McDonald can do something it hasn't done since 1999.
The boys track and field and cross country teams have plenty to do with that.
Today at the state cross country meet at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, McDonald's boys team could be back on top of the podium once again and lay claim to the school's sixth state title in this sport.
Back in 1999, McDonald ended its track and field season with a state championship led by distance runners - a two-point victory over Liberty Center.
No surprise that the Blue Devils came back in the fall with a loaded group of seven runners that bulled their way to the '99 Division III state cross country championship. That year began a string of state appearances McDonald has not broken since.
This past track and field season, Kent State University freshmen Matthias Tayala and Miles Dunlap rolled through the competition at the Division III state meet in Columbus. Tayala dominated the meet in the shot put and discus - as he did all season - to win two state titles and lay claim to 20 points for McDonald.
Then, Dunlap, the team's versatile athlete, won the 300-meter hurdles, placed second in the 110s and took third in the open 200 for a total of 24 points.
Those two amassed McDonald's 44 points to second-place Anna, which had 34.
Amazingly enough, the Blue Devils won state without their distance runners playing a major role - or so the general public thought.
Patrick Kunkel, Kyle Joynes and Bobby Johnson were outstanding mile and two-milers in their own right, but didn't have to be relied upon for the points week in and week out. Frankly, these three would get their just due in the fall.
Heck, when you got two once-in-a-lifetime athletes like Tayala and Dunlap, it makes life easier considering the enormous talent level the Blue Devils have.
Kunkel, Joynes and Johnson could lead many other Division III state track and field teams with their distance prowess, but that goes to show what kind of depth this team had.
Those aforementioned three finally got their due this fall.
Week after week, the top-ranked team in Division III, according to the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches, were dominated by the McDonald trio packing up and rumbling to their respective top 10 finishes.
Today should be no different, but they'll need the strong backing of the team's fourth and fifth runners - Allan Coviello and Tyler Smith - to lay claim to a state title in Hebron.
It won't be easy because breathing down the Blue Devils' proverbial neck is Independence - the two-time defending state champions. McDonald took second to this team last year.
However, Independence will need more than Ryan and Kyle Polman's top-five finishes to win state. If their third and fourth runners can't place in the top 15, they won't have a shot a three-peat.
The other X-factor in this race, which begins today at 1:30 p.m., is Maplewood. This is a team that saw its streak of qualifying for the state meet end at 20 years last season.
The Rockets spent all season trying to redeem the Maplewood name and get back to state.
Even though Maplewood finished a distant third at regionals, look for Maplewood to surpass Independence for the second-place spot.
Today's race belongs to McDonald and it will be the first time a Trumbull County team has won state since the Maplewood team won the Division III title in 2005.
For the Blue Devils, it'll be like 1999 all over again.