Cross country roundup: Conference championships determined

ST. MARYS — The Ottawa-Glandorf girls cross country team has dominated the competition this season.

At Saturday’s Western Buckeye League Championships at St. Marys High School, O-G continued its dominant ways as the Titans defended their WBL title from a year ago.

O-G scored 29 points Saturday, compared to second-place Kenton’s 85 points. Shawnee (94), Van Wert (126) and Celina (139) rounded out the top five squads in the 10-team field.

O-G senior Madelyn Hovest won Saturday’s race in a time of 19 minutes, 21.82 seconds on the 5,000-meter course that traversed around the St. Marys High School campus and finished on the track. Teammate Anna Buddelmeyer finished second in 19:31.02.

Last year, Hovest finished fifth at the WBL Championships.

“The first two miles, we were all kind of sitting together,” Hovest said about Saturday’s race. “I think with the (wet) weather, nobody wanted to go out and push the pace too much. … It ended up being a pretty slow first two miles. Then at the end, I knew I had to kick and finish strong, if I wanted to accomplish my goal.”

Rounding out the O-G scorers behind Hovest and Buddelmeyer, included Corinne Closson (fifth, 19:59.14), Liana Fortman (ninth, 20:34.02) and Rose Turnwald (12th, 21:24.65).

Brea Recker (13th, 21:28.92) and Morgan Maag (14th, 21:35.01) were very close to O-G’s scorers, finishing as the Titans’ sixth and seventh runners on Saturday.

“Today, I could hear our coaches and our fans, cheering for Corinne (Closson) and Liana (Fortman),” Hovest said. “So, I knew they were close behind, which made me more excited. I knew my teammates were running well. It gives me confidence as I’m running, knowing that we’re running our race the way we wanted to run. We came into this race ready to go.”

O-G head coach Holly Flueckiger points to her team’s approach as the key to their success.

“They were pushing each other (on Saturday) like they have been all season. Their mindset was good. They’ve been amazing all season. Their mindset has been to win every race. They also do the little things; and that’s what is necessary to be where they are at,” Flueckiger said.

Other top-10 runners on Saturday were Celina’s Jennalee Dameron (third, 19:34.46), Shawnee’s Jenna Stump (fourth, 19:40.94), Kenton’s Addi Manns (sixth, 20:08.61), Wapakoneta’s Kenzie Schneider (seventh, 20:10.81) and Kenton’s Leah Harder (eighth, 20:27.21).

On the boys’ side, Shawnee notched the team title, slipping past Celina, 76-81. Van Wert (85), Ottawa-Glandorf (97) and Defiance (97) rounded out the top five teams.

Before results were made official following the boys’ race, it appeared that Van Wert won the title. However, Van Wert’s Owen Scott, who finished third, was later disqualified for a uniform infraction.

Shawnee senior Noah Williams defended his WBL title with a hard-fought victory on Saturday. Williams’ winning time was 16:01.78. O-G’s Ty Rosengarten was a close second (16:04.59). Celina’s Colin Buening (16:22.18), Wapakoneta’s Axton Fosnaugh (16:38.65) and Shawnee’s Carter Cleaves (16:41.32) were the next four finishers behind Williams.

Williams, who was a Division I state qualifier last season, said that Saturday’s WBL title was extra special.

“It means a lot to me, especially since last year. I had, in my opinion, one of the best coaches in the WBL (Russ Holly). It means a lot to me to run for him,” Williams said.

Earlier this year, Holly, a longtime cross country and track coach at Shawnee passed away.

Rosengarten made Saturday’s race interesting. Before the lead runners made it onto the track for the final sprint to the finish, Rosengarten was not far behind Williams.

However, down the stretch, Williams pulled away for the victory.

“Last year, we ran on our home course (for WBLs),” Rosengarten said. “He (Williams) beat me by 12 seconds. This year, it might have been two or three (seconds). So, I’m getting closer to him.”

Williams is hoping to take it to a different level at the postseason tournament.

“I won regionals last year. That’s what I’m going for this year. Then, I’m trying to get on the (awards) podium (at the state meet) – hopefully first place. But (getting on the) podium is really what I’m going for,” Williams said.

Rounding out the Shawnee scorers Saturday behind Williams and Cleaves were Ty Schaub (19th, 17:45.04), Carson Frost (20th, 17:54.85) and Evan Conley (31st, 18:22.57).

“From the start of the race, they brought this intensity,” first-year Shawnee head coach Crista Owens said about her boys’ team. “You could see it in their eyes. You could see it in their body language. They were gunning for first place.

They wanted redemption. They were fourth last year; and they knew it was on the line. We have a big group of graduating seniors, and they wanted to go out with a bang. All our underclassmen wanted to give the seniors an amazing senior send-off.”

Other top-10 performers in the boys’ race were Bath’s Jacob Wireman (sixth, 16:48.28), Defiance’s Josiah Gonzales (seventh, 16:49.11), Van Wert’s Drew Laudick (eighth, 16:55.75), Defiance’s Cole Batt (ninth, 16:59.74) and Wapakoneta’s Cash Schadl (10th, 17:14.58).

Northwest Conference Championships

SPENCERVILLE – In what was expected to be a tightly contested battle between the Columbus Grove and Lincolnview boys’ teams at Saturday’s NWC Championships, turned out to be exactly that.

Columbus Grove edged out Lincolnview for the boys’ team title, 28-33. Crestview (81), Leipsic (112), Spencerville (144) and Allen East (168) rounded out the six full teams.

Columbus Grove’s Luke Ellerbrock won the 5,000-meter race Saturday in 16:05.2. Teammate Evan Pitts was second in 16:20.8.

The rest of Columbus Grove’s scorers included Levi Bryan (sixth, 17:02.4), Caiden Squillante (seventh, 17:14.5) and Bryce Bonifas (13th, 17:37.9).

Lincolnview’s top five finishers were Conner Baldauf (third, 16:27.1), Evan Johns (fourth, 16:46.4), Kreston Tow (fifth, 16:58.5), Maddox Norton (eighth, 17:18.6) and Myles Moody (14th, 17:45.3).

Longtime Columbus Grove boys’ head coach Terry Schnipke was pleased on how his team responded on Saturday.

“I talked to them a lot about teamwork, being consistent, and just competing,” Schnipke said. “Us and Lincolnview are going against each other every week. It’s always a good competition. … It’s a good healthy rivalry.

“I could tell that my kids were dialed in and were ready for this. This has been such a fun group – such a blessing to coach.”

On the girls’ side, Lincolnview won the team title for the third straight year, outscoring second-place Columbus Grove 22-54. Bluffton (81) and Crestview (82) rounded out the four full teams.

Lincolnview’s Brynleigh Moody won the race in 19:22.2, making her a two-time NWC champion. Teammate Ava Milligan was a distant second (20:06.7).

Rounding out the Lincolnview scorers were Keira Breese (fourth, 21:19), Kassidy Hammons (seventh, 21:42.5) and Kendall Hoffman (eighth, 21:44).

Lily Montgomery led Columbus Grove with a third-place finish (21:03.6). Sarah Kamphaus (fifth, 21:29.8), Grace Morman (13th, 22:18.6), Lauren Martz (16th, 23:09.2) and Breanne Fuerst (20th, 24:22.7) rounded out the scorers for the Bulldogs.

Longtime Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said that Columbus Grove always gives his program a battle.

“It’s been that way. We were fortunate last year to beat them by three or four points (for the NWC boys’ title) at their place. They (Columbus Grove) ran great today. I think we ran really well too,” Langdon said.

Northwest Central Conference

NORTH BALTIMORE – The Waynesfield-Goshen girls’ cross country team recorded a perfect score (15 points) Saturday, en route to the team championship at the NWCC Championships at North Baltimore.

The five scorers for W-G Saturday were Abigail Dulebohn (first, 23:18), Anna Brodman (second, 24:01), Cassidy Bigelow (third, 24:28), Avery Kessen (fourth, 25:09) and Chloe Frye (fifth, 25:12).

Hardin-Northern was the only other full team (at least five runners) at Saturday’s NWCC Championships. The Polar Bears scored 50 points.

On the boy’s side, Cory-Rawson took first place in the boys’ team standings.

Cory-Rawson scored 54 points, while Hardin Northern (66) was a close second. Waynesfield-Goshen (89), Perry (98), Elgin (102), Upper Scioto Valley (109) and North Baltimore (137) rounded out the field of full teams.

Ridgedale’s Brogan Weston won the boys’ race in 17:19. Hardin-Northern’s Andrew Sutton (17:55), Ridgedale’s Issac Lust (18:15), Cory-Rawson’s Grant Welte (18:18) and W-G’s Damian Canter (18:31) rounded out the top five overall finishers.

Midwest Athletic Conference

COLDWATER – The Minster girls nearly recorded a perfect score at Saturday’s Midwest Athletic Conference Championships.

Minster placed its top five runners in the top six overall spots to record a score of 17 points. Fort Recovery was a distant second (95). Versailles (98), Parkway (114) and St. Henry (136) rounded out the top five teams in a field of nine.

Minster’s Margaret Hemmelgarn won the race in 18:45.54. The rest of Minster’s scorers were Maria Niekamp (second, 18:51.51), Chaney Cedarleaf (third, 19:10.11), Claire Bohman (fifth, 19:40.87) and Annie Hemmelgarn (sixth, 19:45.67).

Versailles won the boys’ team crown, getting past second-place New Bremen, 48-71. Minster (76), Marion Local (103) and Coldwater (150) rounded out the top five.

New Bremen’s Zach Wiedeman won Saturday’s race in 16:09.76.

Toledo City League Championships

TOLEDO – Lima Senior competed in the Toledo City Athletic League Championships on Saturday.

On the boys’ side, Lima Senior did not field a full team. The top Lima Senior finisher was Mason Oen (23rd, 22:20.78).

In the girls’ competition, Lima Senior did not field a full team. The top Lima Senior performer was Hailey Hahn (sixth, 25:04.60).

Blanchard Valley Conference Championships

McCOMB – Pandora-Gilboa competed in Saturday’s BVC Championships at McComb.

The P-G boys’ team finished fifth out of six full teams with 107 points. Liberty-Benton won the boys’ team title with 24 points.

Adam Buell led the Rockets with a 15th-place finish (18:16.94). The rest of P-G’s scorers were Nate Walker (21st, 18:37.80), Owen Teders (22nd, 18:39.87), Jack Buell (25th, 18:59.26) and Sam Amstutz (29th, 19:30.34).

L-B won the girls’ team crown (39). P-G placed fifth (130).

Leading the way for P-G was Savannah Knueven (ninth, 21:12.23). Elizabeth Knueven (32nd, 26:00.13), Claire Stall (34th, 26:30.94), Avery Traxler (36th, 26:58.31) and Madison Rutschilling (43rd, 29:19.35) completed P-G’s top five.

Saturday’s Results

Boys

NWC Championships

Team Scores: 1. Columbus Grove 28, 2. Lincolnview 33, 3. Crestview 81, 4. Leipsic 112, 5. Spencerville 114, 6. Allen East 168.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Luke Ellerbrock (CG) 16:05.2, 2. Evan Pitts (CG) 16:20.8, 3. Conner Baldauf (Lin) 16:27.1, 4. Evan Johns (Lin) 16:46.4, 5. Kreston Tow (Lin) 16:58.5, 6. Levi Bryan (CG) 17:02.4, 7. Caiden Squillante (CG) 17:14.5, 8. Maddox Norton (Lin) 17:18.6, 9. Diego Baldazo (Lei) 17:25.8, 10. Lincoln Smith (Crest) 17:26.6, 11. Levi Fenzil (Blu) 17:29.7, 12. Andy Heth (Crest) 17:31.0, 13. Bryce Bonifas (CG) 17:37.9, 14. Myles Moody (Lin) 17:45.3, 15. Logan Mershman (CG) 17:45.8, 16. Braylon Best (CG) 17:46.2, 17. Kaleb Denman (Lin) 17:49.4, 18. Trace Klausing (Lin) 17:59.7, 19. Mitchell Adams (Sp) 18:02.3, 20. Zander Coil (Lin) 18:09.1, 21. Aidan Vogt (CG) 18:23.6, 22. Payton Scott (Crest) 18:29.5, 23. Kaden Hohman (Lin) 18:31.4, 24. Max Hammons (Lin) 18:38.0, 25. Jake Heth (Crest) 18:38.0.

MAC Championships

Team Scores: 1. Versailles 48, 2. New Bremen 71, 3. Minster 76, 4. Marion Local 103, 5. Coldwater 150, 6. Ft. Recovery 152, 7. St. Henry 175, 8. Parkway 201, 9. Delphos St. John’s 204.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Zach Wiedeman (NB) 16:09.76, 2. Trevor Heitkamp (FR) 16:17.15, 3. Tony Moorman (V) 16:17.57, 4. Ryan Halpin (Min) 16:35.17, 5. Mason Ayers (Cold) 16:35.28, 6. Jack Grieshop (Min) 16:45.50, 7. Dominic Shroyer (NB) 16:46.99, 8. Nick Prenger (Min) 16:52.35, 9. Cameron Magoto (V) 17:07.37, 10. Jett Jellison (NB) 17:12.30, 12. Marcus Briscoe (V) 17:1772, 13. Tony Spitzer (V) 17:17.95, 14. Parker Brunswick (FR) 17:36.14, 15. Landry Knore (V) 17:38.88, 16. Trey Goettemoeller (ML) 17:40.56, 17. Michael Rindler (SH) 17:43.86, 18. Dylan Dunn (V) 17:47.01, 19. Wes Schoen (ML) 17:47.63, 20. Ryan Stucke (ML) 17:49.28, 21. Drew Meyer (V) 17:52.66, 22. Josh Schoen (Cold) 17:53.53, 23. Luke DeMange (V) 17:56.05, 24. Hank Kopack (DSJ) 18:07.49, 25. Lucas Broering (ML) 18:10.02.

NWCC Championships

Team Scores: 1. Cory Rawson 54, 2. Hardin Northern 66, 3. Waynesfield-Goshen 89, 4. Perry 98, 5. Elgin 102, 6. Upper Scioto Valley 109, 7. North Baltimore 137.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 20:

1. Brogan Weston (Ridgedale) 17:19, 2. Andrew Sutton (HN) 17:55, 3. Issac Lust (Rid) 18:15, 4. Grant Welte (CR) 18:18, 5. Damian Canter (WG) 18:31, 6. Noah Dotson (WG) 18:44, 7. Riley Newton (HN) 19:04, 8. Noah McCoy (USV) 19:07, 9. Hunter Foust (CR) 19:08, 10. Cainen Melching (P) 19:14, 11. Michael Richmond (Rid) 19:28, 12. Jayden Duvemay (WG) 19:39, 13. Michael Bowersock (P) 19:42, 14. Keegan Sammet (CR) 19:52, 15. Nate Gregorowicz (CR) 19:57, 16. Braiden Zapp (USV) 20:13, 17. Peyton Zempter (El) 20:20, 18. Amarion Jackson (P) 20:24, 19. Luke Price (HN) 20:37, 20. Hunter Johnston (El) 20:46.

WBL Championships

Team Scores: 1. Shawnee 76, 2. Celina 81, 3. Van Wert 85, 4. Ottawa-Glandorf 97, 5. Defiance 97, 6. Wapakoneta 120, 7. Bath 167, 8. St. Marys 181, 9. Kenton 220, 10. Elida 310.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Noah Williams (Sh) 16:01.78, 2. Ty Rosengarten (O-G) 16:04.59, 3. Colin Buening (Cel) 16:22.18, 4. Axton Fosnaugh (W) 16:38.65, 5. Carter Cleaves (Sh) 16:41.32, 6. Jacob Wireman (Ba) 16:48.28, 7. Josiah Gonzales (Def) 16:49.11, 8. Andrew Laudick (VW) 16:55.75, 9. Cole Batt (Def) 16:59.74, 10. Cash Schadl (W) 17:14.58, 11. Gavin Luebke (SM) 17:18.54, 12. Kaleb Dameron (Cel) 17:22.76, 13. Everett Bensman (Ba) 17:27.49, 14. Rylan Miller (VW) 17:27.53, 15. Caleb Lehman (Cel) 17:31.32, 16. Kaden Steed (Cel) 17:31.97, 17. John Kramer (VW) 17:32.71, 18. Cooper Fischer (O-G) 17:33.76, 19. Ty Schaub (Sh) 17:45.04, 20. Carson Frost (Sh) 17:54.85, 21. Hendrix Myers (Def) 17:56.50, 22. Harrison Sloan (VW) 17:57.86, 23. Brandon Frey (O-G) 17:58.64, 24. Johan Gemmer (VW) 18:01.62, 25. Jordan Croy (O-G) 18:06.75.

Girls

NWC Championships

Girls Cross Country

Team Scores: 1. Lincolnview 22, 2. Columbus Grove 54, 3. Bluffton 81, 4. Crestview 82.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Bryleigh Moody (Lin) 19:22.2, 2. Ava Milligan (Lin) 20:06.7, 3. Lily Montgomery (CG) 21:03.6, 4. Keira Breese (Lin) 21:19.0, 5. Sarah Kamphaus (CG) 21:29.8, 6. June Essinger (Blu) 21:39.6, 7. Kassidy Hammons (Lin) 21:42.5, 8. Kendall Hoffman (Lin) 21:44.0, 9. Anna Gardner (Crest) 21:53.6, 10. Ella Armstrong (Blu) 22:03.1, 11. Elyssa Renner (Lin) 22:09.8, 12. Harper Reindel (Lin) 22:13.2, 13. Grace Morman (CG) 22:18.6, 14. Kenzie Harting (Crest) 22:38.9, 15. Josie Miller (Lin) 22:59.1, 16. Lauren Martz (CG) 23:09.2, 17. Kate Sawmiller (Crest) 23:53.3, 18. Nadia Ricker (Sp) 24:02.2, 19. Amairi Painter (Blu) 24:20.1, 20. Breanne Fuerst (CG) 24:22.7, 21. Bryn Casper (CG) 24:29.7, 22. Delany Neff (AE) 24:30.1, 23. Jade Siefker (CG) 25:10.6, 24. Alexis Flagg (Crest) 25:13.9, 25. Emerson Walker (Lin) 25:17.2.

MAC Championships

Team Scores: 1. Minster 17, 2. Ft. Recovery 95, 3. Versailles 98, 4. Parkway 114, 5. St. Henry 136, 6. Coldwater 171, 7. New Bremen 175, 8. Delphos St. John’s 187, 9. Marion Local 190.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Margaret Hemmelgarn (Min) 18:45.54, 2. Maria Niekamp (Min) 18:51.51, 3. Chaney Cedarleaf (Min) 19:10.11, 4. Natalie Brunswick (FR) 19:30.83, 5. Claire Bohman (Min) 19:40.87, 6. Annie Hemmelgarn (Min) 19:45.67, 7. Meredith Barga (V) 19:49.99, 8. Rileigh Baumer (SH) 20:09.74, 9. Morgan Ketner (Min) 20:10.81, 10. Ava Rismiller (V) 20:11.54, 11. Josie Bruns (ML) 20:20.67, 12. Audrey Alig (Cold) 20:24.87, 13. Ally Heath (SH) 20:31.32, 14. Ellie Will (FR) 20:37.43, 15. Ava Stammen (Min) 20:38.26, 16. Riley Hagens (Min) 20:38.94, 17. Rachel Niekamp (Min) 20:45.23, 18. Ellie Grieshop (Min) 20:45.46, 19. Joelle Kaup (FR) 20:47.86, 20. Taylor Muhlenkamp (Park) 20:48.32, 21. Paige Williamson (Park) 20:55.09, 22. Cady Donaldson (DSJ) 20:56.54, 23. Ariyah Pfenning (New Knoxville) 21:09.61, 24. Layla Fullenkamp (NB) 21:12.01, 25. Breann Mathewson (Cold) 21:23.16.

NWCC Championships

Team Scores: 1. Waynesfield-Goshen 15, 2. Hardin Northern 50.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 20:

1. Abigail Dulebohn (WG) 23:18, 2. Anna Brodman (WG), 3. Cassidy Bigelow (WG) 24:28, 4. Avery Kessen (WG) 25:09, 5. Chloe Frye (WG) 25:12, 6. Attlee Rowlinson (North Baltimore) 25:25, 7. Gracy Zachman (WG) 25:56, 8. Amelia Ball (WG) 26:40, 9. Hannah Staton (Ridgedale) 27:04, 10. Lilly McCoy (USV) 27:28, 11. Abbie Diller (HN) 28:06, 12. Lindsay Crouse (NB) 28:13, 13. Emma Pence (WG) 28:22, 14. Paeghton Cook (HN) 28:27, 15. Arianna Melendez (NB) 28:37, 16. Jocelyn Hadding (WG) 28:57, 17. JoJo Little (USV) 28:59, 18. Jenna Legge (HN) 29:44, 19. Mariann Woodruff (HN) 30:05, 20. Cicillia McCoy (HN) 30:22.

WBL Championships

Team Scores: 1. Ottawa-Glandorf 29, 2. Kenton 85, 3. Shawnee 94, 4. Van Wert 126, 5. Celina 139, 6. Defiance 143, 7. Wapakoneta 176, 8. St. Marys 179, 9. Elida 205.

Race Winner/Finishers in the Top 25:

1. Madelyn Hovest (O-G) 19:21.82, 2. Anna Buddelmeyer (O-G) 19:31.02, 3. Jennalee Dameron (Cel) 19:34.46, 4. Jenna Stump (Sh) 19:40.94, 5. Corinne Closson (O-G) 19:59.14, 6. Addi Manns (K) 20:08.61, 7. Kenzie Schneider (W) 20:10.81, 8. Leah Harder (K) 20:27.21, 9. Liana Fortman (O-G) 20:34.02, 10. Marissa Ledley (K) 20:52.59, 11. Emily Durham (E) 21:00.40, 12. Rose Turnwald (O-G) 21:24.65, 13. Brea Recker (O-G) 21:28.92, 14. Morgan Maag (O-G) 21:35.01, 15. Alyssa Knittle (VW) 21:36.94, 16. Savannah Hohe (Sh) 21:47.64, 17. Tayma Jmiai (Sh) 21:50.64, 18. Delany Buxton (K) 21:51.30, 19. Lauren Walz (Def) 22:03.69, 20. Kayla Dancs (E) 22:05.10, 21. Kyla Fallis (Ba) 22:06.33, 22. Camila Anderson (SM) 22:07.57, 23. Sara Schroeder (O-G) 22:15.56, 24. Mariel Augsburger (W) 22:19.05, 25. Noelle Byrum (VW) 22:23.91.