On Saturday, during the Division I boys state cross country race, a pack seemingly of all 186 runners blobbed together and came down the straightaway parallel to the dragstrip area at National Trail Raceway and sounded like a thunderous herd.

The start was tricky to maneuver through in the last of the six state races. The D-I boys race started about 3 p.m.

“At the start, coming over that hill, I jumped over somebody and was grabbing on to somebody else’s back,” Boardman senior Mitchel Dunham said. “It was one of those things where I need to move up and get out of this — the messy spot in the middle.”

He did so and finished 20th to earn All-Ohio honors in Division I in a time of 15:49.7. All of the top 20 finished with times less than 16 minutes, making this the most competitive race of the day.

Staff photo / John Vargo Boardman’s Mitchel Dunham, left and Mason’s Johan Meyer run toward the finish line in Saturday’s Division I boys state cross country race at National Trail Raceway. Dunham finished in 20th place to finish All-Ohio.

Pickerington North’s Matt Duval won in a time of 15:13.0.

Dunham was hoping for a better finish.

“I was looking for a little more,” he said. “Toward the end, after we hit a mile, mile and a half, my lungs started feeling off.

“I didn’t feel great. I figured I keep rolling it’ll go away. That last 600 (meters) I gave it everything. I couldn’t make it up.”

In Division II, the Poland girls came away with a sixth-place finish with 215 points, only four off of fifth-pace Oakwood and 13 ahead of perennial power Beaumont, which placed sixth.

Coach Kim Grisdale saw Halle Sebest take the 30th overall spot to lead the team, followed by her daughter, Jackie, in 31st place.

The top 20 runners in each race make it to the podium in front of the main stands at NTR, while the top 30 are All-Ohio runners.

Poland had three runners in the top 50.

“They raced really well,” Kim Grisdale said.

The Poland boys were ninth in the D-II boys race with 256 points.

This is the first time the Bulldogs took both teams to state.

As for Boardman junior Frank Bero, who took 34th in the D-I boys race, he said he should’ve gone out faster in the beginning.

“I got caught behind a bunch of people in my first mile,” he said. “I was 4:55 and I might have been 70th. There were a ton of kids that really ran well. I came around the second mile dead tired. I came around the last mile and tried not to let anyone pass me.”

Top 35 finishes for both Boardman runners was a good way to end the season for these Spartans.

“I saw Mitchel ahead of me,” Bero said. “I felt really good for him. Just running along with Mitchel all year was a privilege. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate. I was happy to see him finish well. I was happy to be here for the opportunity.”