Columbus East High School

Junior Norman Dickson delivered a standout performance on Saturday, placing sixth overall in the varsity 5,000-meter run to lead the Columbus East boys cross country team at the Crawford County Kickoff Invitational. Both the Olympian boys and girls squads secured 15th-place team finishes against a competitive field. Dickson paced the boys squad with a time of 16:08.50, establishing an early position near the front of the pack. Freshmen Daxton Wolf and Henry Meredith provided crucial support in their varsity debuts, finishing 86th (18:42.00) and 106th (19:03.70), respectively. Junior Cullen Fullerton recorded a 114th-place finish in 19:14.60, while junior Liam Wiltsey completed the scoring lineup in 139th place at 20:03.50. Sophomores Caleb Reid (20:17.10) and Zayden Weatherford (20:29.10), alongside junior Mick Emme (21:07.30), rounded out the team's varsity entries. The boys team accumulated 429 points with an overall 5K average time of 18:38. In the girls division, freshman Lily Pendleton led the way for Columbus East, crossing the line in 22:07.50 to take 68th place overall. A core group of upperclassmen followed to secure the Olympians' scoring totals. Senior Elizabeth Sztaba placed 100th with a time of 23:10.00, closely followed by senior London Kareus in 106th place at 23:19.60. Senior Trinity Burns took 129th place in 24:14.60, and Abigail Morales secured the fifth scoring position, finishing 131st in 24:20.90. Senior Abby Collins (24:37.40), senior Daphne May (25:13.20), and sophomore Brooke Newell (25:19.10) completed the roster for the Olympians, who ended the meet with 478 total points and a 23:26 team average. The invitational provides an initial performance benchmark for Columbus East as both squads refine their pacing strategies and work toward closing their team spread in upcoming mid-season competitions