Spartan Invite: The Ohio Teams
Every year, Michigan's biggest meets welcome teams from America's worst state. Unless you're really, really bored, you probably don't know much about the Ohio teams who come up here for Spartan. Let's change that.
Centerville Elks
Centerville, Ohio - 10 miles SSE of Dayton
Enrollment: 2024 (similar to GR Union, Dearborn)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: 2019 (Boys 11th Spartan Elite, Girls 4th Spartan Elite)
Last year: Boys 15th at states, Girls 6th
This year: The boys have to replace just about everyone from that 15th-placed squad, while the girls have to replace nobody. Things have gone...better than you'd expect from that, actually, with the teams finishing 16th and 7th, respectively, at the OHSAA Early Season Invite last month.
Spartan Invite Division: Elite
Prognosis for Spartan: The Centerville girls are much better than the boys, but with Michigan seemingly a stronger state for girls than boys this year, expect similar results for both Elk teams. Somewhere around 10th feels right, maybe a bit better for the girls.
Coffman Shamrocks
Enrollment: 1361 (similar to Lincoln Park, Saginaw Heritage)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: 2021 (Boys 8th Spartan Elite, Girls 8th Spartan Elite)
Last year: Boys 2nd at states, Girls 14th
This year: The Coffman boys have one of Ohio's best in Liam Shaughnessy, and should be in the upper echelon of D1 as a team. 5th in a tight race at Pickerington and 4th among the state's top teams at Hilliard are positive signs, despite a lack of trophies. Meanwhile, Coffman's girls have been a bit further back - 5th and 6th at those two invites - but still clearly a state-caliber team.
Spartan Invite Division: Elite
Prognosis for Spartan: The Shamrock boys would likely be one of Michigan's best teams - with both Northville and Potter's House here, we'll see if that's true. The girls should be around Centerville's level, fighting for a top-ten finish.
Davidson Wildcats
Enrollment: 1499 (similar to Caledonia, Fraser)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: 2021 (Boys 1st Spartan Elite, Girls 4th Spartan Elite)
Last year: Boys 3rd at states, Girls 5th. 8th and 9th at NXR Midwest, respectively
This year: Hilliard Davidson is one of Ohio's consistent elite programs, and that won't change this year. 4th for boys and 2nd for girls at the OHSAA Early Season Invite shows that the Wildcats are easily in the running for a pair of podium spots, and could once again make some noise at Nike Regionals. Keep an eye on Connor Ackley - 20th in the TullyRunners preseason national rankings; last year he was 3rd at MSU and Portage, 2nd at states, and 5th at NXR.
Spartan Invite Division: Elite
Prognosis for Spartan: Maybe the Pioneer girls can beat them; otherwise, a pair of team titles should be the expectation. Should be interesting to see if anyone (Norder? Osterink? Herger? Alford?) can pull the upset over Ackley, which may well require a time near 15:00.
Fairbanks Panthers
Enrollment: 289 (similar to Homer, Cass City)
OHSAA Division: 3
Most Recent Spartan Invite: Never
Last year: Boys 5th at Districts, Girls 6th
This year: Both Panther squads were quite young last year, and with both being bolstered by incoming freshmen, expect some improvement on 2021's district losses. The girls in particular look considerably better and should qualify for states.
Spartan Invite Division: White (D3/D4)
Prognosis for Spartan: The boys appear to be comparable to a borderline D3 state team, which would put them mid-pack in the White race. The girls, meanwhile, could challenge Joburg and Lumen Christi for the win.
Enrollment: 526, all girls (if doubled, similar to Alpena, Ypsilanti)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: never
Last year: 7th at Districts
This year: Last year's Cougars failed to make it out of the first round of the postseason, but return most of their varsity lineup and should advance further this year. 4th at the Lakota East invite, ahead of teams like Milford and Little Miami, is a solid start.
Spartan Invite Division: Elite
Prognosis for Spartan: This is still a team building up, but they're capable of beating some state-level teams in Michigan, even in the Spartan Elite race.
Enrollment: 372, all girls (if doubled, similar to Tecumseh, Vicksburg)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: 2021 (5th in Green Division)
Last year: 18th at States
This year: Only meet thus far, at Tiffin, was solid - Notre Dame beat Bedford there very easily. Ohio's Northwest region is pretty weak outside of 2021 state champ Perrysburg, so the Eagles should have little trouble returning to Fortress Obetz (that's Ohio's deeply inferior state meet site in the Columbus suburbs).
Spartan Invite Division: Green
Prognosis for Spartan: It's hard to say, with the Eagles not racing much yet, but something similar to last year would make sense - top 5 in the Green race.
Enrollment: 346, all girls (if doubled, similar to Ludington, Goodrich)
OHSAA Division: 1
Most Recent Spartan Invite: 2021 (5th in Bronze Division)
Last year: 4th at Districts
This year: Yes, Ohio has a lot of all-girls Catholic schools. This one finished 21st (ahead of Mt. Notre Dame) at the OHSAA Early Season Invite and then 3rd at South Lyon (our South Lyon!) just behind Livonia Franklin. So we already know how the Arrows compare to some in-state teams.
Spartan Invite Division: Bronze
Prognosis for Spartan: Based on their performance at South Lyon, I'd guess that St. Ursula would show up around the 10th-20th range in D2. Given who's coming to Spartan, it could easily be another top-5 finish in the Bronze race for the Arrows.
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