Cross country: Ottawa-Glandorf girls, Lincolnview boys win team invitational titles

OTTAWA — Heavy fog moved into the area Saturday morning, which resulted in an hour delay of the Kalida Wildcat Invitational at the Kalida Fish and Game Club.

However, when the girls’ race finally began, the colors blue and gold were not hard to pick out as Ottawa-Glandorf’s pack of runners pulled away for the team title.

Ottawa-Glandorf scored 60 points to notch the girls’ title. Liberty Center came in second with 85 points. Lincolnview (132), Patrick Henry (133) and Archbold (185) rounded out the top five squads in a field of 20 full teams.

Liberty Center’s Makayla Meller won the race on the 5,000-meter cross country course in 18 minutes, 40.54 seconds. O-G’s Madelyn Hovest finished second (18:46.00), just edging out teammate Anna Buddelmeyer (third, 18:46.38).

Rounding out the five scorers for O-G Saturday were Corinne Closson (10th, 19:39.16), Liana Fortman (16th, 20:32.92) and Brea Recker (29th, 21:05.25).

Hovest said the delay did not really affect the team’s race preparation on Saturday.

“It was kind of crazy today with the race getting delayed. It was a little unpredictable – not knowing when we were going to race and having to prepare for that. But it worked out, and everyone ran well. We got a lot of PRs (personal records) on the team,” Hovest said.

Hovest and Buddelmeyer were two of many O-G runners who set new personal bests on Saturday.

Hovest ran behind Buddelmeyer, for the majority of Saturday’s race. It wasn’t until late in the race when Hovest made her move.

Hovest and Buddelmeyer sprinted nearly side by side the final 50 meters of the race, with Hovest edging out her teammate for second place.

“It was a good race,” Hovest said. “I think we ran a pretty stable pace. We kept like even splits the whole time. I stayed right behind Anna (Buddelmeyer) through about 99 percent of the race. We just paced off each other, kept each other calm and collected, and then finished strong.

“It’s a fast course. I’ve been feeling good at practice the last couple of weeks. So, I was hoping for a good PR. … This was good. I didn’t expect to beat my PR by this much, but I’m happy with it,” Hovest said.

Added Buddelmeyer, “I was not expecting to get a sub-19 today, but I felt really good while I was running. I just felt comfortable, and the weather was nice. Our team is doing really well.”

O-G head coach Holly Flueckiger said her athletes have bought into her program.

“They just keep pushing each other. That is what I like to see. And they are doing the little things like nutrition and resting. You have to do all of those little things. They don’t complain at practice. They know that hard days are hard; and they’re giving everything they have. This week, we have an off week (racing). We don’t run on Saturday. Then, we have WBLs (Western Buckeye League Championships, 10/14). But we’re going to stick with the routine. That’s what you have to do,” Flueckiger said.

Other Lima area runners finishing in the top 10 overall Saturday were Lincolnview’s Brynleigh Moody (sixth, 19:14.41), Miller City’s Andrea Pfau (eighth, 19:30.06) and Lincolnview’s Ava Milligan (ninth, 19:36.09). There were 185 finishers in the girls’ race.

On the boys’ side, Lincolnview edged out Van Wert for the team title, 89-94. Bryan was a close third (95), while O-G (151) and Van Buren (192) rounded out the top five teams. There were 20 full squads.

Individually, it was a sprint to the finish in the boys’ race.

For the majority of Saturday’s race, Bryan’s Xander Fackler, O-G’s Ty Rosengarten and Van Wert’s Owen Scott stayed together, with Fackler holding a slight lead on the other two.

Then it happened.

Late in the race, Rosengarten and Scott made a move, and gapped Fackler.

But Fackler responded.

However, down the stretch, Rosengarten and Scott made another move and it became a sprint to the finish. Rosengarten managed to hold off Scott for the win.

Rosengarten’s winning time was 15:49.50, which broke his own school record. Scott crossed the finish line in 15:50.27, a new personal best. Fackler was close behind in 16:00.21.

“Me, Xander and Owen were in a pack,” Rosengarten said. “Once we hit the last mile, we both passed Xander up by the reservoir. I tried (to sprint) in the woods (toward the finish), but I couldn’t. He (Scott) got in front of me. Once I got in the woods, I tried to get going. But the stones were not letting me sprint. So, once we got out of the woods in the last stretch, I kind of pulled away.”

Every time Rosengarten and Scott have raced this fall, as well as last spring during track, it always seems to come down to a sprint.

“Every single time (it comes down to a kick),” Scott said with a smile. “I thought I had him (Saturday). When we were going through the woods, I didn’t know how close he (Rosengarten) was. So, I just tried to hold on and sprint (to the finish).”

For Lincolnview, Conner Baldauf led the way with a fourth-place finish (16:12.83). The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers included Evan Johns (seventh, 16:41.95), Kreston Tow (10th, 16:50.60), Maddox Norton (22nd, 17:18.55) and Kaleb Denman (46th, 18:01.23).

“The boys were consistent today,” longtime Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said. “But they’re not our best version of us, yet. … We don’t want to be that, yet, I guess. We had a lot of good things (happen on Saturday), individually. Maddox Norton ran a career best. Our JV (junior varsity) group of guys are running really well. We had so many guys between 18-flat and 18:30. So, they’re putting pressure on the top seven (runners); and they’re trying to be in the tournament mix. There’s a lot of good stuff happening there. Our front guys are very consistent. Conner was like 16:12 today.

“Van Wert is getting so much better. We knew they were very good. Their fifth guy is getting better; and that changes the way they are as a team. Bryan is a very good team. O-G is a very good team. Liberty-Benton is good. There was some great competition, today.”

Baldauf said the team is working hard in hopes of being able to peak at the right time.

“Hopefully, we go on the uprise toward the end of the season, when it really matters. Right now, consistency is what matters. We have two or three guys right behind me. … They’re always pushing. And with the JV, we got two guys who are pushing 17 (minutes). The depth is crazy,” Baldauf said.

Other Lima area runners that finished in the top 10 Saturday included Bath’s Jacob Wireman (sixth, 16:21.50) and Van Wert’s Drew Laudick (eighth, 16:46.64). There are 149 finishers.

Complete invitational results

Results

Boys

Team Scores: 1. Lincolnview 89, 2. Van Wert 94, 3. Bryan 95, 4. Ottawa-Glandorf 151, 5. Van Buren 192, 6. Otsego 193, 7. Bath 196, 8. Hol. Springfield 233, 9. Crestview 259, 10. Archbold 273, 11. Liberty-Benton 301, 12. St. Marys 320, 13. Liberty Center 365, 14. Napoleon 401, 15. Delphos St. John’s 402, 16. Leipsic 439, 17. Patrick Henry 513, 18. Elida 625, 19. Allen East 657, 20. LCC 710.

Race Winner/Area Finishers in the Top 50:

1. Ty Rosengarten (O-G) 15:49.50, 2. Owen Scott (VW) 15:50.27, 4. Conner Baldauf (Lin) 16:12.83, 6. Jacob Wireman (Bath) 16:21.50, 7. Evan Johns (Lin) 16:41.95, 8. Andrew Laudick (VW) 16:46.64, 10. Kreston Tow (Lin) 16:50.60, 14. Cooper Fischer (O-G) 17:03.46, 16. John Kramer (VW) 17:08.27, 21. Lincoln Smith (Crest) 17:17.51, 22. Maddox Norton (Lin) 17:18.55, 23. Andrew Heth (Crest) 17:19.70, 28. Rylan Miller (VW) 17:27.32, 30. Wyatt German (Ott) 17:29.11, 31. Diego Baldazo (Lei) 17:29.11, 32. Landen Jones (Bath) 17:30.78, 33. Gavin Luebke (SM) 17:34.50, 34. Levi Fenzl (Bl) 17:37.75, 35. Collin Heitmeyer (Kal) 17:39.42, 37. Everett Bensman (Bath) 17:42.87, 39. Ray Walter (SM) 17:48.97, 40. Johan Gemmer (VW) 17:49.29, 42. Isaac Macke (O-G) 17:55.73, 43. Brandon Frey (O-G) 17:56.44, 46. Kaleb Denman (Lin) 18:01.17, 47. Zander Coil (Lin) 18:04.83, 48. Myles Moody (Lin) 18:05.00, 49. Calvin Miller (MC) 18:06.50, 50. Hank Kopack (DSJ) 18:08.10.

Girls

Team Scores: 1. Ottawa-Glandorf 60, 2. Liberty Center 85, 3. Lincolnview 132, 4. Patrick Henry 133, 5. Archbold 185, 6. Bryan 202, 7. Napoleon 220, 8. Liberty-Benton 232, 9. Van Buren 263, 10. Van Wert 301, 11. Delphos St. John’s 337, 12. Hol. Springfield 378, 13. Otsego 381, 14. St. Marys 385, 15. Miller City 409, 16. Crestview 426, 17. Kalida 427, 18. Waynesfield-Goshen 465, 19. Bluffton 467, 20. Pandora-Gilboa 520.

Race Winner/Area Finishers in the Top 50:

1. Makayla Meller (LC) 18:40.54, 2. Madelyn Hovest (O-G) 18:46.00, 3. Anna Buddelmeyer (O-G) 18:46, 6. Brynleigh Moody (Lin) 19:14.41, 8. Andrea Pfaum (MC) 19:30.06, 9. Ava Milligan (Lin) 19:36.09, 10. Corinne Closson (O-G) 19:39.16, 16. Liana Fortman (O-G) 20:23.92, 17. Andrea Burgei (Kal) 20:39.82, 21. Emily Durham (Elida) 20:52.10, 23. Keira Breese (Lin) 20:56.52, 25. Cady Donaldson (DSJ) 21:01.64, 26. June Essinger (Bl) 21:03.20, 28. Camila Anderson (SM) 21:04.24, 29. Brea Recker (O-G) 21:05.25, 33. Savannah Knueven (P-G) 21:12.44, 35. Lauren Schloemer (SM) 21:15.90, 36. Rose Turnwald (O-G) 21:15.90, 40. Morgan Maag (O-G) 21:20.01, 41. Kendall Hoffman (Lin) 21:26.30, 43. Anna Gardner (Crest) 21:32.40, 44. Harmony Schuerman (VW) 21:34.06, 45. Alyssa Knittle (VW) 21:36.07, 49. Sara Schroeder (O-G) 21:45.19.