COLUMBUS — Determination, tenacity and a relentless desire to go out a winner were the forces behind LaSalle senior Allen Bader's second consecutive DivisionI state cross country championship Saturday.

LaSalle's Allen Bader outsprinted Hudson's Wesley Smith to the finish line. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        In a race that neither Bader nor Hudson's Wesley Smith led by more than two lengths, Bader sprinted to the finish line to become the third Division I runner to win back-to-back championships.

        Bader joins Bob Kennedy from Westerville North (1986-87) and J.J. White from Dublin Coffman (1991-92) as the only big-school runners to repeat.

        Bader's time of 15:07 is the fastest by a Cincinnati runner at the state meet. Lakota East's Brian Godsey ran 15:08.1 to win in 1998.

        This is the third consecutive year a LaSalle runner has finished first, the fourth time since 1993. Doug Bockenstette won in '93 (15:18.2) and Steve Padgett won in '99 (15:19.9).

        Overall, Greater Cincinnati runners have finished first in Division I six of the past nine years. Harrison's Ernie Ziegler won in 1996 and Godsey in 1998.

        But coach Frank Russo's La Salle squad had to settle for second place for a second straight year, losing to Hudson, which outscoredLa Salle 61-78.

        Defending champion St.Xavier (157 points) fin ished fourth behind Hilliard Davidson.

        When Bader crossed the finish line, he raised his arms before hugging Smith, who finished at 15:07.2 in one of the closest finishes in the meet history. Smith was also second last year, more than 12 seconds behind.

        “It feels great,” Bader said. “I can't tell you if he (Smith) passed me when we were outside the stadium area. I had to reach down for a little extra today to win it.”

        Hudson's 61 points is the lowest since 1980 when Kent Roosevelt scored 44 to win.

        “We ran well with five runners in the top 26 (team participants only),” Russo said. “We had a great year, and you can't judge the season by one race. Hudson ran an incredible race.”

        It was apparent at the2- mile mark that Hudson was in command with five runners in the top 19. Three Hudson runners finished in the top 10, and the fourth and fifth runners came in 16th and 27th.

        “Smith is one of the top distance runners, and we knew he would be with Allen,” Russo said. “We told Allen to make sure he had enough gas left in the tank at the end to win it.”

        Coach Larry Merkel was happy with St.Xavier's fourth-place finish.

        “Considering how much we lost from last year's team, I'm satisfied,” Merkel said. “When we beat Hilliard Davison midway through the year, that was probably bad. This was a very difficult year with the level of competition outstanding.”

        Elder placed two runners in the top 25 (Paul Staudigel and Mitch Frey), but the Panthers finished 14th.

Ohio boys cross country results

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