Myerholtz reflects on stellar CC career for Gibsonburg

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

After falling short of getting to the state tournament last year, Gibsonburg senior Mary Ann Myerholtz made it her goal of qualifying this year and getting to run one last time at Memorial Park in Obetz.
Mission accomplished.
Myerholtz finished her career in cross country at the state tournament, running a time of 20:04.69, good enough for 76th place in Division III in Obetz, located just nine miles south of Columbus.
It was the culmination of a career of hard, diligent work that got Myerholtz to this point.
“I was very motivated coming into the season because I had a goal of making it to state this year since I didn’t last year,” she said. “It meant a lot to qualify for state. Getting to state had been my goal since freshman year. I put a ton of work throughout the summer, so it was very nice to see it pay off in the end.”
Gibsonburg coach Beth Kohler talked about Myerholtz’s mindset and how focused she was during the offseason.
“Mary Ann was not happy with her junior season, which was strong, but she didn’t improve throughout the season as she expected. She qualified for regionals, but placed 70th last year,” Kohler said. “In the summer, she made it clear she was determined to have a better season and asked what she needed to do differently to achieve her goal of running in the 19:00s.
“She added strength training, and she focused on quality in her workouts. Once the race season started, she demonstrated amazing perseverance to make sure that her season ended with her reaching her goals of running in the 19:00 and qualifying for state.”
Myerholtz started the season off on a high note, finishing seventh at the Seneca East Tiger Classic while running a time of 20:45.14, and she came in 29th in 21:15.50 at the Mel Brodt Invitational in Bowling Green.
She dropped over a minute from her time at the Seneca East Stars, Stripes & Lights race, finishing 10th in 20:02.21.
Two weeks later, perhaps from not having a race on the previous weekend, Myerholtz regressed, finishing 13th in 21:49.88 at the Van Buren Invite, and then followed that up with a 19th-place finish in 22:08.7 at the Old Fort Invite. But she returned to form at the New London Dan Olien Invite, finishing second in 20:28.35. And then Myerholtz saved her best, finishing third at the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division Meet, third at districts and 17th at regionals, where she ran her career-best time of 19:35.23 at the prestigious Hedges-Boyer Park in Tiffin.
Kohler touched upon what makes Myerholtz, also a standout runner in track and field, such a special athlete.
“Part of Mary Ann’s success this year comes from her ability to rebound from disappointment, but it also stems from her willingness to dream big,” said Kohler. “An equally-important factor is her willingness to really put herself on the line in races. Anyone who watches her knows that she’s willing to go out hard in races, and this season she was determined to hang on.
“I’m always impressed by her grit at the end of races. No matter how hard she has pushed for three miles, she somehow summons a big kick at the end,” Kohler said.
Getting to the state meet was a trying endeavor, but one that paid off.
“It was a dream season for Mary Ann, capped off at that regional race where she took over 30 seconds off her already impressive career personal record,” said Kohler. “Mary Ann was able to achieve both of her preseason goals at that one huge and pressure-filled race in Tiffin, qualifying for state and running in the 19:00s with her time of 19:35.”