Fans have already witnessed the beginning of the high school sports season with big crowds packing stadiums after two weeks of football games and soccer games. But there is more to high school sports than the big stadium and arena games.
Here are nine high school sports events you might not be aware of to check out this school year.
43rd Annual Mason Cross Country Invitational
The 43rd Annual Mason Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 9 at Corwin Nixon/Pine Hill Park near Mason High School will feature between 100 and 110 teams from middle school and high school boys' and girls' programs. Anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 runners will compete on a quirky 3.1-mile course.
Runners won't simply go for a run on a grassy course, though. They'll have to jump over hay bales, run through two creeks, challenge a steep hill, weave through a windy stretch in the woods and take on a 500-meter section affectionately called the roller coaster.
And, each year, teams jump at the chance to compete there.
"Some of it is the very terrain," Mason girls' coach Chip Dobson said. "We have a creek crossing and we have a steep hill back in the woods, and we have a lot of different opportunities for people to excel or to struggle."
The terrain is a point of pride for the Mason program.
"We started putting hay bales in six or seven years ago as kind of a tip of the hat to Nike meets," Dobson said. "There are a lot of neat opportunities."
Another goal is to make the course spectator-friendly. Dobson said spectators can see the runners six or seven different times throughout the race.
"There are a lot of great opportunities to see them, whereas a lot of the courses are big loops when you see them leave and you see them come back," Dobson said.
Races start in the morning with four high school races -- two divisions of boys and two divisions of girls, followed by high-school reserves races, a kids' race and middle school races.
The Mason organization aims to find 200 volunteers to help with a variety of jobs needed to pull off the massive event.
Cross country district meets at Voice of America Park
Most area teams will take their runners to Voice of America Park in West Chester on Oct. 28 to kick off the three-week run toward a state title. While the regional meet takes place the following week in Troy and the state meet will run Nov. 4 in Hebron, Ohio, the local district meet will bring the best of the best from Greater Cincinnati together for a chance to move up to state.
Ten races will take place that day at VOA -- two Division I boys' races, two Division I girls' races, two Division II boys' races, two Division II girls' races, a Division III boys' race and a Division III girls' race. The top few teams in each race will move on to the regional meet, along with a number of other individuals not on qualifying teams.
2017 OHSAA Girls' Tennis State Tournament
and 2018 OHSAA Boys' Tennis State Tournament
The best girls' tennis players in the state will be in town for two days Oct. 20-21 to compete for state titles at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason. Competition will produce singles and doubles champions in Divisions I and II.
The boys' state tournament will be held May 25 and 26, 2018, at the Lindner complex.
Girls' Regional Volleyball finals
Not many events around town draw a crowd as raucous as the spectators each year at the Division I girls' volleyball regional final. This year's final will be Nov. 4.
Mount Notre Dame and Ursuline Academy have owned the DI regional final in recent years and MND has beaten Ursuline for the title in each of the past four seasons for a trip to the state Final Four. Mount Notre Dame rallied from being down two sets to win the region in 2016, 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-13, setting off a fiery packed house at West.
"It's the coolest feeling in the world," said Lauren King, a senior defensive specialist last season for Mount Notre Dame. "I've been watching this since my freshman year and since my sister (Danielle) played here. All I've wanted was to be on that court and to play in a big game, and I got that (in the final)."
Division II, III and IV finals will also take place that weekend.
2017 Southwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches' Association Glenn Sample Holiday Classic
Wrestlers from all over the Cincinnati area will hit the mats Dec. 16 and 17 at the Southwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches' Association Glenn Sample Holiday Classic at Harrison High School.
This early-season meet helps to give many of the region's best grapplers a sense of where they stand in their weight classes and often offers a glimpse into who may have their arms raised as champions at the postseason meets in February and March.
"The Coaches Classic is important because it is a measuring stick for where you are against many of the best kids in the area," Fairfield coach Jason Laflin said prior to the 2016 Classic. "The classic is very similar to a district tournament. Wrestlers will know who they need to catch up to and who is catching up to them."
Wrestling will begin early on Saturday morning and run through Sunday evening's finals matches in front of large crowds in Harrison's gym.
"As a coach, it's an early measuring stick to see where your team stands in the city and how your individuals stack up against the area's best," Elder coach Jason Roush said before his Panthers won the Classic as a team in 2016. "It's a tournament that has a lot of tradition, and I think it's something that coaches, wrestlers and fans look forward to each year."
35th Annual Southwest Ohio Swimming and Diving Classic
The best high school swimmers in the area will be on display Jan. 13 and 14, 2018, when the 35th Annual Southwest Ohio Swimming and Diving Classic hits the pools at several sites throughout the region.
It's the largest invitational of its kind in the country and features more than 100 schools with nearly 3,000 swimmers and 150 divers competing in one division, regardless of school enrollment. The meet is hosted and sponsored by the Southwest Ohio Swimming Officials Association (SWOSOA) and regularly draws packed-house crowds at St. Xavier's Keating Natatorium for event finals sessions on Saturday and Sunday nights.
In addition to the one-division format and the wide array of talent, the Classic also allows swimmers to compete not only in high school events, but also the longer NCAA and USA Swimming events.
"This meet grants athletes the opportunity to swim against some of the best competition in the state, and it prepares the district to continue its long history of sending the best to represent us in Canton (at the state meet)," St. Xavier coach Tim Beerman said before the 2016 event.
District swimming meets at Miami University
Many of the same swimmers competing in finals at the Southwest Ohio Swimming and Diving Classic will be in the pool at Miami University's Corwin M. Nixon Natatorium in mid-February, swimming for a chance to qualify for the state meet in Canton.
Parents, friends and local swim fans pack the Miami U. facility each year to see the top two finishers in each race automatically qualify for the state meet. The venue hosts competition in boys' and girls' Divisions I and II swimming and diving.
Wrestling district tournaments
Only the very best wrestlers will still be competing on the mat in each weight class once the district tournaments roll around March 2 and 3, 2018, and the competition at the finals session is something to see with rowdy crowds and locked-in wrestlers.
Championship matches will take place concurrently with third-place and fifth-place matches in each class. Individual state berths will also be decided prior to the finals as the top four finishers in each weight class move on to state the following week.
Division I will be held at Fairmont High School's Trent Arena, Wilmington High School will host the Division II meet and Hobart Arena in Troy will host the Division III meet.
2018 OHSAA Track and Field Championships
There will be plenty of chances to catch a track and field meet this spring all over the area, but the state meet on June 1 and 2, 2018, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus will offer the most electric atmosphere with the highest stakes. Athletes will compete in boys' and girls' meets in Divisions I, II and III.
The two-day event is nonstop action and usually features plenty of local athletes.
