Cougar boys 2nd, girls 3rd at area meet

Van Wert cross country information

DELPHOS — Saturday morning provided area cross country runners with nearly ideal conditions as many raced around Delphos Stadium Park in gazelle like fashion, with the Van Wert Cougars one of the area teams competing.

After a sixth-man tiebreaker on Tuesday, where the boys’ team sneaked out of Upper Sandusky with a runner-up finish, another close race did not go in favor of the young Cougars, as they fell to Division III No. 5 Anna by one point.

“Any one of our guys could have passed one person over the last 400 meters today; it was evident that Anna just wanted it more.” said Van Wert Coach Brendon Moody. “We’ve got to be tougher over the last half of the race or we’ll continue to lose close races. Every point matters.”

Leading the way for the boys team was freshman Calahan Wolfrum (16:52) in third place. Senior Cade Fleming (17:29) was ninth, while sophomore Thane Cowan (17:39) finished 11th. Sophomore Stephen Hamblett (17:57) was 19th, while classmate Max Sealscott (18:14) was 27th to round out the scoring.  Freshman Blake Henry (18:16) finished 28th and junior Dylan Lautzenheiser (18:39), in 37th place, completed the varsity line-up.

Like the boys, the Van Wert girls also found themselves in a close battle, not for the win, but for the runner-up spot. The Lady Lancers proved to be the better team on the day, garnering second place by just one point over the Lady Cougars.

Senior Chloee Gamble (20:54) was seventh, freshman Sierra Shaffer (21:37) was 15th, junior Natalie Riethman (21:40) was 16th, sophomore Nicole Clay (22:00) was 19th and senior Alicia Danylchuck (22:26), in 29th place, completed the scoring for the Van Wert girls. Freshman Caton Williamson (23:16) was 38th and freshman Arianna Adkins (23:22) was 41st to complete the varsity line-up.

“Once again, the girls raced well,” added Moody. “We’ve had a big week of training and are working through a few injuries, so the way we had people step up today was great.”

The Cougars will be back in action next Saturday, September 5, at the Columbus Grove Bulldog Invitational.