The best of the best in high school cross country take off Saturday at Scioto Downs as the state meet unfolds.

One of the stars of central Ohio distance running this autumn has been Jessica Hoover, the outstanding senior from Hilliard Davidson.

Maturing into a top runner her final year, Jessica already has won invitationals at Pickerington North and Westerville North. She also won the OCC-Central Division meet and the Division I district 1 meet and was third in the regional last Saturday.

Hoover said a big reason for her success is her mental confidence.

"Mentally I have really grown this year," she said. "I understand you learn something each year and for sure there are things I know as a runner today that I didn't know as a freshman, sophomore or even last year. I know now how important the little things are in every race and every training session. I know I have to have a strategy in each race, and I have tried to learn about the competition I am running against in each race.

"I talk to my coach almost every day about the mental side of my sport and I have grown to understand you can't let any negative thoughts come into play. I realize that confidence makes or breaks you in cross country. I love to run, and I can get a mental high from my sport. I focus on getting better all the time and, when I'm practicing or competing, I get the other stresses in my life out of my system. All I look at is if anyone is ahead of me, I block out any pain I have, and concentrate on how I can catch my competition."

Hoover said her endurance is her biggest asset.

"When I was younger, I always liked running long races more than short races. I'm definitely strong right now and am still growing which helps, but I also always need to improve my speed."

As she closes her prep cross country career, Hoover has set high goals for the state meet.

"I love the feeling in a race when you know you can reach a personal best with maybe a mile or less to go. I cherish the moment when you know you are going to win a race. I have been fortunate to experience those moments and, as I go into the state championship meet, my goal is to reach the top 10. I want to come out of that race with nothing left.

"Running has so many similarities to life, and it is so connected to shaping your personality. Running has made me more confident in everything I do, and it has done a lot to make me into the person I am today as a senior in high school."

Good luck to Jessica Hoover and all the participants at Scioto Downs.

I'll see you at a meet.

Larry Larson is a former athletics director at Grandview High School. He can be heard as "Mr. High School Sports" on WTVN 610 AM.