together to become one of D2's finest distance runners. Going from a 24:30 8k runner / 14:04 5k runner to a 23:14 / 13:51 guy in less than a year, Zach offers some fantastic advice on how to mentally approach the sport. Kreft discusses the relationship he had with former teammate and 2022 10k Outdoor National Champion, Dylan Jacobs, and how Jacobs bettered Zach's running. Lastly, get to know Zach Kreft as we give him some rapid-fire questions in a fun and entertaining episode!

Final College Individual Power Rankings + High School National Meets Talk

It's been a minute since we caught up to discuss the highlights of the last few weeks of racing.  Boy was it an exciting one as we had a Division 2 Cross Country NCAA national championship to talk about, highlighted by a Zach Kreft 4th place finish, as well as some high school national meets & national meet qualifiers.  Congrats to all of those participated in this meet, way to represent Ohio well!  We also give a kudos to our former OHSAA runners tearing it up at the collegiate scene at Boston University this past weekend.  We hit you guys with Hunter's final power rankings of the 2022 XC season for both mens and womens.  Graham then gives his review of how the Ohio high schoolers faired at their respective national meets.  The Connor Ackley GOOAT talks are also discussed in the episode!  You aren't going to want to miss our most exciting podcast to date! Time Stamps: College 0:16 D2 Nationals XC (M) 7:28 D2 Nationals XC (W) 8:40 Power Rankings College Individuals 14:22 College Kudos 15:45 Why are times at all levels getting quicker (a discussion) High School 19:32 Garmin RunningLane XC Championships 21:48 Footlocker Midwest Regional 26:05 NXN 28:55 Newbury Park drama 32:10 Best Runner in Ohio History Talk... Again!

College Nationals Reactions! Will Alex Phillips transfer?

College Nationals for Division 1 and 3 was this past weekend and we have a lot to talk about!  Anthony Camerieri  of Ole Miss and Addie Engles of OSU are our top Ohio High School Finishers at the big stage of division 1 nationals!  Alex Phillip (King of Carroll) goes back to back on them for his 2nd XC title in a row, 5th national championship total.  There are heavy rumors of him transferring next semester.  We discuss in depth on this possibility.  Also we review a big day in division 2 regionals where Cedarville women and Walsh men get the auto bids, as well as Fisher of Findlay and Evan Leist of Cedarville University.  Lastly, we look at the results from our high school seniors at the Mid-East CC Championships.  A great weekend overall for Ohio Running! Time Stamps Mid-East XC Championships 0:22 Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Women) 6:02 Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Men) 12:30 Division 2 NCAA Regional Championships (Men) 16:24 Division 2 NCAA Regional Championships (Women) 21:49 Division 3 NCAA National Championships (Women) 28:23 Division 1 NCAA National Championships (Men) 30:00

Connor Ackley's Ohio High School Record + Collegiate Nationals Predictions

Connor Ackley has done the impossible: he now has the fastest time in Ohio High School history with an absurd 14:29, beating Zach Kreft's previous record by milliseconds and securing his berth to NXN.  That leads us to the ultimate question, is he the GOOAT (Greatest Ohioan of All Time)?  We (briefly) discuss this as well as the rest of the craziness of this Nike Regionals meet.  This was the fastest race of the year in the country! A lot of big prs for our Ohio athletes including Tommy Rice going sub 15! We wrap up by giving our takes on who we think will place the best for D1 and D3 nationals this weekend for Ohio teams and individuals collegiately.  Lastly, we also give a synopsis on what to expect for D2 regionals this upcoming weekend!  Tune-in for all the latest updates regarding Ohio distance running! Time Stamps NXR Boys :20 NXR Girls 7:00 Connor Ackley GOOAT Talk 21:31 Division 3 Top Ohio Team/Individual Predictions 28:10 Division 2 Regionals Predictions 31:04 Division 1 Top Ohio Team/Individual Predictions 33:35 QOTW 41:49

Collegiate Regional Preview and Reactions!

Ohio State Women's Cross Country came into the region ranked 6th, with an outside shot looking in at a nationals.  They pulled off a huge day with a 2nd place (automatic qualifier) finish.  We talk about our immediate reactions to the D1 Great Lakes Region as well as our predictions for the D3 Great Lakes Region.  Will Toledo's women make it to the big dance?  How did Baidy Ba become Ohio's top finisher?  What is JCU going to do? A lot of insane results across the board that we discuss in this episode!   Time Stamps D1 Great Lakes Region W 0:17 D1 Great Lakes Region M 8:25 GMAC Review 11:59 D3 Region Preview M 15:35 D3 Region Preview W 17:33 QOTW 18:21