When the starting gun sounded through the cold air at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park on Nov. 1, the BHS cross country team stood at the line more represented than ever before.
Three runners–senior veterans Sasha Kheyfets and Junbo Wang, as well as sophomore standout Meena Abdul-Basser–had each earned their way to the biggest stage in Ohio cross country. Their paths to get there could not have been more different, but together they reflected the growth, spirit and grit of the Bison cross country program.
For Kheyfets, a three-time state qualifier in Cross Country, this final trip was both culmination and celebration. Her first time at states, she stood alone on the line, nerves buzzing and teammates sneaking past officials to cheer her on in a moment she still remembers so vividly to this day. This year, though, she had company.
“It just felt so much fun,” Kheyfets said. “I had Meena and Junbo running as well, so the pressure was sort of shared between the three of us. The weather was perfect, the course was classic cross country, and it was just the best way to end my last race.”
As co-captain, Kheyfets has evolved into a leader deeply invested not only in her own performance but in the team’s future. She stresses recovery runs, nutrition, and patience–things she learned firsthand while pushing through a spring track season where PRs didn’t come as easily.
That persistence, she said, is ultimately what brought her back to States, where she finished 51 out of 215 runners, with a time of 19:42.18.
Sophomore Meena Abdul-Basser found herself on the line with Kheyfets for a very different reason. A sprinting standout and state champion on the track, Abdul-Basser had never expected cross country to become anything more than conditioning for her primary sport. Last year, She ran just one race–barely making it across the finish line before nearly passing out.
“I was thinking,’ How am I going to do this if I can’t even finish one race?’” she said. “I was really demotivated.”
This season, she waited to race until she had built up enough confidence and endurance–and once she started, she realized she could do much more than she initially thought she could.
Cross country didn’t come naturally the way track did. The terrain, the mass starts, the hills, the mental grind–everything was new. And unlike a track race with eight people per heat, in cross country, every meet brought 50 to 120 runners charging shoulder-to-shoulder.
She leaned hardest on Kheyfets.
“Sasha helped me so much with visualizing my race–knowing when to push and when to cruise,” Abdul-Basser said. “She was definitely the person I turned to the most.”
By regionals, Abdul-Basser’s performance in the last mile of her race–one that Coach Jamie Lader called, “Patient and perfectly timed” –punched her ticket to states, where she finished 89 of 215 runners, with a time of 20:20.39.
For senior Junbo Wang, the journey was years in the making. Having run cross country since middle school, he had always imagined ending his high school career at the state meet. But imagining it and achieving it, he said, were two very different things.
“Going to states is just a huge testament for all of the workouts and all of the miles,” Wang said, “It’s just a combination of all the work I put into the sport, and this is the result.”
One of the secrets to his success is all of the independent work he put in over the summer to take his progress into his own hands. He did this by really focusing on improving with every single workout.
“This year I was a captain, and I felt like people would look up to me,” Wang said. “So I pushed myself more–getting more mileage over the summer, being more independent, really paying attention to every workout.”
Alongside teammates Peter Adobamen and Asher Hardis, he built the strongest endurance base of his career.
Wang describes his first state race in one word: surreal.
“It’s just a different race,” he said. “Everyone is so competitive. You’re packed in with hundreds of runners. It’s crazy.”
For Wang, cross-country was never as individual as it seemed. The races where Beachwood’s top boys were missing were the ones where he struggled the most. The sport, he realizes, was about family
Wang finished 96 out of 215 runners, with a time of 16:56.35.
Lader saw the same spirit in all three of his qualifiers.
“They’re talented, but what makes me proud is how hard they pushed at regionals,” Lader said. “They persevere. It was a tough day, but they never stopped competing.”
Lader emphasizes patience and steady improvement over the course of the long fall season. Workouts this year included more time on grass to mimic race terrain and fast-paced reps with minimal recovery. The combination worked–so well, says Lader, he is blessed to have this much success this year.
“Not every season is the best season,” he said. “But we deserved this one. The cards are lined up. This group worked incredibly hard.”
Looking towards next year, new runners show promise, and returning athletes carry the momentum of a beautiful and historic season.
But for the three who made it to the line at Fortress Obetz, their achievements speak to something deeper: three distinct journeys converging at the same finish line, which is proof that there is no single road to the state meet.
