Lancer runners sweep conference meet

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

COLUMBUS GROVE — Lincolnview made it two-for-two at the Northwest Conference cross country championships on Saturday, winning both the boys and girls titles, plus an individual champion.

Girls

Lincolnview freshman Brynleigh Moody won the individual NWC championship in a field dominated by underclassmen.

Moody was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 19:30. Classmate Keira Breese finished third overall (20:45) and three more Lancer runners rounded out the top 10 – Harper Reindel (eighth, 21:30), Elyssa Renner (9th, 22:17) and Kendall Hoffman (10th, 22:22).

“We knew this was going to come down to the last mile and if each girl could get ahead of their counterpart from Grove…we were able to do that as the race continued,” Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said. “At the mile mark we were not winning, but the girls showed patience and toughness as they closed the gap the second mile and ultimately were able to get past them by the end of the race.  Our top five were all freshman, so I am proud that these young ladies are finding what it takes to be successful so early in their career.”

“We have some tough races ahead, but these last two weeks the girls have shown resolve and have responded to the challenges the coaching staff have put in front of them,” he added.

As a team, Lincolnview finished with 31 points, while Columbus Grove was second with 39 points. Bluffton finished with 69 points and Crestview was fourth with 101 team points.

Leading the way for the Knights was Anna Gardner, who finished seventh overall (21:22), followed by Megan Mosier (25th, 24:30), Anna Scott (38th, 27:44), Alexis Flagg (40th, 28:08) and Lily Burtch (43rd, 29:18).

Nine of the top 10 placers were freshmen while the 10th was a sophomore, Bluffton’s June Essinger, who finished as the runner-up (20:26).

Boys

Three Lincolnview runners placed in the top six and helped give the Lancers the conference title.

Conner Baldauf finished third with a time of 16:35, while Kreston Tow and Evan Johns finished 5-6 with times of 16:40 and 16:44. In addition, Maddox Norton placed 11th overall (17:20) and Kaleb Denman logged a 13th place finish (17:35).

“We knew going in that this was going to be an extremely close race,” Langdon said. “Our boys have been able to slowly close the gap with Grove all season and it was incredibly fun and rewarding to finally get past them at the NWC meet. They are well coached and talented so it was a fun challenge and made for an exciting boys race. The boys ran a smart race and were able to finish the race strongly allowing us to just edge past Grove.” 

“We will see them again down the tournament trail and hopefully both teams will advance far into tournament,” Langdon continued. “It was going to take a near perfect race and we were able to get very close to that as it took a school record performance. “I’m super proud of this young group. They are laser focused on the races ahead of them. They are a joy to coach.”

The Lancers finished with 38 team points, while Columbus Grove was the runner-up with 41. Bluffton’s Landon Armstrong was the individual champion with a time of 15:45, while Trent Koch of Columbus Grove was the runner-up (16:24).

Crestview finished fifth overall with 131 team points. The Knights were led by were led by Lincoln Smith (17th, 17:59), followed by Logan Foudy (22nd, 18:17), Jake Heth (33rd, 18:53), Payton Scott (37th, 19:38) and John Forwerck (58th 30:01).