However, McGowan said he's confident the Eagles won't be overlooked in the future. They scored 43 points to win the 10-team district 2 meet last Saturday at Watkins Memorial, ahead of runner-up Bexley (61) and four other squads which were seeded ahead of Watterson.

The Eagles won their first district title since 1978 and advanced to the regional as a team for the first time since 2000.

"I'm not sure too many No. 7 seeds have won a district title before, but we're happy to do it," McGowan said. "One of our top runners (Tyler Patrick) missed two weeks in the middle of the season (with an undisclosed injury), and we brought him back slowly. So, I guess people didn't think we were very good. But I thought all along that Bexley was within our reach if we ran well, so we decided to go to that district and give it a shot, and our kids did run very well."

Patrick finished fourth in 18 minutes, 4.29 seconds, behind champion Zach Arace (17:15.82) of Bexley.

Rounding out Watterson's scoring were Matt Richardson (fifth, 18:10.27), Danny Walsh (ninth, 18:24.1), Tom O'Brien (14th, 18:36.31) and Kyle Becker (18th, 18:47.8).

"It was cold and rainy, but the kids ran well in adverse conditions," McGowan said. "The good news is I think we can run better next week."

The regional meet is Saturday at Pickerington North, and the top four teams and individuals not on a qualifying team who finish in the top 16 advance to the state meet Nov. 7 at Scioto Downs.

"On paper, we look like we're one of the top six or seven teams in our region, but I think we can be anywhere from the fourth- to eighth-best team there depending on how well we perform," McGowan said. "We ran our best race of the season at district and we'll need to run even better at regional."

•The girls cross country team finished 10th (255) in the 13-team Division I district 2 meet last Saturday at Watkins Memorial, behind champion Dublin Scioto (23).

Paige Patrick (44th, 22:33.75), Rachel Reinhard (49th, 22:50.93), Megan Hurley (54th, 23:16.81), Heidi Hetterscheidt (55th, 23:18.25) and Alisa Noll (57th, 23:21.87) scored for Watterson. Only the top four teams advance to regional.

"Paige was our No. 1 runner again, even though she was battling an illness," McGowan said. "We were missing some of our better runners for a variety of reasons, so we had four freshmen run, and it was very positive to see how competitive they were at district."

•The girls golf team shot a 341 to finish fifth in the 12-team Division I state tournament last Saturday at Ohio State's Gray Course, behind Mason (316), West Chester Lakota West (325), Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy (326) and Ashland (337).

The first day of the tournament was canceled because of bad weather last Friday, and the Eagles competed in chilly, windy conditions on Saturday.

"I think the weather took its toll on us," coach Rick McQuade said. "The weather was decent when some of the other teams started, but crappy when we started. And when the wind was horizontal and they saw that a few of the other teams had already finished, I think it affected them. But give Mason credit, because they shot a great score, no matter the weather."

Lauren Grogan shot a 79 to tie two others for 14th.

"Personally, I didn't play that well, but I did break 80, so I'll take it," Grogan said. "I was hoping to shoot in the mid or low 70s, but I had a couple of three-putts that hurt my score. I played well on the front nine and shot a 37, but it got colder and the wind picked up. We all had to play in the same conditions, though, so no excuses."

Rounding out Watterson's scoring were Alexandra Meyers (tied for 24th, 82), Chloe Campisi (tied for 36th, 86), Natalie Meyers (tied for 56th, 94) and Camille Veri (tied for 60th, 96).

"Obviously, we wanted to win and we could have played better," Campisi said. "But there were five or six great teams here, so we're not devastated, because fifth is still a great accomplishment."

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the Watterson boys soccer, girls soccer, girls volleyball and field hockey teams:

BOYS SOCCER

• Oct. 20 -- Defeated Buckeye Valley 6-3 in Division II district tournament opener
• Oct. 22 -- Def. Canal Winchester 1-0 in second round of district tournament
• Last Tuesday -- Played Big Walnut in district semifinal. The winner will play in the final Saturday at Grandview vs. Bexley or Whitehall. The winner of that will advance to a regional semifinal Tuesday at a site to be determined to face Archbishop Alter, Bellbrook, Bellefontaine or Greenon. The regional final will be held Nov. 7 at Hilliard Bradley.

Of note: The Eagles were 6-8-2 before last Tuesday.

GIRLS SOCCER

• Oct. 22 -- Def. Worthington Kilbourne 4-1 in Division I district tournament opener. Rachel Callahan scored twice, Bridget Lynch scored once and Mary Kate Campbell had three saves.
• Last Tuesday -- Played Dublin Jerome in district semifinal. The winner will play in the final Saturday at Wellington vs. fifth-seeded Dublin Coffman or Gahanna. The winner of that will play in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Upper Arlington vs. third-seeded Pickerington North, fourth-seeded Olentangy Liberty, Dublin Scioto or Westerville North. The regional final will be held Nov. 7 at Dublin Scioto. Watterson is seeded second.

Of note: The Eagles were 14-2-1 before last Tuesday.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

• Oct. 22 -- Def. Marion-Franklin 25-5, 25-8, 25-9 in Division I district tournament opener
• Last Saturday -- Def. Northland 25-10, 25-11, 25-10 in second round of district tournament
• Last Tuesday -- Played ninth-seeded Upper Arlington in a semifinal. The winner will play Saturday at Licking Heights vs. top-seeded Dublin Coffman or Teays Valley. The winner of that will play in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Hilliard Davidson vs. second-seeded Pickerington North, Hilliard Davidson, Newark or Worthington Kilbourne. The regional final will be held Nov. 7 at Davidson. Watterson is seeded 10th.

Of note: The Eagles were 15-9 overall before last Tuesday.

FIELD HOCKEY

• Oct. 19 -- Lost to Columbus Academy 1-0 in overtime. Domini Paradiso had five saves.
• Oct. 21 -- Def. Olentangy Orange 8-0 in district tournament opener. Sarah Vlahakis scored three goals, Abby Barker and Katie Elberson scored twice and Kelly Griffith scored once. Paradiso had one save.
• Last Wednesday -- Played Dublin Jerome in district semifinal. The winner will play in the final Saturday at Dublin Scioto vs. Bexley or Upper Arlington. The state tournament will be held Nov. 6 and 7 at Upper Arlington.

Of note: The Eagles were 14-2-1 before last Wednesday.