Cougar CC teams earn Raider meet titles

GROVER HILL — Blessed by great weather, the Cougar runners ran themselves into four team titles on Tuesday evening.  The varsity girls got the night off to an impressive start when the Cougars, lead by sophomore Andi Foster (second) finished with just 23 team points.

Following Foster was freshman Schelissa Williams (third), senior, Sydney Riethman (sixth), junior, Jacey Eikenbary (seventh), and junior Kelsey Wagner (14th).  Freshman Becky Anderson (15th), and senior Erin Dingle (18th) rounded out the varsity line-up.

The boys varsity race was equally impressive, as the Van Wert harriers managed to put 5 runners in the top 15, led by a 1-2-4 finish from Jared Fleming, Conner Holiday, and Kase Schalois, respectively. The scoring was completed with help from Nathan Stevens (11th) and Nick Keber (15th). Reed Baxter (16th) and Jordan Butler (24th) also competed well for the Cougars in the varsity line-up.

“I’m extremely proud of the way both the boys and girls teams showed up and competed tonight,” said Coach Brendon Moody. “We have a lot of young runners and for them to run with as much poise and confidence shows they are ready to take their racing to the next level.”

In junior varsity action, both the boys and girls squads continued the theme of the night by posting substantial victories. The boys were led by senior Luke Brubaker, who traversed the course in 18:17, while the girls were led by junior Rachel Scheidt, both earning victories on the evening.

Van Wert will be back in action on Saturday at the Columbus Grove Invitational.