Estadt Strides to All-Ohio Honors Once Again
By Tara Estadt
Shenandoah Juniors Ida Estadt and Emmitt Slevin. Ida is pictured with her All-Ohio Certificates after placing 12th overall at Obetz on Saturday. Emmitt came in 148th. Photo by Tara Estadt.
On a chilly, Saturday morning, Nov 1st, Zeps cross country athletes boarded the bus for the last time in the 2025 season. Ida Estadt and Emmitt Slevin, juniors at Shenandoah High School, were joined by their teammates on the trip to Fortress Obetz. Emmitt and Ida set out to compete in the OHSAA Division IV Cross Country State Championship with the top athletes from 105 other Ohio schools. They packed into 33 starting boxes and raced for a chance to earn All-Ohio honors by placing in the top 48 individuals.
Originally seeded 7th out of 215 girls, Ida ran a time of 18:54.19, placing 12th overall. She earned a podium finish with “First Team All-Ohio” honors. This is Ida’s second time earning All-Ohio honors for cross country. Smithville’s Kaitlyn Carr was the champion at 17:29.19.
When asked how she felt about her performance, Ida stated, “I was so excited to race today! I spent an entire season training for this moment! My strategy was to go out fast and stay towards the front. The course was really muddy and luckily, I didn’t fall. I threw it all out there and tried to hold on. I’m very proud of my podium finish!” Ida went on to talk about her success during the 2025 season. “I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to compete. My coaches and teammates are a big part of my success. They always push me and cheer for me when I need it the most. This season has been incredible. I ran strong at every meet and came out on top, with a lot of wins. I can’t wait to see what my senior year has to offer!
Emmitt was seeded 89th out of 213 boys. He placed 148th with a time of 17:51.77. Bennett Lehman from Ansonia was the individual champion at 15:17.91.
In response to how it felt to qualify for state, Emmitt said, “It was such a mix of emotions. I was so excited to qualify, but disappointed that my entire team didn’t make it.” Pertaining to his race strategy, Emmitt stated, “I knew that I’d have to be very aggressive out of the gate. And I was – it just didn’t quite go as planned.” In reflecting on what motivates him, Emmitt said, “The biggest thing that has built our program has been our positive team culture. My teammates and coaches mean everything to me. This season has been a great learning experience. We are building our team to be very competitive next year!”
Head Coach Chris Estadt went on to say, “I’m extremely proud of how well Ida and Emmitt raced. They both made a conscious effort to get out fast – maybe a little too fast – which may have hurt their overall place. However, their goal was not to leave any doubt in how hard they ran today. From a coaches perspective, it’s been great to watch these two grow and mature over a season. Their work ethic and attitude are always positive. They try to lead by example because their goal is to get to state next year with more teammates!”
Although finished with their high school season, Ida and Emmitt will continue their love of cross country by racing at the Nike Cross Regional Championship (NXR) on Nov. 16 in Terre Haute, Indiana. They will race against athletes from IN, OH, IL, MI, MO. You can follow their post season results on the Facebook page, Shenandoah Zeps Cross Country.
