XC Rivalaries

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I was curious what are some of the current XC rivalries across the state of Ohio between schools and what made it a rivalry?

It would also be interesting to hear about some of the old school rivalries, when the started and/or ended along with any interesting stories around the rivalry.

Living in Cincinnati area, it seems that St X and Mason have a strong rivalry based upon their battles at Regionals and State. It seems like a mutual respect of the programs but want to beat each other badly whenever they toe the line.
 
 
I would say that St. X vs. Mason is a great one right now for boys and the last 10-12 years.

It was St. X, Elder, and LaSalle from the mid-1990s to 2012 range. Those 3 battled every year.

The best girls rivalry would be Centerville v. Beavercreek girls. Bordering schools are the in same conference and district. For the last 10 years, these two teams have been battling. It was a great rivalry.

2011- Beavercreek state runner-up
2012- Centerville state runner-up
2013- Beavercreek state runner-up
2014 Centerville State Champs
2015 Centerville State Champs
2016 Centerville State Champs
2017 Centerville State Champs
2018 Beavercreek State Champs, Centerville State runner-up
2019 Beavercreek State Champs
2020 Centerville State Champs
 
A bit self-serving, but I think the Coffman v. Davidson rivalry has been pretty good, particularly on the boys side. In the same division of the same conference, with some close finishes, going back quite a while. Here are just a few of the results over the years. 2019 was Connor Ackley's only year not to win the OCC meet, losing by a second to Coffman's Alex Dediu. In 2020 Davidson won, Coffman was second in the OCC. Davidson won the regional, Coffman was second. In 2021 in the OCC Davidson won, Coffman was second and that repeated at the regional, then Coffman nipped Davidson by a point for 2nd and 3rd at the state meet. In 2022 Davidson won the OCC and Regional meets over Coffman's second place, then Coffman was 4th and Davidson 5th at the state meet. All of the individual winners since 2014 have been Coffman or Davidson athletes.

And so you don't think it's just a recent thing, in 2011 Coffman edged Davidson for the OCC title, they both won district titles, Coffman was second and Davidson third at the regional, then Coffman was 1st and Davidson 4th at the state meet. (And at the two mile the teams were 1-2 in the standings.) In 2016 and 2017 it was the same two teams 1-2 at the Central Division meet. There have been numerous times over the last decade or two where both teams won district titles.

To top it off, the two schools are longtime traditional rivals across many other sports.
 
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mathking said:
All of the individual winners since 2014 have been Coffman or Davidson athletes.
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Davidson and Coffman definitely have a great rivalry. But unless you're just referring to your division of the OCC, this isn't true. Duvall (Pick N) won back-to-back individual regional titles a few years ago. If you do mean within the OCC, I'm not sure that's such a big deal. Many divisions are dominated by two teams.

The better argument is that these two teams have battled for Central OH team dominance for years. Only a loaded TW squad in 2016 breaks up that party. Look no further than 2021, when Coffman placed 2nd at Obetz, just 1 point ahead of Davidson for a podium spot. I imagine you remember that day, coach... :)
 
Woodridge boys vs. the rest of D2. I'm only half kidding on that one. 10 team titles since '06 is remarkable.

As an NEO guy, the one that comes to mind for me is Maplewood boys vs. McDonald boys. A pair of Trumbull County schools who were coached for numerous years by the Rupe brothers. Both programs have 7 state titles as teams and some individual champions, too. They've also gone 1-2 at state 4x in the team standings ('01, '02, '03, and '13). Throw in Girard's boys DIII title in '00, and the D3 boys team title stayed in Trumbull County every year from '99-'04. It was 2 pts. in '98 away from being every year from '97-'04.
 
McDonald vs Maplewood is my first thought.

Girls. Woodridge, CVCA and $V$M have had a three team rivalry since 2006. CVCA fell off after 2016, but those 3 teams fought it out for a good decade +
 
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oncearunner said:
Davidson and Coffman definitely have a great rivalry. But unless you're just referring to your division of the OCC, this isn't true. Duvall (Pick N) won back-to-back individual regional titles a few years ago. If you do mean within the OCC, I'm not sure that's such a big deal. Many divisions are dominated by two teams.

The better argument is that these two teams have battled for Central OH team dominance for years. Only a loaded TW squad in 2016 breaks up that party. Look no further than 2021, when Coffman placed 2nd at Obetz, just 1 point ahead of Davidson for a podium spot. I imagine you remember that day, coach... :)
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I am just arguing that the two are consistent conference rivals and rivals in the post season. When the rivalry is between schools that are so physically close together and in the same division of the same conference, you race against each other a lot. And the conference meet bragging rights are important to you. And the kids know to look for each other. At the state XC meet in 2021, when we were one point apart, the #4s were 0.1 second apart (with Davidson leading) and the #5s were 0.5 seconds apart (with Coffman leading). And our #6 was 1.5 back of their #5. Because they knew each other and were looking to beat each other in the race. I have had some good runs of girls track teams at the same time that first Reynoldsburg and then Gahanna were dominant teams, and those were certainly good rivalries. But it isn't quite the same as when your post season match ups start at the conference meet.
 
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mathking said:
I am just arguing that the two are consistent conference rivals and rivals in the post season. When the rivalry is between schools that are so physically close together and in the same division of the same conference, you race against each other a lot. And the conference meet bragging rights are important to you. And the kids know to look for each other. At the state XC meet in 2021, when we were one point apart, the #4s were 0.1 second apart (with Davidson leading) and the #5s were 0.5 seconds apart (with Coffman leading). And our #6 was 1.5 back of their #5. Because they knew each other and were looking to beat each other in the race. I have had some good runs of girls track teams at the same time that first Reynoldsburg and then Gahanna were dominant teams, and those were certainly good rivalries. But it isn't quite the same as when your post season match ups start at the conference meet.
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Agreed. I guess as an outsider to these two programs, I can definitely see the rivalry. To me, that's a sign that the it's a significant one. I doubt many outside of the Hard Rd or OCC Capital would pick up on the intense rivalry that Kilbourne and Scioto have when they line up, but these teams pull from some of the same neighborhoods, race regularly, and have won that division of the OCC each of the last five years. It's a very intense and fun rivalry.

Davidson and Coffman are not only local rivals, they're also state rivals. While battling for an OCC title certainly matters, I think it's elevated to another level when a state podium finish is on the line. That's where your squad and Davidson shine as competitors. Hopefully this year some new rivalries begin to emerge, and one can already see in happening in spring in the 4x8, DMR, and 4x16.

To that end, Coffman-Orange is becoming nearly as intense. Crazy battles the last few years.

Good stuff with these rivalries, by the way. It's what makes sport great.

In D2, is Woodridge-Marlington on a similar level? Again, as an outsider I see these teams battling for the top regularly.
 
EuclidandViren said:
I would say that St. X vs. Mason is a great one right now for boys and the last 10-12 years.

It was St. X, Elder, and LaSalle from the mid-1990s to 2012 range. Those 3 battled every year.

The best girls rivalry would be Centerville v. Beavercreek girls. Bordering schools are the in same conference and district. For the last 10 years, these two teams have been battling. It was a great rivalry.

2011- Beavercreek state runner-up
2012- Centerville state runner-up
2013- Beavercreek state runner-up
2014 Centerville State Champs
2015 Centerville State Champs
2016 Centerville State Champs
2017 Centerville State Champs
2018 Beavercreek State Champs, Centerville State runner-up
2019 Beavercreek State Champs
2020 Centerville State Champs
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The GCL was incredible from ~1986 (Elder State Champs, LaSalle Runner Up) to 2010 (Elder and LaSalle ranked ~ #1 and #2 most of the year before not performing well at state with injuries to both teams. X beat both of them at state for the first time all year). X, LaSalle, and Elder all had multiple state titles / runner up performances over that time period and made it to state most years. LaSalle had multiple individual state champions over that period too. Moeller had some really good teams as well (1999 all four GCL teams went upstate).

It's something how far Elder and LaSalle have fallen. It's obviously coincidence, but ~ 2010 is around the time the GCL meet was moved from Rapid Run Park. Rapid Run was one of the best / most fan friendly courses (despite it...not exactly being 5k).
 
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AABottom said:
The GCL was incredible from ~1986 (Elder State Champs, LaSalle Runner Up) to 2010 (Elder and LaSalle ranked ~ #1 and #2 most of the year before not performing well at state with injuries to both teams. X beat both of them at state for the first time all year). X, LaSalle, and Elder all had multiple state titles / runner up performances over that time period and made it to state most years. LaSalle had multiple individual state champions over that period too. Moeller had some really good teams as well (1999 all four GCL teams went upstate).

It's something how far Elder and LaSalle have fallen. It's obviously coincidence, but ~ 2010 is around the time the GCL meet was moved from Rapid Run Park. Rapid Run was one of the best / most fan friendly courses (despite it...not exactly being 5k).
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Our runners loved the tight turns, crowds, and roller coaster of a course (2.9?!) that was Rapid Run!
 
AABottom said:
The GCL was incredible from ~1986 (Elder State Champs, LaSalle Runner Up) to 2010 (Elder and LaSalle ranked ~ #1 and #2 most of the year before not performing well at state with injuries to both teams. X beat both of them at state for the first time all year). X, LaSalle, and Elder all had multiple state titles / runner up performances over that time period and made it to state most years. LaSalle had multiple individual state champions over that period too. Moeller had some really good teams as well (1999 all four GCL teams went upstate).

It's something how far Elder and LaSalle have fallen. It's obviously coincidence, but ~ 2010 is around the time the GCL meet was moved from Rapid Run Park. Rapid Run was one of the best / most fan friendly courses (despite it...not exactly being 5k).
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Yes, I agree about Rapid Run Park and loved it when all the GCL schools (South, Central, and North) ran there together for the league meet, and scores were separated after to determine division champs. The atmosphere was 2nd to none and the competition before the tournament always helped our runners. We would still prefer to have all the GCL schools compete together for the league meet if we could.
 
EuclidandViren said:
I would say that St. X vs. Mason is a great one right now for boys and the last 10-12 years.

It was St. X, Elder, and LaSalle from the mid-1990s to 2012 range. Those 3 battled every year.

The best girls rivalry would be Centerville v. Beavercreek girls. Bordering schools are the in same conference and district. For the last 10 years, these two teams have been battling. It was a great rivalry.

2011- Beavercreek state runner-up
2012- Centerville state runner-up
2013- Beavercreek state runner-up
2014 Centerville State Champs
2015 Centerville State Champs
2016 Centerville State Champs
2017 Centerville State Champs
2018 Beavercreek State Champs, Centerville State runner-up
2019 Beavercreek State Champs
2020 Centerville State Champs
Click to expand...
Have these rivalries ended and if so, why? Coaching changes? Community changes?
 
yj_runfan said:
It’s almost always coaching changes.
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Normally that is it true, but these might be two examples of it not being the case. I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but Russo had a least a few very down years before leaving LaSalle. Spencer had even more at Elder before he retired. Elder seemingly still has good numbers for their team too, which makes it even stranger. Most of these schools' good runners were new to the sport coming into high school so it's not like they are losing talent to other programs (like St. X).
 
AABottom said:
Normally that is it true, but these might be two examples of it not being the case. I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am, but Russo had a least a few very down years before leaving LaSalle. Spencer had even more at Elder before he retired. Elder seemingly still has good numbers for their team too, which makes it even stranger. Most of these schools' good runners were new to the sport coming into high school so it's not like they are losing talent to other programs (like St. X).
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Yes, they both had down years. But that in itself is not that strange. What has become evident is that neither program shows any hint of recovering to previous levels under new coaches.
 
beeman said:
Not seeing it. Elder has won 2 GCL titles since 1990. Who coached all of those years?
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Well for 38 of those years, it was Steve Spencer, his last year was 2018, so he was coaching when Elder won their last two championships in 1997 and 2010. Beginning in 2011, St. Xavier has won every title since then--twelve straight which is the longest such streak in league history.
 
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