Lindsay Zinn (center) broke away late to win the Division I race. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        COLUMBUS — The magic number was four for Cincinnati runners and teams at the girls Division I state cross country meet Saturday at Scioto Downs.

        On Nov.4, four years of frustration came to an end for Lindsay Zinn, a Lakota East senior, who broke from the pack with a mile to go to win the Division I individual state championship.

        It was a four-peat for Colerain, which became the first Division I school to win four consecutive state titles.

        In Division II, Kings finished fourth and Indian Hill sophomore Lisa Uible was the Cincinnati area's best individual, finishing eighth.

        In Division III, Courtney Engel of Reading was 10th in 19:03.

        As Zinn crossed the finish line, she threw her arms in the air, and at the end of the chute, East coach Jason Lindsey embraced her.

        “I finally did it,” Zinn said. “I'm so proud and it feels so good. This makes up for all the other years.”

        Zinn was 19th as a freshman, third as a sophomore and fifth as a junior. She also qualified for the state track meet the past three years in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races, but fell short.

        “This morning it felt strange and I didn't know if I'd run well today,” Zinn said. “Once I got out there, I settled down. I wasn't paying much attention to the other runners because I wanted to run my race.”

        At the 2-mile mark, defending state champion Chelsea Homan of Anderson matched Zinn stride-for-stride as they left the stadium for the final push.

        “I made a move outside the stadium and broke away from the others,” Zinn said. “I knew I had it when I made the turn with 200 meters remaining. No one was going to catch me.”

        Lindsey had no doubt Zinn would win.

        “When Lindsay went out slow the first 300, I knew she wasn't going to do something stupid,” Lindsey said. “She stayed in contact with the lead runners and when it's time to go, she goes and no one catches her.”

        After losing five of seven starters from last year's team, Colerain wasn't expected to win a fourth state title.

        But the Cardinals stuck with the same strategy of going out slow and finishing strong and blew away the competition, including Hilliard Davidson, one of the two teams that beat the Cardinals at the Fairmont Invitational earlier this season.

        “We won with 73 points and last year's team had 68,” Colerain coach Ron Russo said. “We were ranked No.2 in the state behind Davidson. This is a good lesson that you can't win a state championship in the polls.”

        Senior Terie Littlepage and sophomore Andrea Maas took off at the mile mark, as did Shelly Dickinson and Alison Bedingfield.

        “That's another thing we try to do,” Russo said. “The girls run in pairs.”

        When the runners started re-entering the stadium for the final 300 meters, the Cardinals were in control.

        “I ran on the four state championship teams but this is the most exciting,” said Littlepage, whose previous best finish was 42nd last year. “This championship feels like mine because we proved we could do it without last year's seniors. Losing at the Fairmont Invitational is what turned the season around.”

        Russo also gave credit to another senior, Bedingfield, who was the Cardinals' fourth runner.

        “Alison struggled with demons most of the season,” Russo said. “When she started to run well, it lifted the whole team.”

        Said Bedingfield, “I expected too much of myself and there was a lot of pres sure. I turned the corner after the loss at Fairmont and turned it again at the GMC (Greater Miami Conference) meet.”

        Colerain returns four of the seven runners and the Cardinals plan to go after a fifth title in 2001.

        (3.1 miles at Scioto Downs)

        DIVISION I

        Team Standings: 1. Colerain 73, 2. Hilliard Davidson 134, 3. Clayton Northmont 149, 4. Dublin Coffman 149, 5. Massillon Jackson 71, 6. Strongsville 172, 7. Medina 179, 8. Anderson 192, 9. Turpin 193, 10. Dublin Scioto 261, 11. St. Josephy Academy 262, 12. Toledo Notre Dame 267, 13. Kent Roosevelt 272, 14. Upper Arlington 275, 15. Alliance 356, 16. Celina 362.

        Top Individuals

        1. Lindsay Zinn Lakota East) 17:42, 2. Michelle Sikes (Lakewood) 17:48, 3. Molly Hammer (Elyria) 18:09.

        Cincinnati teams and runner

        1. Colerain (5. Terie Littlepage 18:16, 13. Andrea Maas 18:35, 19. Shelly Dickinson 18:55, 34. Alison Bedingfield 19:17, 44. Laura Kreuter 19:26, 72. Jessica Greer 19:49, 94. Kristin Kyger 20:12).

        8. Anderson (6. Chelsea Homan 18:20, 8. Jenny Homan 18:22, 41. Heather Ross 19:24, 93. Sarah Correll 20:09, 132. Marssa Davoll 20:57, 139. Janni Moore 21:33, 142. Carrie Phillips 23:16).

        9. Turpin (17. Carolyn Rauen 18:46, 51. Melanie Price 19:32, 71. Kate Woebse 19:48, 73. Corey Randall 19:49, 91. Ashley Cruse 20:07, 133. Allie Brandy 20:59, 137. Heather Clark 21:20.

        Individuals

        69. Annie King (Fairfield) 19:48; 31. Jamie Wyckoff (Lakota East) 19:15, 1. Lindsay Zinn (Lakota East) 17:42.9

        DIVISION II

        Team Standings: 1. Cleveland Beaumont School for Girls 99, Napoleon 139, 3. Huron 141, 4. Kings 168. Others: 14. Badin 306.

        Top Finishers

        1. Ashley Reeser (Circleville) 18:17.5, 2. Maggue Infeld (Beaumont) 18:19, 3. Amy Arnold (Cuyhoga Fall Christian) 18:23.

        Cincinnati teams and runner

        4. Kings (35. Alessa Velez 19:48, 51. Anna Godby 20:04, 52. Kellie McClung 20:04, 55. Lindsay Keller 20:05, 103. Kristyn Allen 21:16, 11. Amanda Simmons 21:39, 142. Lindsey Olivia 23:19).

        14. Badin (36. Julie Hockzema 19:48, 83. Jackie Saurber 20:43, 101. Beth Jolivette 21:13, 114. Jenny Meehan 21:35, 122. Ann Graf 21:46, 130. Kara Keating 22:11, 139. Megan Wiegand 22:47).

        Top Individuals

        8. Lisa Uible (Indian Hill); 18:52, 38. Randi Garrison (Hillsboro) 19:50; 29. Leah Peelman (Purcell Marian) 19:39; 28. Carrie Crawford (Taylor) 19:37; 21. Trish Stege (Springboro) 19:30.

        DIVISION III

        Team Standings: 1. Minster 85, 2. Seneca East 140, 3. McDonald 155.

        Top Finishers

        Sunni Olding (Minster) 18:17.8, 2. Carime Reinhart Hopewell Loudon) 18:18, 3. Kim Nemergut (North Lima South Range) 18:28.

        Top Individuals

        10. Courtney Engel (Reading) 19:03; 74. Brook Ivey (Cincinnati Country Day) 20:32.

Sports Stories

Complete prep football coverage at Enquirer.com/prepfootball DAUGHERTY: DiMaggio book tells more than we want to know Miami 27, Ohio 24 Ohio State 27, Michigan State 13 Mississippi State 35, Kentucky 17 Thomas More 21, Bluffton 14 Franklin 58, Mount St. Joseph 21 Ohio boys cross country Ohio girls cross country Kentucky boys cross country Kentucky girls cross country Boys regional soccer roundup Girls regional soccer roundup Holy Cross loses state soccer final Second-round pairings Colerain 37, Anderson 7 Elder 42, Lebanon 12 Fairfield 14, Moeller 7 New Richmond 44, Logan Elm 12 Purcell Marian 41, Gallia Academy 12 Reading 41, Columbus Academy 20 St. Xavier 42, Western Hills 7 Auto Racing Insider r Ch. 19 picks Kennedy to call UC basketball Grand Rapids 6, Cyclones 3 Mighty Ducks 3, Syracuse 0 NFL Insider

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