Jacob Williams came into this season expecting to be the No. 2 runner for West Geauga. The junior was coming off of a strong first year as a runner and continuing to grow. But the Wolverines’ top returning runner transferred, and Williams was thrust into the No. 1 spot. Williams took the role in full stride and the courses by storm. He won the George Gross Invitational at Cuyahoga Heights and was second in the CVC Lake Division race. His worst finish all season was his 20th at the Boardman Regional, which advanced him to the state meet. “It was definitely a challenge,” Williams said. “I’ve had so many great seniors ahead of me, telling me and teaching me how to run. So it’s been hard being jumped into the position I was this year. You have a whole team, your their best guy and lead them. Just setting pace and how things like practice is ran, it helped being able to be that kind of guy.” Coach Josh Boylan said Williams had the potential to be the flag bearer for the program when Williams came out for the team as a sophomore. “Jacob’s a great kid,” Boylan said. “He carries on the tradition of us getting to state. It’s such an accomplishment and I’m proud of him. He’s a smart runner, one of the smartest I’ve ever coached. Not to say that other runners never listened, but he hears everything and then goes out and executes it. At Boardman, we talked about how important the second mile was and he took that to heart.” Williams’ methodical style of running was on full display at the Boardman Regional. Williams was running in the low 20s and needed to make a move. Rather than move early, Williams stuck with his group going into the second loop. Before going back into the woods and the home stretch, he had moved up to 24th. Williams continued to work his way through the pack he was running with and kicked his way to 20th for his first state meet. “I’m still new so I can’t really speak on the style itself,” Williams said. “My coach would tell me you need to get spots down for this and that. While last year I wasn’t working on that, this year it was a big focus. I tried to stick with guys that I knew would be around there and taking spots from there.” Williams continued the streak of West Geauga being represented at the state meet. The Wolverines advanced as a team to the state meet in 2021 and 2022 with Matt Dienes being the lone representative in 2023. Dienes and Daniel Kearns are the lone All-Ohio earners in the Wolverines’ history, both finishing sixth in their senior years. Dienes is the only two-time All-Ohio finisher with Williams having a chance to join him. As a junior, Boylan is excited to continue Williams’ development into his senior year. While Williams has nailed the mental side of things, the physical will come. Williams holds the third-fastest time in school history, behind Dienes and Kearns. “He’s going to be stronger and smarter,” Boylan said. “We’re going to lift a lot in the offseason, every chance we get. He needs to get a little stronger up top. The winter between cross country and track is very important. He’s had these leaders to learn from and that’s part of the culture I wanted to build. Guys are always emailing and messaging me with good luck and congratulations. It’s a great tight-knit community.” Williams will have a strong voice in his corner during the offseason. Dienes went through a similar transformation from his junior to senior years. Boylan sees a similar progression potential for Williams to the work that Dienes did. Not only will it help for his senior season of cross country but also with the next two track seasons. “It’s really helped having him in my corner, too,” Williams said. “I’m still a new runner, so to have a guy that was like in the same spot as me through cross country, it really helps me be prepared. To see where he went and to have him help me with getting there, he’s a great voice to have.” Williams runs for a chance at All-Ohio honors on Nov. 2 at Fortress Obetz with the starting pistol going off at noon.