Shawnee’s Noah Williams leads the way during Saturday’s Van Wert Health Cross Country Invitational varsity boys race.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
VAN WERT — Shawnee senior Noah Williams knew it could come down to a sprint to the finish at Saturday’s Van Wert County Ohio Health Invitational.
With several of the best area distance runners competing Saturday, Williams was prepared for the challenge.
Williams, who led the pack throughout Saturday’s race, held off three competitors down the stretch to win the 5,000-meter cross country race in 15 minutes, 53.53 seconds. The course traversed around the Van Wert reservoirs, Hiestand Woods, and the Ohio Health Van Wert Hospital grounds.
Columbus Grove’s Luke Ellerbrock was a very close second, finishing in 15:53.88. Ottawa-Glandorf’s Ty Rosengarten (15:54.48) and Van Wert’s Owen Scott (15:55.35) were in the hunt until the very end of the race. Lincolnview’s Conner Baldauf rounded out the top five overall finishers (16:23.75).
Williams said he wasn’t too concerned about conserving energy for the inevitable kick at the end of Saturday’s race.
“It (sprinting) was only on my mind at the end,” Williams said. “The whole time, I was just trying to stay out front, and trying to maintain the lead.”
The course did provide a couple climbs to the top of the reservoir – something that Williams said he is accustomed to.
“I love the hilly races, because back with (former Shawnee) Coach (Russ) Holly, we used to run Faurot Park; and Faurot Park is known for its hills,” Williams said. “I know most people like flat courses a lot better. So, running at Faurot Park usually helps me in the end.”
Williams’ all-time personal best is 15:40.3.
Ellerbrock, who was in the lead pack the entire race, made a strong move in the final stretch. Ellerbrock’s time was a new personal best.
“I knew there would be four or five of us, maybe even six,” Ellerbrock said about Saturday’s field of frontrunners. “But (Wapakoneta’s Axton) Fosnaugh didn’t run. There were five of us for about half of the race. We separated. Then there were four of us. … We finished that way, too. We all came in (to the finish) less than two seconds (apart). It was definitely a fun one.”
O-G’s Rosengarten said the group fed off each other. Rosengarten broke his own school record on Saturday.
“We came through the 2-mile, slow,” Rosengarten said. “The last mile, we sped up. Luke (Ellerbrock) started going, and I started going with Luke. We eventually caught up with the other two (Williams and Scott). Once we got to the last stretch, we just sprinted all out. I knew it was going to be a fast pack, but I didn’t expect that time on this course.”
Scott’s finishing time Saturday was a new personal best.
In the boys’ team standings Saturday, Columbus Grove won the title, edging out Northwest Conference foe Lincolnview, 70-78. Van Wert (85), Shawnee (124) and Minster (135) rounded out the top five squads in a field of 17 teams.
Behind Ellerbrock, the remainder of Columbus Grove’s scorers on Saturday included Evan Pitts (sixth, 16:32.21), Levi Bryan (16th, 17:13.24), Logan Mershman (19th, 17:28.20) and Braylon Best (29th, 17:50.48).
At the Columbus Grove Invitational (9/2), Lincolnview edged out Columbus Grove for third place in the very competitive small-school division. At Van Wert, the tables were reversed.
“(Lincolnview head coach) Matt (Langdon) is a great coach; and we have a good rivalry going,” longtime Columbus Grove boys’ head coach Terry Schnipke said. “He (Langdon) has a great program over there. So, we’re always one eye on ourselves and one eye on each other. It’s one of those things where – I’m not sure how he feels – but I don’t want to run against him every week.
“Conference (Northwest Conference meet) is going to be great. It’s going to be an exciting race. It can go either way. So, we had our day, today. They got us at the (Columbus) Grove Invitational. … So, who knows?”
On the girls’ side Saturday, Ottawa-Glandorf ran away with the team title.
The Titans scored 41 points, while second place Lincolnview recorded 83 points. Parkway (127), Van Wert (175) and Fort Wayne (Indiana) Canterbury (194) rounded out the top five teams in a field of 14.
Anna’s Paige Steinke, last year’s Division III state champion, won Saturday’s race in 18:47.46. O-G’s Madelyn Hovest finished second (19:06.79).
“I feel like this is a fast course. The hills are a little tough, especially going up them twice,” Steinke said with a grin.
Rounding out the top five overall finishers Saturday were Lincolnview’s Brynleigh Moody (19:11.40), O-G’s Anna Buddelmeyer (19:28.23) and Shawnee’s Jenna Stump (19:37.32).
O-G’s Hovest came on strong in the second half of the race and finished second.
“I think everyone ran well,” Hovest said. “We were excited to come here, today, to have a good race against some good competition. I’m happy about my time.”
Behind Hovest and Buddelmeyer for the Titans included Corinne Closson (sixth, 19:56.12), Liana Fortman (12th, 20:56.96) and Brea Recker (17th, 21;19.39).
“The girls are really starting to find their niche and are seeing that they need to stay together and push each other,” O-G head coach Holly Flueckiger said. “They all know that it’s going to make them better.”
Lincolnview’s Moody broke her personal record Saturday by six seconds.
“There were a few girls that I was told to stay with,” Moody said. “Paige (Steinke), and the O-G girls are always fast. So, I knew to stay with them. The goal was not to go out too fast, and still save some for the end. I think it worked out pretty well.”
Moody is closing in on the school record. Her time on Saturday is just three seconds off.
“That (school record) is the top goal by the end of the season. Today, I think it was a final push to get faster and to get ready for tournament time,” Moody said.
Results
Boys
Team Scores: 1. Columbus Grove 70, 2. Lincolnview 78, 3. Van Wert 85, 4. Shawnee 124, 5. Minster 135, 6. Ottawa-Glandorf 138, 7. Anna 147, 8. Crestview 194, 9. Wapakoneta 260, 10. Parkway 290, 11. Fort Wayne Canterbury 303, 12. Wayne Trace 384, 13. Spencerville 404, 14. Waynesfield-Goshen 418, 15. Perry 429, 16. Elida 466, 17. Allen East 471.
Race Winner/Area Finishers in the Top 50: 1. Noah Williams (Shaw) 15:53.53, 2. Luke Ellerbrock (CG) 15:53.88, 3. Ty Rosengarten (O-G) 15:54.48, 4. Owen Scott (VW) 15:55.35, 5. Conner Baldauf (Lin) 16:23.75, 6. Evan Pitts (CG) 16:32.21, 8. Evan Johns (Lin) 16:37.49, 9. Ryan Halpin (Min) 16:38.46, 10. Jack Grieshop (Min) 16:40.19, 11. Nick Prenger (Min) 16:41.71, 12. Andrew Laudick (VW) 16:47.60, 13. Carter Cleaves (Shaw) 16:48.65, 14. Kreston Tow (Lin) 16:51.01, 15. John Kramer (VW) 17:06.90, 16. Levi Bryan (CG) 17:13.24, 17. Rylan Miller (VW) 17:15.18, 18. Cash Schadl (Wap) 17:20.20, 19. Logan Mershman (CG) 17:28.20, 20. Cooper Fischer (O-G) 17:28.44, 21. Maddox Norton (Lin) 17:37.39, 22. Andrew Heth (Crest) 17:37.82, 23. Levi Fenzl (Blu) 17:46.26, 25. Wyatt German (Ott) 17:48.46, 27. Lincolnv Smith (Crest) 17:49.81, 28. Ty Schaub (Shaw) 17:50.19, 29. Braylon Best (CG) 17:50.48, 30. Carson Frost (Shaw) 17:50.84, 31. Bryce Bonifas (CG) 17:51.78, 32. Trace Klausing (Lin) 17:54.16, 33. Myles Moody (Lin) 17:56.45, 35. Hayden Sell (Wap) 17:58.35, 37. Isaac Macke (O-G) 18:05.37, 38. Jordan Croy (O-G) 18:05.52, 39. Johan Gemmer (VW) 18:07.35, 40. Drayden Hoffman (Crest) 18:08.50, 42. Caiden Squillante (CG) 18:11.24, 43. Harrison Sloan (VW) 18:11.81, 44. Riley Kemper (Ott) 18:15.09, 45. Tyler Rowen (Park) 18:17.48, 47. Connor Johnson (O-G) 18:26.89, 48. Noah Spath (VW) 18:27.43, 49. Collin Cedarleaf (Min) 18:28.29, 50. Nathaniel Stolly (Park) 18:29.27.
Girls
Team Scores: 1. Ottawa-Glandorf 41, 2. Lincolnview 83, 3. Parkway 127, 4. Van Wert 175, 5. Fort Wayne Canterbury 194, 6. Shawnee 195, 7. Wapakoneta 203, 8. Columbus Grove 215, 9. Anna 218, 10. Waynesfield-Goshen 238, 11. Crestview 270, 12. Bluffton 272, 13. Elida 303, 14. Wayne Trace 321.
Race Winner/Area Finishers in the Top 50: 1. Paige Steinke (Anna) 18:47.46, 2. Madelyn Hovest (O-G) 19:06.79, 3. Brynleigh Moody (Lin) 19:11.40, 4. Anna Buddelmeyer (O-G) 19:28.23, 5. Jenna Stump (Shaw) 19:37.32, 6. Corinne Closson (O-G) 19:56.12, 8. Ava Milligan (Lin) 20:22.65, 9. Kenzie Schneider (Wap) 20:27.21, 10. Paige Williamson (Park) 20:36.14, 11. Sarah Kamphaus (CG) 20:37.53, 12. Liana Fortman (O-G) 20:56.96, 14. Emily Durham (Eli) 20:59.80, 15. Lillith Lautzenheiser (Wap) 21:09.37, 16. June Essinger (Blu) 21:11.14, 17. Brea Recker (O-G) 21:19.39, 18. Keira Breese (Lin) 21:22.91, 19. Christina Tong (Park) 21:24.32, 20. Alyssa Knittle (VW) 21:24.77, 21. Amanda Barrett (Park) 21:32.90, 22. Rose Turnwald (O-G) 21:34.25, 23. Morgan Maag (O-G) 21:40.51, 25. Kendall Hoffman (Lin) 21:41.73, 26. Anna Gardner (Crest) 21:41.83, 28. Harmony Schuerman (VW) 22:04.02, 29. Lillian Mount (Lin) 22:10.23, 30. Grace Morman (CG) 22:16.36, 31. Abigail Dulebohn (W-G) 22:20.96, 32. Lexi Deitemeyer (VW) 22:23.06, 33. Kayla Dancs (Eli) 22:23.71, 34. Anna Brodman (W-G) 22:24.89, 35. Elyssa Renner (Lin) 22:27.70, 36. Kassidy Hammons (Lin) 22:29.54, 37. Sara Schroeder (O-G) 22:30.31, 38. Ella Armstrong (Blu) 22:32.05, 39. Lexie Berry (Park) 22:33.25, 40. Jordyn Schaefer (Park) 22:33.62, 41. Lizzie Spath (VW) 22:33.72, 42. MacKenzie Harting (Crest) 22:35.12, 43. Harper Reindel (Lin) 22:37.83, 44. Avery Laubenthal (O-G) & Ciara Keysor (Blu) 22:40.92, 45. Gwyn Owens (Shaw) 22:52.31, 46. Aubree Miller 22:54.17, 47. Kara Fullenkamp (Park) 22:55.25, 48. Mariel Augsburger (Wap) 23:04.78, 49. Katie Trisel (Park) 23:08.89, 50. Tayma Jmiai (Shaw) 23:10.28.
