Warren’s Luke Rettenberger repeats as All-Ohioan in cross country
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OBETZ, Ohio -- Warren's Luke Rettenberger and Shenandoah Zep’s Ida Estadt and Joel Tewksbary each earned All-Ohio status here Saturday during the OHSAA state cross country meet at Fortress Obetz & Memorial Park.
Rettenberger, who was All-Ohio as a junior in 2025, cracked the coveted top 24 in 19th place after finishing in 15 minutes and 54 seconds in the Division II championship.
Estadt, who was competing in Division IV and had previously been All-Ohio twice, nearly pulled off a state runner-up finish.
While Ottawa Hills junior Natalie Nixon won the title with a time of 17:34, Estadt finished runner-up to McDonald High junior Naomi Sheesley, who completed the course one tick faster with a time of 18 minutes and 13 seconds.
The sophomore Tewksbary made the most of his first trip to state as the Zep placed 20th in the Division IV field after crossing in 16:19.
"That was the plan," Tewksbary said of being All-Ohio. "It was a whole bunch of people and you get stuck in a pack and you're just way behind. I did have a plan, but it didn't work out like I thought. I wanted to get out fast, but everybody got out faster and I just had to try to settle a little bit.
"There's like a hill with 600 meters left. I tried to get up it fast and stick with everybody else. Coming down the hill I knew I was about there, so I just tried to keep placement and stay up there. It feels good. It's like the first time in 51 years for a Shenandoah boy (to earn All-Ohio honors)."
Warren head coach Tony Zaleski was thrilled with Rettenberger's effort. A year ago, the Warrior finished 13th.
"He got out with the front group. It was a little crowded," Zaleski said. "The first mile was kind of like a battle. There were a lot of people just trying to make moves and you couldn’t really get in a good position. He got to about 1K left and he was in 30th roughly and he had to make a move. About the last 400-ish I think he passed about 10 people so he could get back on the podium.
It was sweet to watch him finish. Sometimes when Luke is in that position you don’t know what you are going to get, but it was nice to see him kick it in, finish and getting what he wanted getting back on the podium.
"Luke’s a hard worker. Watching him grow from his freshman year to where he’s a younger guy acting like a teenage boy to being that leader on the team this year and showing the younger kids what needs to be done, and how it needs to be done. He’s a very methodical guy and he’s got his certain processes he likes to go through and his race day traditions. Even today, he’s the only guy on our team that made it, but three of his teammates came just to support and go through his warmups with him. They stayed last night and we went out to dinner. We’re going to miss him."
The Warrior senior, who will be joined by the Shenandoah duo next Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the Nike Midwest Regional, was glad everything worked out.
"It means a lot. I medaled two out of three times I’ve been to the state meet. First person in our XC history to do it three times to go to state," Rettenberger said. "I had a little bit of a rocky midseason and I wasn’t really running as fast as I should’ve, but I pulled it together for the regional to qualify here and was able to make it and get the medal again. I ran about five seconds faster than I did last year. I think the race overall was a little quicker. It definitely panned out to be a lot more attack race instead of just one person is going to run away with the state championship.
"It was really congested and a lot of the first mile, it was honestly pretty physical. There was a lot of bumping, a lot of shoving and it was really hard to just try and find a rhythm to run. We came up down the hill and there was a half mile left and I was in 29th. I had faded a little bit. I realized that I really wanted to get back up on that podium again, so I really focused back up and I got my head back in the game and I caught enough places to get 19th. I think the last 200, I think I probably picked up about eight or nine spots."
Although Rettenberger's cross country career at Warren is nearly over, he's appreciated the journey and all the challenges along the way.
"It’s been amazing," admitted the Warrior. "Freshman year I broke 17 for the first time at regionals. I think I could’ve made it to state going into sophomore year and I did. I ran a 15:30 and I really just wanted to make it to state for myself, and I made it. The first time at state you are kind of clueless to what’s going on and what to expect. Junior year I came in with a lot more of a like, the whole season I was just ‘man, I’m going to prove myself and I’m going to try and win every single thing I can.'
"I went into states junior year feeling a lot more confident in the meet knowing what to expect and how things went. This year I think it was even better. I wasn’t nearly as nervous. I felt a lot more confident. I knew my capability. I knew what I was going to do. It was my last time there so I was going to try my hardest to make a good showing for Warren and make a good showing for myself."
Speaking of nerves, even a seasoned veteran like Estadt can't escape them.
"I feel like if you’re not a little bit nervous then you don’t care about the race enough, so yeah I was just a little nervous, but racing over the years has taught me how to handle it," said Estadt. "I was seeded fifth coming into the race so getting third was pretty awesome.
"I won regionals for the second time in a row so that was also awesome coming into states. I mean getting ninth my sophomore year and 12th last year, it’s really awesome to get one of the top spots this year."
Estadt noted that she had to really push to challenge for a runner-up finish.
"At the start of the race I was not really near her at all," Estadt said of Sheesley. "She was in second for most of the race. I didn’t really catch up to her until coming toward the hill and that last mile. Then when I got up the hill is when I caught up to her and then it came down to who could out-kick each other at the end. It's great.
"I think every mile and every moment has been worth it, but I’m not done. It’s awesome. I feel like his (father Chris) coaching and my mom’s coaching, I don’t know, it just feels more special and then having a young team it feels like I’m a leader on the team, and it feels awesome to bring up a whole other group that can do amazing things. Hopefully, I do greater things in college. We’ll see what happens."
Coach Estadt was more than pleased with the effort from his Zeps.
"It started at the beginning of the year," said the coach. "They made a commitment. They made a plan for each other, the team and this has been in the works for a long time. It happened way before the summer. They did all the miles. They did all the work.
"They believed in each other. They trusted the process, their teammates and as a coach, and as a parent, it’s just great to see it all come together on the big stage because the state meet at Obetz is a difficult race."
Also competing from the area were Fort Frye junior Elliot Handley, who finished 40th overall in the Division IV field of 215 with a time of 19 minutes and 32 seconds as well as Cadet senior Brody Griffin. Griffin, who qualified for state a year ago, placed 81st overall in the Division III meet with a time of 16 minutes and 57 seconds.