Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Southmoreland’s Lexi Ohler

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, October 21, 2024 | 1:17 PM

Cross country is considered an individual sport by nature.

It’s even easier to consider it as such when a runner is the only one on a given team.

That’s the case for Southmoreland senior Lexi Ohler, who tries to provide her own motivation while she doesn’t have teammates to do it for her.

“I kind of visualize how (a race) is going to go, leading up to the race, and see myself performing how I want to,” Ohler said. “If it’s not going well, then keep fighting through it and stay positive the whole time and just try to hang on.”

Ohler, who started cross country at the beginning of high school, has cemented herself in Scotties history in cross country and track.

She’s set school records in the 3,200-meter run, is a cross country state qualifier, cross country WPIAL medalist, 3,200-meter run state qualifier and a 3200-meter run WPIAL medalist.

“After my freshman year track season, I started training all summer, six days a week, getting the mileage up,” Ohler said, offering a reason for her accomplishments.

She has had quite a bit of success in recent weeks.

At the Red, White & Blue Invitational at White Oak Park in Baldwin, Ohler placed eighth.

“That one was not my best. I think I’m in much better shape to be running faster than 20 minutes,” Ohler said of her performance. “I definitely think I could do better on that course.”

Still, Ohler’s time of 20 minutes, 1 second marked a 7-second improvement from 2023, and last year she already had improved by 30 seconds from 2022.

“I would say I did most of the same things, but I definitely have been this summer lifting more and doing plyometrics more consistently,” Ohler said about improving every year. “And just getting my mileage higher than what it was before.”

Ohler did get that second crack at White Oak Park at the Bald Eagle Invitational in October, winning the race with the only sub-20 minute time of the field (19:48.36).

Despite improving by 13 seconds from a month ago, she was still eager to improve that time further.

“I was definitely a little bit happier with that one,” Ohler said. “I was just a little disappointed with the time, because on that course, I could definitely run faster. That one I definitely went into better.”

Her coach, Charles Brittain, has been a mentor for her the past four years, as he joined the program in 2020.

Next up for Ohler is the WPIAL meet, which takes place on Oct. 24. She placed 11th last year.

Academically, Ohler is maybe even more impressive with a GPA over 4.3.

She has not yet decided where she is going to college, but she is planning on running and majoring in civil engineering.

This week, Ohler took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with cross country?

Going into my freshman year, I ran track in eighth grade but wasn’t really a runner yet. I was just deciding what sport to do in the fall. I used to play basketball, so I was going to do something to stay in shape for that. I was either going to play soccer or do cross country, and I ended up picking cross country. My first invitational, I ran like a 20-minute 5K, it kind of went on from there.

What are your goals for the WPIALs this year?

I want to be at least top five or better, and, hopefully, run a PR on that course.

What has coach Brittain done to help your development as a runner ?

I definitely think the mental side of running is part of it. Sometimes he’ll tell me stories of other people from coaching and what he’s learned from them. That’s helped me.

What is one thing that people may not know about you?

I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan. I’ve been to four of her concerts. My favorite album is the “Tortured Poets Department” and my favorite song is “Holy Ground.”

What do your academics mean to you and how do you balance them and sports?

My academics are probably the most important thing to me, along with cross country and sports. I think that they both kind of help each other, just based on having the discipline and managing my time to get both done. I think running has improved my academics because of that. I guess it taught me how to be consistent with something every single day and seeing the results from that. I kind of see the same thing will happen with academics and that’s what’s happened.

Tags: Southmoreland