VW County schools run at Col. Grove

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

COLUMBUS GROVE — Columbus Grove swept its own invite by taking top honors in the boys and girls small school divisions at Saturday’s Columbus Grove Invitational.

The Bulldogs scored 76 points on the boys’ side, while Lincolnview placed fifth with 145 points and Crestview eighth (269 points). On the girls’ side, the Lady Bulldogs scored 49 points, Crestview finished fifth with 153 points and Lincolnview placed eighth with 183 points.

In the large school division, the Van Wert Lady Cougars (143 points) finished third behind Minster and Findlay, while the Cougars placed 12th with 283 points.

The Crestview girls team had three girls place in the top 30 and the freshman girls did a strong job of closing out their scoring to place fifth out of 12 teams and bring home a trophy.

Ragen Harting led the Knights with a ninth place finish and a time of 20:49. Emily Greulach was 18th (21:40) and Lauren Walls 30th (22:33). They were followed by Megan Mosier (personal record 24:05)) and Kate Leeth 24:47).

“We are practicing with great focus and purpose,” Crestview head coach Jeff Bagley said. “It will be exciting for our team to continue to see the results of their preparation efforts.”

The Knights used a 57 second pack between their No. 1 and No. 5 runners to finish eighth out of 20 teams.

Senior Cameron Cearns led Crestview with his 47th place finish in a personal record time of 18:29. He was followed by Dayton Schuerman (49th, 18:31.05), Hayden Tomlinson (50th, personal record 18:31.33), Jacob Forwerck (54th, personal record 18:41), and Isaiah Watts (81st, personal record 19:26).

“We would like to continue to build on the effort it takes to run fast and together,” Bagley said.

Lincolnview’s Madison Langdon finished third overall with a time of 19:40, followed by Julia Stetler, who placed 23rd with a time of 22:05. Victoria Snyder finished 37th (22:58), followed by McKenna Mason (83rd, 25:00) and Izzy Donnelly (111th, 28:07).

The Lancers were led by Devon Bill’s 11th place finish and time of 16:58, while Jackson Robinson was 45th with a time of 18:24. Brandon Renner placed 52nd (18:35) and Colton Trenkamp 84th (19:30).

Van Wert was led by Caylee Phillips, who finished fourth with a time of 19:06, the second fastest time of her career. The rest of her team’s finishers also not only set 2019 best times, but each one ran a career best time – Rachel Spath (29th, 21:07), freshman Kyra Welch (31st, 21:14), and freshman Tyra McClain (32rd, 21:18). Ali Gemmer was the team’s fifth runner, crossing the line in 51st place, with a 22:09 time.

“Today was another incredible day for our girls,” Van Wert coach Ryan Holliday said. “We knew that Minster and Findlay were going to be very hard to beat. The girls felt like if they brought their best, they could walk away with a thirdrd place finish and their heads held high. They came in hungry, brought their best, and executed very well.”

The Cougar boys were led by Hunter Sherer, who finished 11th out of 139 runners with a careet best time of 16:55, 19 seconds faster than his previous personal record. Gage Wannemacher was the Van Wert’s second runner, clocking an 18:13 and placing 51st overall. Jayden Welker came in next (66th, 18:46) followed by Jacob Sealscott (73rd, 18:57), and Ben Lange (82nd, 19:16).

“We had some nice individual efforts today – especially Sherer’s,” Holliday said. “Hunter has been putting in some incredible work all summer and especially in the last month. He has made an enormous jump since last year, and the sky is the limit for what he can achieve.”

For their efforts, Sherer and Phillips won Cougar Pride awards.