Ottawa-Glandorf’s Ty Rosengarten (left) won the boys Division II race and Anna Buddelmeyer helped O-G to a second-place finish in the D-II girls competition at Saturday’s Tiffin regional.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
Last year, the Ottawa-Glandorf girls’ and boys’ cross country teams competed at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships. The girls placed sixth, while the boys finished 16th.
This past Saturday at the Division II regional meet at Tiffin, the Ottawa-Glandorf girls’ team finished second to a very good Lexington squad and stamped its ticket for this Saturday’s OHSAA Cross Country State Championships at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park. Last year, the Titans finished third at the regional meet.
On the boys’ side, O-G’s Ty Rosengarten won the D-II regional title with a time of 15:52.22 on the 5,000-meter course at Hedges-Boyer Park. The O-G boys’ team did not make it out of the district meet at Columbus Grove the week before. Rosengarten competed at the regional meet as an individual.
For the O-G girls, competing against a strong field of teams at the regional meet was not the only concern.
Senior Madelyn Hovest, who has been O-G’s lead runner for most of this season, suffered a broken toe the week leading up to the regional meet. Hovest also plays soccer during the fall sports season.
However, Hovest still managed to run at Tiffin, and the rest of O-G’s pack stepped up, en route to O-G’s second-place finish. The top four D-II teams at Tiffin qualified for the state meet.
Leading the way for O-G at Tiffin was Anna Buddelmeyer, who placed seventh overall in a time of 19:11.59. Hovest finished 15th in 19:30.29.
“We didn’t know how it was going to go,” O-G head coach Holly Flueckiger said. “Madelyn (Hovest) broke her toe. But, man, she was tough. If anybody could do it – power through it – she could. I’m very proud of them. They worked hard all week. They could have let that get them down, but they did not. ‘The next man up’ – we talked about it. You have to be ready. We knew they could.”
Rounding out O-G’s scorers were Corinne Closson (17th, 19:35.65), Liana Fortman (25th, 20:16.70) and Brea Recker (29th, 20:25.96).
For Rosengarten, Saturday’s race came down to a sprint to the finish.
Rosengarten managed to edge out Bryan’s Xander Fackler for the win. Rosengarten’s time was 15:52.22, while Fackler crossed the finish line in 15:52.33. Van Wert’s Owen Scott (third, 16:05.63) and Celina’s Colin Buening (fourth, 16:25.11) were close behind.
Last season, Rosengarten, along with the team, competed at the D-II state meet. Rosengarten finished 60th (17:08.50).
This coming weekend, Rosengarten wants to take it to the next level.
“I want to stay close – stay in the top 15, 16,” Rosengarten said.
Minster girls looking for a three-peat
When it comes to winning state championships in cross country, Minster has filled up its trophy case with a lot of hardware through the years.
The Minster girls’ cross country program has won 13 state titles. The Wildcats are vying for their third consecutive state title.
At this past weekend’s D-III regional at Tiffin, Minster ran away with the team championship, defeating second-place Liberty Center 48-125.
Minster placed its top five runners in the top 27 overall spots (191 finishers). The Wildcats had three runners go under 19 minutes at Tiffin.
Chaney Cedarleaf led Minster with a second-place finish (18:33.84). The rest of Minster’s scorers included Maria Niekamp (fifth, 18:45.04), Margaret Hemmelgarn (eighth, 18:57.57), Annie Hemmelgarn (21st, 19:29.96) and Claire Bohman (27th, 19:55.72).
Longtime Minster girls’ head coach Jessie Magoto said if her athletes continue to do all the things they need to do, they will be the best they can be.
“The goal was to move on. The goal was to run strong, be confident and work together. And that’s what they did. So, beyond that – those are the things we continue to do. If they just focus on that, everything else is irrelevant,” Magoto said after her team won the regional title.
The Minster boys’ team also qualified for the D-III state meet. The Wildcats placed fifth at Tiffin. The top seven D-III teams at Tiffin advanced to the state meet.
Columbus Grove, Lincolnview to represent NWC
Each time the Columbus Grove and Lincolnview boys’ teams met this fall, it was always a battle.
Columbus Grove won the battle at the regional meet at Tiffin this past Saturday, defeating Lincolnview for the regional title, 96-122.
Columbus Grove has won a D-III regional crown three out of the last four years.
Senior Luke Ellerbrock led the way for Columbus Grove at Tiffin, finishing fifth overall in 16:21.66. Ellerbrock was coming off an impressive win at the district meet at Columbus Grove, where he clocked a personal best time of 15:45.96.
Rounding out the five scorers for Columbus Grove at Tiffin included Evan Pitts (seventh, 16:29.82), Levi Bryan (25th, 16:56.05), Caiden Squillante (35th, 17:15.79), and Bryce Bonifas (46th, 17:31.31).
Conner Baldauf led the pack of Lincolnview runners at Tiffin with a sixth-place finish (16:28.55). The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers included Evan Johns (14th, 16:48.79), Kreston Tow (23rd, 16:55.41), Myles Moody (53rd, 17:37.38), and Maddox Norton (55th, 17:39.95).
At last year’s D-III state meet, Columbus Grove placed sixth, while Lincolnview finished 15th.
On the girls’ side at Tiffin, Lincolnview’s team qualified for the D-III state meet with a fourth-place finish. The top seven teams in D-III qualified for the state meet.
Sophomore Brynleigh Moody led the Lancers with an 11th-place finish (19:10.24). The Lincolnview school record holder is making her second appearance at the state cross country meet.
“I’m really excited about next week,” Moody said after this past Saturday’s regional meet. “I want to make all-Ohio. … I’d like to be top 20.”
The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers at Tiffin were Ava Milligan (29th, 20:01.70), Keira Breese (68th, 21:10.40), Kendall Hoffman (78th, 21:20.40), and Kassidy Hammons (86th, 21:23.70).
WBL well-represented in D-II
The Van Wert boys and Celina boys finished third and fourth, respectively at Tiffin to qualify for the state meet.
At Saturday’s regional, Van Wert tied with Shelby with 92 points. However, with the sixth-runner tiebreaker, Shelby was awarded second place. The top four teams in D-II advanced to the state meet. Celina placed fourth.
Leading Van Wert Saturday was Owen Scott (third, 16:05.63). The rest of Van Wert’s scorers included John Kramer (19th, 17:14.60), Drew Laudick (22nd, 17:18.20), Harrison Sloan (35th, 17:45.70) and Rylan Miller (42nd, 17:56.50).
For Celina, Colin Buening led the way at Tiffin with a fourth-place finish (16:25.20). Behind Buening were teammates Kaleb Dameron (24th, 17:20.40), Kaden Steed (25th, 17:25), Eli Spring (40th, 17:53.90) and Caleb Lehman (41st, 17:54.30).
For Bath, there will be two runners competing at the D-II state meet. Jacob Wireman (seventh, 16:34.90) and Everett Bensman (14th, 16:59.70) stamped their tickets at Tiffin.
Defiance’s Cole Batt qualified at Tiffin with a 10th-place finish (16:39.40).
On the girls’ side, Kenton’s Addi Manns (ninth, 19:21.80), Shawnee’s Jenna Stump (13th, 19:28.10) and Celina’s Jennalee Dameron (11th, 19:24.80) qualified for the D-II state meet.
Area state qualifiers
2023 Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships
at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park, Saturday, Nov. 4
Lima Area State Qualifiers
Girls
Division II
Teams
Ottawa-Glandorf: Anna Buddelmeyer, Jr.; Corinne Closson, Sr.; Liana Fortman, Fr.; Madelyn Hovest, Sr.; Morgan Maag, Sr.; Brea Recker, Fr.; Rose Turnwald, Jr.
Individual Qualifiers
Celina: Jennalee Dameron, So.
Indian Lake: Reagan Rash, So.
Kenton: Addi Manns, So.
Shawnee: Jenna Stump, So.
Division III
Teams
Fort Recovery: Makenna Huelskamp, Fr.; Natalie Brunswick, Sr.; Jenna Hart, Sr.; Madison Heitkamp, So.; Joelle Kaup, Jr.; Anna Roessner, Jr.; Ellie Will, Sr.
Lincolnview: Keira Breese, So.; Kassidy Hammons, Fr.; Kendall Hoffman, So.; Ava Milligan, Sr.; Brynleigh Moody, So.
Harper Reindel, So.; Elyssa Renner, So.
Minster: Claire Bohman, Fr.; Chaney Cedarleaf, Sr.; Annie Hemmelgarn, So.; Margaret Hemmelgarn, Sr.; Morgan Ketner, Sr.; Maria Niekamp, So.; Riley Hagens, So.
Individual Qualifiers
Miller City: Andrea Pfau, Jr.
Riverdale: Allison Woodruff, Jr.
Boys
Division II
Teams
Celina: Jackson Bange, Fr.; Colin Buening, So.; Kaleb Dameron, Fr.; Caleb Lehman, Fr.; Eli Spring, So.; Kaden Steed, Jr.
Austin Welling, Fr.
Van Wert: Johan Gemmer, So.; John Kramer, Sr.; Andrew Laudick, Jr.; Rylan Miller, Sr.; Owen Scott, Jr.; Harrison Sloan, Fr.; Noah Spath, Jr.
Individual Qualifiers
Bath: Everett Bensman, Jr.; Jacob Wireman, Jr.
Coldwater: Mason Ayers, Jr.
Defiance: Cole Batt, Sr.
Ottawa-Glandorf: Ty Rosengarten, Jr.
Division III
Teams
Columbus Grove: Braylon Best, So.; Bryce Bonifas, Jr.; Levi Bryan, Jr.; Luke Ellerbrock, Sr.; Logan Mershman, Sr.
Evan Pitts, Sr.; Caiden Squillante, Fr.
Lincolnview: Conner Baldauf, Sr.; Kaleb Denman, Jr.; Evan Johns, Jr.; Trace Klausing, Jr.; Myles Moody, Jr.; Maddox Norton, Sr.; Kreston Tow, Jr.
Marion Local: Lucas Broering, Sr.; Trey Goettemoeller, So.; Preston Kemper, Sr.; Wade Kremer, So.; Dalton Pohlman, So.
Wesley Schoen, Sr.; Ryan Stucke, So.
Minster: Collin Cedarleaf, Fr.; Connor Collins, Jr.; Jackson Corona, Fr.; Carter Dircksen, Jr.; Jack Grieshop, Sr.; Ryan Halpin, Sr.; Nick Prenger, Jr.
New Bremen: Sam Bernhold, Jr.; Jett Jellison, Fr.; Tyler Schwartz, So.; Dominic Shroyer, Sr.; Simon Shroyer, Fr.; Zach Wiedeman, Sr.; Caleb Wittenbrink, So.
Individual Qualifiers
Fort Recovery: Trevor Heitkamp, Sr.
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
