Friday Flashback: C’view, Fleming champs!

Van Wert independent/OHSAA information

Note: The latest Friday Flashback takes us back to the end of the 2012 OHSAA spring sports season. The Crestview Lady Knights were crowned as Division IV state softball champions, while Van Wert’s Jared Fleming brought back the gold as well. Below is the recap as it appeared on the VW independent Sports page.

It was a weekend of state championships for two Van Wert County schools, when Crestview’s varsity softball team won its second Division IV state championship and Van Wert distance runner Jared Fleming took home the gold in the Division II 800-meter run in the state track and field championship.

In their 10th trip to the OHSAA softball state tournament, the Crestview Lady Knights took home their second Division IV state championship trophy with a 6-2 win over Vienna Mathews Saturday at Firestone Stadium in Akron.

Crestview (28-5) needed just six hits, three of which went for extra bases, and capitalized on two Mathews errors.

On Thursday, the defending state runner-up Knights knocked off defending state champion Strasburg-Franklin in the semifinals in a rematch of their 2011 title tilt. Mathews (25-6), meanwhile, was making its first appearance in the state tournament and wraps up a season that includes a school record for wins.

Freshman pitchers went the distance for both teams. Crestview’s Terra Crowle (14-2) struck out seven, walked a batter and hit a batter and scattered four hits. Mathews’ pitcher Cheyenne Eggens (23-4) struck out 11 and walked two.

Crowle also got the offense going for the Knights with a second-inning RBI double. The Knights added two runs in the third inning when senior Taylor Springer plated two with a triple. After adding two more in the sixth, senior Maddie Etzler’s solo home run capped the scoring the for the Knights. Etzler scored three of Crestview’s six runs.

For Mathews, junior Tabby Granelly tripled and scored in the third inning and junior Olivia Rhodanze knocked an RBI single in the fourth.

Later Saturday, the Lady Knights were greeted with Convoy’s version of a tickertape parade, which included toilet papering the town and an escort through the village by Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department deputies and the Wren and Convoy EMS squads.

The team and Coach Owen Pugh were then given a rousing “welcome home” ceremony in Ray Etzler Gymnasium at Crestview High School.

Junior Jared Fleming decided not to run in the 1600-meter run, for which he had also qualified, and the move paid off with a state championship in the 800-meter, his best running event. The Cougar track star ran the race in a school record time of 1:54.01.

Fleming also anchored the VWHS 4×800-meter relay team that took fourth place at state in a time of 8:02.98. Other members included fellow juniors Kase Schalois and Nathan Wilhelm and freshman Connor Holliday.

Van Wert senior Chadd Phillips, who qualified for state in the 400-meter dash, finished 10th at state.

For the Cougar girls, senior Sydney Riethman had somewhat of a disappointing state tournament, finishing 11th in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 11½ inches. It was the second year in a row that Riethman had qualified for state, turning in a second-place finish in 2011.

Amanda Clay also qualified for state for Van Wert in the 100-meter dash and finished 12th in a time of 12.857 seconds.