Mark Altstaetter
In the 22 years that I have covered the state cross country meet, along with the years I have coached, I have learned to expect the unexpected.
However, there are some things that are not difficult to project.
At this past Saturday’s Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships at Fortress Obetz, I had the fortune to witness both the expected and unexpected.
The Minster girls cross country program has been dominant in Division III for a long time. So, the expectations were high for Minster at this past Saturday’s state meet.
On Saturday, Minster won its third consecutive Division III state championship. And it wasn’t close.
Minster defeated second-place Rittman, 62-123.
With Saturday’s state championship, the Minster girls program has now notched 16 state championships.
Not only was I impressed with Minster’s performance Saturday on the 5,000-meter course at Fortress Obetz, but I was as much impressed with longtime Minster girls head coach Jessie Magoto’s approach with her athletes. Magoto stresses to her runners the importance of doing their best, and not getting caught up in the hype of winning state titles.
“That’s just the focus – run your race, relax and do what you normally do,” Magoto said after Saturday’s victory. “We’re definitely not trying to underplay it (a state championship). But for their sake – it’s another race, another meet. … (Go out and) compete and see what you can do. Challenge yourself, and just run the race.”
Minster ran its race.
Seniors Chaney Cedarleaf (sixth place, 18:43.07) and Margaret Hemmelgarn (eighth, 18:46.05) led Minster on Saturday.
The rest of Minster’s scorers included Maria Niekamp (21st, 19:00.19), Annie Hemmelgarn (44th, 19:42.20) and Claire Bohman (46th, 19:44.63).
The top 30 placers in each race earned all-Ohio honors.
Cedarleaf and Hemmelgarn said they began dreaming of winning a state championship at a young age.
“Chaney and I have been on this team together since we were managers in sixth grade,” Hemmelgarn said with a grin.
Now, these seniors walk away with three state titles. Both Cedarleaf and Hemmelgarn notched all-Ohio honors all four years.
Grove upends
last year’s champs
Last fall, the Columbus Grove boys cross country team finished sixth at the Division III state meet. Mount Gilead won last year’s D-III state championship. Columbus Grove finished 153 points behind Mount Gilead on that day.
This past Saturday, Columbus Grove did the unexpected by defeating Mount Gilead by a mere six points to win its first-ever state championship in boys cross country.
The first thing longtime Columbus Grove boys head coach Terry Schnipke said after he heard the official results following Saturday’s race was, “Do you believe in miracles?”
Columbus Grove’s pack was solid Saturday.
Senior Luke Ellerbrock led the way for the Bulldogs with a 12th-place finish in 16:06.15 and earned all-Ohio status. The rest of Columbus Grove’s five scorers included Evan Pitts (34th, 16:38.46), Caiden Squillante (60th, 16:58.32), Levi Bryan (62nd, 16:59.63) and Bryce Bonifas (92nd, 17:25.46). Logan Mershman (110th,17:39.01) and Braylon Best (125th, 17:56.41) were Columbus Grove’s sixth and seventh runners, respectively.
“It was unexpected (team state title), that’s for sure,” Ellerbrock said. “At the start of the season, I was expecting to be happy to get top 10 in the state. Slowly, we just got better and better.”
Schnipke said that he knew his athletes had the ability to run a very competitive race at the state meet. He wanted them to focus on running their best, and not worry about anything else.
“We tried to keep them focused this week – telling them that it’s just another race. We had them sit down and do some visualization — on what they need to do, and where they need to be. … Obviously, it worked,” Schnipke said with a smile.
O-G girls improve;
Scott finishes fifth
In 2022, the Ottawa-Glandorf girls and boys teams made it to the Division II state meet. The O-G girls team placed sixth, while the boys squad came in 16th.
This past Saturday, the O-G girls team came in fifth.
Anna Buddelmeyer led the Titans with a sixth-place finish in a personal-best time of 18:41.37. Teammate Madelyn Hovest finished 16th (18:59.23), despite running with a broken toe. Buddelmeyer and Hovest earned all-Ohio with their performances.
Corinne Closson (42nd, 19:34.98), Liana Fortman (104th, 20:40.99) and Morgan Maag (112th, 20:49.81) rounded out O-G’s five scorers.
The O-G boys’ team did not qualify for this year’s D-II state meet. However, O-G junior Ty Rosengarten qualified individually for the state meet.
On Saturday, Rosengarten came in ninth overall (15:54.08) and earned all-Ohio status.
Van Wert junior Owen Scott led the Lima area runners with a fifth-place finish (15:42.74) and earned all-Ohio honors. As a team, Van Wert placed 17th.
Lincolnview boys
do better than 2022
At last year’s Division III state meet, the Lincolnview boys team placed 15th. This past Saturday, the Lancers notched a seventh-place finish in D-III.
Longtime Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said the boys team did something Saturday that no other Lincolnview boys cross country team has ever accomplished.
“That was the highest finish for a boys team in school history,” Langdon said. “I’m really happy for them.”
Senior Conner Baldauf led Lincolnview on Saturday with a 28th-place finish (16:24.84) and earned all-Ohio. The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers included Evan Johns (72nd, 17:08.53), Kreston Tow (87th, 17:23.34), Myles Moody (115th, 17:41.62) and Maddox Norton (130th, 18:00.70).
On the girls’ side, Lincolnview placed 18th.
Sophomore Brynleigh Moody led the Lancers with a 29th-place finish (19:23.07) and earned all-Ohio. The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers included Ava Milligan (77th, 20:16.01), Keira Breese (144th, 21:33.39), Kassidy Hammons (148th, 21:40.18) and Kendall Hoffman (151st, 21:49.32).
More state cross country and area high school sports coverage
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
