Mark Altstaetter
The top-tier cross country programs are always preparing for the postseason tournament.
Qualifying for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships in early November is the goal for these distance runners.
However, before the postseason kicks off, league meets take place.
And most high school cross country coaches will admit that winning a league title is an important springboard into the postseason tournament.
Last year, winning the Western Buckeye League team titles for boys and girls, catapulted the Ottawa-Glandorf program into a very successful postseason run.
In 2022, the O-G girls notched its first ever WBL team crown and went on to win its first ever Division II district crown. The Titans placed third at the regional meet. Then, O-G capped off its very successful season with a sixth-place finish at the state meet.
This fall, it looks like the O-G girls’ squad is on track to duplicate last year’s performance.
This season, the O-G girls’ squad has dominated the competition.
Recently, at the Kalida Wildcat Invitational , O-G ran away with the girls’ team title, defeating second-place Liberty Center 60-85. There were 20 teams.
Madelyn Hovest and Anna Buddelmeyer led the Titans at the Wildcat Invitational with second and third-place finishes, respectively. Hovest (18:46.00) and Buddelmeyer (18:46.38) set personal bests with their performances on the 5,000-meter course at the Kalida Fish and Game Club.
All season, Hovest and Buddelmeyer have keyed off each other.
This coming Saturday at the WBL Championships at St. Marys, O-G is looking to defend its WBL title.
Last season, Hovest finished fifth at the WBL Championships.
Other returning top-10 area individuals from the 2022 WBL Championships to watch for this Saturday are Kenton’s Addi Manns (sixth in 2022) and Leah Harder (10th in 2022), Shawnee’s Jenna Stump (eighth in 2022) and Celina’s Jenalee Dameron (seventh in 2022).
Look for Kenton, Shawnee, Defiance, Van Wert, Celina, St. Marys and Wapakoneta to compete for top-five finishes for the girls at Saturday’s WBL Championships.
In the history of the WBL for the girls, Defiance has notched the most league titles (12), while Van Wert is a close second (11).
The O-G boys’ team, which notched the WBL title last season, graduated several key runners from that squad.
In 2022, O-G won the Division II district title, placed third at the regional meet, then went on to place 16th at the state meet.
This season, O-G junior Ty Rosengarten has either won or been in contention of every race he competed in.
At the Kalida Wildcat Invitational, Rosengarten won the race in a school-record time of 15:49.50. O-G placed fourth out of 20 teams.
Last year, Rosengarten finished second at the WBL Championships.
Look for the O-G boys to contend in the top half of the WBL Championships.
When it comes to winning WBL Championships, Defiance has the most WBL boys’ team titles (27). Van Wert has notched 13 league crowns in school history. Last season, Van Wert finished third at the league meet.
Van Wert has been led this season by junior Owen Scott. At last year’s WBL Championships, Scott finished fifth. His teammate, Drew Laudick came in seventh. At last weekend’s Coldwater Lions Invitational, Scott finished second overall in 15:59.70, while Laudick finished 12th (16:39.67). As a team, the Cougars finished second behind Columbus Grove in the 22-team field.
Shawnee placed sixth at the Coldwater Lions Invite. Shawnee senior Noah Williams placed fourth (16:10.02), while teammate Carter Cleaves finished 17th (16:55.63).
Last season, Williams won the WBL individual title. Williams went on to compete at the Division I state meet. His personal best is 15:40.3. Cleaves placed third at the WBL Championships. The Shawnee boys’ team placed fourth at last year’s league meet.
Along with Van Wert, Shawnee and O-G, Bath looks to compete in the top half of the WBL.
Jacob Wireman leads the way for Bath. Last year, Wireman placed ninth at the WBL Championships.
The Wildcats finished second at last year’s WBL Championships and then made a very successful postseason run as they eventually went on to place 19th at the Division II state meet.
Wapakoneta’s Axton Fosnaugh will look to be in the hunt.
Last year, Fosnaugh placed fourth at the league meet. Look for the Redskins to battle for a top-five team finish.
Defiance should also be in contention for a top-five finish on Saturday. Josiah Gonzales leads the pack of Defiance runners. Gonzales placed sixth at last year’s league meet.
Celina should contend for a top-five finish on Saturday. Colin Buening has been leading the way for the Bulldogs this season. Buening placed 10th at last year’s league meet.
Northwest Conference
Like in recent years, look for Columbus Grove and Lincolnview to battle for the Northwest Conference boys’ team title when the NWC Championships take place Saturday at Spencerville.
Last season, Lincolnview edged out Columbus Grove for the NWC team title, 38-41,
In 2021, Columbus Grove slipped past Lincolnview for the NWC crown, 33-58.
This year’s regular season has played out the same way between these two programs. Each time Lincolnview and Columbus Grove have met this season, it has been a tightly contested race.
This past weekend at the Coldwater Lions Invitational, Columbus Grove got the best of Lincolnview. Columbus Grove won the invite with 101 points. Van Wert finished second (130), while Lincolnview was a close third (135). There were 22 teams.
Columbus Grove’s Luke Ellerbrock won the Coldwater Lions Invite with a time of 15:52.56. Teammate Evan Pitts finished eighth overall in 16:30.15.
At last year’s NWC Championships, Ellerbrock and Pitts finished fourth and ninth, respectively.
Conner Baldauf led Lincolnview at Coldwater with a seventh-place finish (16:23.38). Teammates Kreston Tow (13th, 16:41.11) and Evan Johns (15th, 16:46.14) were close behind.
At last year’s NWC Championships, Baldauf placed third, while teammates Tow and Johns finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
All-time, Columbus Grove has won the most NWC boys’ team titles (17), while Crestview (8), and Lincolnview (7) are second and third on the list, respectively.
At last year’s Division III state meet, Columbus Grove placed sixth, while Lincolnview came in 15th.
On the girls’ side at the NWC Championships, Lincolnview will be the team to watch. Last year, Lincolnview won the team title, slipping past Columbus Grove 31-39.
Sophomore Brynleigh Moody leads the way for the Lancers. Moody won the 2022 NWC individual title. Last season, Moody was a Division III state qualifier.
Most recently, at the Coldwater Lions Invite, Moody finished fourth overall (19:09.29). Teammate Ava Milligan came in 10th (19:41.02). The Lancers placed fourth in the 20-team field.
Spencerville has won the most NWC titles on the girls’ side (11), while Crestview, Columbus Grove and Lincolnview each have six.
Midwest Athletic Conference
When it comes to winning MAC cross country titles, the Minster girls have a closet full of hardware from those conference meets.
In all, the Minster girls’ program has notched 33 MAC team championships. Coldwater and Delphos St. John’s have each won two MAC crowns, while New Bremen has one conference title on its resume.
Minster has won the Division III state title the past two seasons.
Look for Minster to be the team that everyone will be chasing at this coming Saturday’s MAC Championships at Coldwater.
Minster boasts a very solid pack of runners. Margaret Hemmelgarn, Chaney Cedarleaf and Maria Niekamp have been interchangeable as Minster’s lead runner this fall.
Versailles, Parkway and Fort Recovery look to compete in the top half of the conference meet.
Delphos St. John’s looks to be competitive at this Saturday’s MAC Championships. The Blue Jays won the Allen County Invitational on October 3rd.
On the boys’ side, Versailles should be a frontrunner. Versailles is coming off a fourth-place finish at Saturday’s Coldwater Lions Invite.
Northwest Central Conference
This Saturday’s Northwest Central Conference Championships will be held at North Baltimore.
Last year, Elgin won the boys’ NWCC team title, while Waynesfield-Goshen won the girls’ team crown.
Toledo City League
Lima Senior is the lone area school that competes in the Toledo City Athletic League.
This year’s TCAL Championships will be held Saturday at Collins Park Golf Course in Toledo.
