OBETZ -- The 2024 Little Miami Panthers varsity boys' cross country team solidified their place in LMHS athletic history Saturday afternoon as they concluded the 2024 season as the No. 3 ranked team in Ohio at the OHSAA State Championships at  Fortress Obetz Stadium just southeast of Downtown Columbus on a sun-soaked November afternoon. During their regular season campaign this year, the Panthers were unblemished as a team and set new postseason program marks in the following weeks. On Oct. 12, they won their first Eastern Cincinnati Conference championship in school history at Lebanon High School, and a week later they claimed their first team postseason title by winning the OHSAA District Championship at VOA Park on Oct. 19. Last weekend, on the banks of Great Miami River in Troy, Little Miami finished just five points behind Mason at the OHSAA Regional Meet where they were runner's up against top competition while claiming their top team mark in school history. And today, the Panthers placed No. 3 as a unit in Ohio, which catapults their story into the same stratosphere as the 2006 LMHS varsity girls' basketball team and the 1983 Lady Panthers softball team who were both state semifinalists, respectively.

Below is a listing of the Panthers' meet accomplishments this season:
OHSAA Preseason Invitational-1st Place
Lakota East Thunderhawks Invitational-1st Place
Governor DeWine Duals-1st Place
Little Miami Panthers Invitational-1st Place
Eaton Golden Eagles Invitational-1st Place
Cedarville's Friendship Invitational-1st Place
Northeastern's Jim Murray Memorial Invitational-1st Place
Thomas Worthington's Les Eisenhart Invitational-1st Place
Eastern Cincinnati Conference Championships-1st Place
OHSAA District Championships-1st Place
OHSAA Regional Championships-2nd Place
OHSAA State Championships-3rd Place

This afternoon, Little Miami was led by Michael Zegarski who finished at No. 17 overall with a time of 15:29.34 and was named All-Ohio for his Top 20 performance. Not far behind Zegarski, was Ryne Reynolds who placed No. 22 at 15:32.79, and Ian Patrick who crossed the line at No. 41 with a time of 15:49.78. Also placing for the Panthers was Mitchell Reynolds at 90, Justin Evans at 113, Noah Orr at 135, and Derek Gomez at 141. Mason won the State Championship with a team-low 111 points, Cincinnati St. Xavier finished second at 180, and Little Miami rounded out the Top 3 with 183.

And on the girls' side of the running action, we'd like to celebrate Lady Panther runner and fellow individual state qualifier Sophia France who also had a tremendous 2024 season! Saturday afternoon in Obetz, Sophia finished No. 65 overall in a field of 182 D-I participants while running an impressive 19:06.22!

A complete listing of 2024 OHSAA State Championship Meet results is available HERE!