Freshmen help Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy boys cross country take flight among state鈥檚 best teams
CINCINNATI — Matt Esche considers himself the cautious sort, particularly when evaluating the runners he coaches.
So it was perhaps a bit out of character when the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy cross country coach sent an email to team parents in September, asking them to keep their schedules clear in late October and early November 鈥� 鈥渏ust in case.鈥�
It was good advice.
CHCA鈥檚 boys team would, in fact, be busy. The Eagles qualified as a team to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II boys state meet at Fortress Obetz, south of Columbus, where they finished 13th.
The third-year coach, who has been on staff at five National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I programs, including his alma mater, University of Iowa, had a hint when he saw the level of talent entering the program that this could be a special season, but wanted to see them in action.
鈥淚 have always been very slow to trust that something is going to work out. I needed to see multiple performances during races and workouts to firmly believe that the boys were putting together something special,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nly on a handful of occasions had a team qualified for regionals, let alone an individual make it through.鈥�
His team鈥檚 performance at its own invitational, Oct. 3 at Voice of America in West Chester Township, validated the expectations.
鈥淥n an early morning run after we won the CHCA Invitational, upsetting Indian Hill, I firmly believed this team was going to make a very special post-season push,鈥� Esche said.
They did just that. CHCA won the Miami Valley Conference meet Oct. 9 at Kingswood Park in Warren County, by 18 points over second-place Summit Country Day, ending the Silver Knights鈥� streak of seven consecutive league championships. CHCA last won the MVC in 2000. Oct. 21, they earned the district team championship at Voice of America before placing fourth in the regional meet Oct. 28 at Troy High School, earning a team berth at state.
Freshman Nathaniel 鈥淣ate鈥� Gockerman was the leader of Eagles pack. He won the MVC meet by more than 30 seconds over Summit鈥檚 Liam Woodward, then placed second behind Madeira鈥檚 J.T. Hamstra at district and fifth at regional. At state, he was 36th of 182 runners.
鈥淣ate is a fascinating individual,鈥� Esche said. 鈥淚n just one short three-month season he has helped to raise the bar for distance running at CHCA. Nate is driven and believes in the ability not only he (has), but his teammates have as well.
鈥淣ate鈥檚 fearless attitude pushed everyone to better on the course.鈥�
Gockerman set a school record in his first varsity meet and lowered that time by more than 20 seconds over the season. His cross country career began on the way to get ice cream.
鈥淚 have been running for 2陆 years. I joined the seventh-grade cross country team because (the coach) needed more runners for the junior high team. He saw our soccer team running to Dairy Queen and recruited several of us to the upcoming cross country meet,鈥� Gockerman said.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 stopped since. I like running because I enjoy getting to go to 鈥榖attle鈥� with myself every day, and I have learned to love the struggle which goes on during a run. That is not to say that I enjoy the run during the run, but that I enjoy being able to push myself past where I thought I could go and being able to strive to get better with each race.鈥�
There are two Gockermans on the CHCA roster. Nate鈥檚 twin brother, Wyatt, was third at the MVC meet, 30 seconds behind Nate. He closed that gap to 15 seconds at district, placing third, and seven seconds at regional, placing sixth. Wyatt was 47th at state.
鈥淲yatt quietly had a spectacular season,鈥� Esche said. 鈥淵ou could see his confidence grow after every performance, as he dropped just under a minute this season from start to finish. Wyatt brings a very calm demeanor to practice. That relaxed mentality helps Wyatt perform week in and week out for the purple and white.鈥�
CHCA鈥檚 roster includes two senior, four juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen. That depth was crucial, Esche said.
鈥淓veryone on this team has a role, and we found that this year. It is what allows for a special season like this to happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur two leaders this season though were (juniors) Trevor Kuhlman and Andrew Sandefur. Both gentlemen lead by example as they are always the first ones to ask if you need help, the last ones to leave, and do things right. Their leadership, combined with the influx of young talent, helped propel this team forward.
The other runners who competed at state were Kuhlman, Sandefur, freshman Aidan Murphy, sophomore Jagger Dollenmeyer and sophomore Andrew Lott. In cross country, the top five places count toward team scores, with the sixth runner鈥檚 finish being a tiebreaker, if needed.
鈥淲e had multiple runners step up at different times when we needed them. Incredible things happened this fall from Nate becoming the first-ever CHCA athlete to win the MVC; Andrew Lott, who took off over two minutes from his 5K (personal record) and was our No. 6 man at state, to Aidan Murphy closing hard at regionals to secure our school鈥檚 first ever spot at the state championships,鈥� Esche said. 鈥淛agger Dollenmeyer鈥檚 consistency in the No. 3, 4 spot, and Trevor Kuhlman鈥檚 ability to come through in the clutch at districts and regionals, when something went wrong for someone, another teammate stepped up.鈥�
Nate Gockerman noted Murphy鈥檚 season-long improvement, 鈥渄ropping (time) off his (personal record) every race to become our third runner.鈥� Like his coach, Gockerman said the 2023 season is just a step.
鈥淚 felt that qualifying helped make a statement that the CHCA cross country team is now competing on a statewide level,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I got word that the team qualified for state, I (and most of the team) were excited and knew we had the potential to do well. Ultimately, I was happy when we qualified and made school history, but not content, knowing we can do better in the future!鈥�
鈥淔rom our No. 1, to our No. 19, the passion for winning these boys bring to practice is a blessing to be a part of,鈥� Esche said. 鈥淚 am excited to see what the next few years bring.鈥�
CHCA boys cross country roster
Seniors 鈥� William David, Austin Gibson.
Juniors 鈥� Trevor Kuhlman, Jacob Loveless, Michael Packard, Andrew Sandefur.
Sophomores 鈥� Jagger Dollenmeyer, Andrew Lott, Andrew Michel, Adam Papp, Beckham Romanello, Tucker Skolnicki, Matthew Grayson.
Freshmen 鈥� Nate Gockerman, Wyatt Gockerman, Arlando Griffin, Isaac Kassen, Aidan Murphy, Jack Pinckert.
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