Mangus 14th at State Cross-Country Championships
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HEBRON — Fairfield junior Michael Mangus was on a one-man mission Saturday morning in the 2012 Division III State Cross-Country Championships at National Trail Raceway, as the junior raced his way to a 14th-place finish and a spot on the state podium.
Mangus finished with a time of 16:11.67 for the 14th-place finish, a finish which occurred as he ran the race of his life after the second mile as he was around the 35th position at the close of the second mile. From there, he turned up his pace on his fellow runners ahead of him, gaining over 21 spots in the remaining mile or so of the race.
The performance by Mangus earned him Division III All-Ohio status. Asked by friends and family where he was going to finish next year, after catching his breath following the race … the quiet-spoken Mangus just shook his head and said "I don't know."
"This race went great," Mangus said. "I ran as well as I could have hoped … I don't think I could have run much better.
"I went out slower than last year, and I think it worked out well because I had to pass people the whole way. It feels good to finish where I did … it was good to redeem myself from last year."
Fairfield head coach Raymond Friend spoke about the way Mangus raced and how improved it was in just a single year.
"Michael ran an extremely smart race," Friend said. "He learned from his mistakes last year … with all his training, he's now up on the podium, and that is an accomplishment.
"I can't say enough about Michael and the way he trains. He puts forward a great effort, and he's earned it. The way Michael improved in the race from last year takes a lot of effort. It takes physical motivation, and it takes a tough mentality to run this race. This race is so difficult to run because there are so many front runners."
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Also representing Fairfield was junior Blake Hildebrant, who in his second trip to the state championships battled his way to a 78th-place finish in a race that totaled 143 runners, with a time of 17:11.65.
"It's state … with the crowd and everyone here, it's always fun," Hildebrant said. "The biggest difference this year was having more experience, but I'm always going to go out fast here just because of the pace … it's just a different race."
Friend spoke about Hildebrant's race.
"Blake had an excellent time (Saturday) and had a smart race as well," Friend said. "I'm proud of his effort in this race."
Winning the Division III state championship was Samuel Prakel, a senior from Versailles, with a time of 15:16.62.
As for Mangus' race, the junior averaged a mile split of 5:12.8 in his second trip at the state championships as last season as a sophomore he was 63rd with a time of 17:09. This season, Mangus totaled six first-place finishes, and in all his races this year, he never finished lower than his state finish of 14th.
The three-time Southern Hills League champion Mangus sprinted the final straight away in a pack of racers, as he was completely spent as he crossed the finish line.
"The course was in great shape, the weather wasn't bad and it wasn't as muddy as I thought it was going to be," Mangus said.
As for Hildebrant, a two-sport fall athlete, he said he started the race too quickly, then had issues with upper body pain around the second mile of the race as it entered a wooded area. Hildebrant last season had a time of 17:10.61 at the state championships.
Hildebrant considered the day a success as he had an average mile of 5:32.1.
"The race went pretty good. I had one of my better times this year … but I went out a little too fast because the pace was so fast to keep up with everyone else.
"Then I had a side stitch about the two-mile mark, so that started hurting me. I could have run better, but it was just hurting."
Winning the team state championship in Division III was Seneca East with a team time of 1:22:26.69.
Mangus finished with a time of 16:11.67 for the 14th-place finish, a finish which occurred as he ran the race of his life after the second mile as he was around the 35th position at the close of the second mile. From there, he turned up his pace on his fellow runners ahead of him, gaining over 21 spots in the remaining mile or so of the race.
The performance by Mangus earned him Division III All-Ohio status. Asked by friends and family where he was going to finish next year, after catching his breath following the race … the quiet-spoken Mangus just shook his head and said "I don't know."
"This race went great," Mangus said. "I ran as well as I could have hoped … I don't think I could have run much better.
"I went out slower than last year, and I think it worked out well because I had to pass people the whole way. It feels good to finish where I did … it was good to redeem myself from last year."
Fairfield head coach Raymond Friend spoke about the way Mangus raced and how improved it was in just a single year.
"Michael ran an extremely smart race," Friend said. "He learned from his mistakes last year … with all his training, he's now up on the podium, and that is an accomplishment.
"I can't say enough about Michael and the way he trains. He puts forward a great effort, and he's earned it. The way Michael improved in the race from last year takes a lot of effort. It takes physical motivation, and it takes a tough mentality to run this race. This race is so difficult to run because there are so many front runners."
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Also representing Fairfield was junior Blake Hildebrant, who in his second trip to the state championships battled his way to a 78th-place finish in a race that totaled 143 runners, with a time of 17:11.65.
"It's state … with the crowd and everyone here, it's always fun," Hildebrant said. "The biggest difference this year was having more experience, but I'm always going to go out fast here just because of the pace … it's just a different race."
Friend spoke about Hildebrant's race.
"Blake had an excellent time (Saturday) and had a smart race as well," Friend said. "I'm proud of his effort in this race."
Winning the Division III state championship was Samuel Prakel, a senior from Versailles, with a time of 15:16.62.
As for Mangus' race, the junior averaged a mile split of 5:12.8 in his second trip at the state championships as last season as a sophomore he was 63rd with a time of 17:09. This season, Mangus totaled six first-place finishes, and in all his races this year, he never finished lower than his state finish of 14th.
The three-time Southern Hills League champion Mangus sprinted the final straight away in a pack of racers, as he was completely spent as he crossed the finish line.
"The course was in great shape, the weather wasn't bad and it wasn't as muddy as I thought it was going to be," Mangus said.
As for Hildebrant, a two-sport fall athlete, he said he started the race too quickly, then had issues with upper body pain around the second mile of the race as it entered a wooded area. Hildebrant last season had a time of 17:10.61 at the state championships.
Hildebrant considered the day a success as he had an average mile of 5:32.1.
"The race went pretty good. I had one of my better times this year … but I went out a little too fast because the pace was so fast to keep up with everyone else.
"Then I had a side stitch about the two-mile mark, so that started hurting me. I could have run better, but it was just hurting."
Winning the team state championship in Division III was Seneca East with a team time of 1:22:26.69.