Cougars able to notch Senior Night win

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

In the home finale for Van Wert on Tuesday, the Cougars enjoyed a Senior Night sweep of a quad meet with Delphos Jefferson, Ottoville and Lima Central Catholic.

On the boys’ side, Van Wert finished with 103.5 team points, followed by Ottoville (90.5), Delphos Jefferson (44) and Lima Central Catholic (14). The Lady Cougars edged Ottoville 81-78, followed by the Wildcats (47) and Thunderbirds (29).

“We were able to put our kids in a position to compete in some different spots and they handled it very well,” head coach Nate Hoverman said. “This time of year we (the coaches) have one eye on the postseason, so we are trying out different combinations and relays to see what can be successful. Our athletes do a great job of handling whatever we through at them.”

“We felt good about winning both the boys and girls meets and we hope to continue that momentum into next week.

The highlight of the day was senior Owen Scott breaking the stadium record in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:17.56, which broke the previous record of 4:23.80, set by Jared Fleming in 2013. Cougar teammates Noah Spath (4:52.43) and Alex Bauer (5:04.10) were second and third.

In the 3200 meter run, Van Wert’s Harrison Sloan and Isaak Castillo finished 1-2 with times of 10:36.89 and 11:17.71. 

Van Wert teammates Keaten Welch (53.81) and Evan Keuneke (54.13) were the top two finishers in the 400 meter run and Andrew Laudick finished first in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:05.13. Roman Martin (17-10.5) and Heet Patel (17-2) finished first and second in the long jump finals.

The Lady Cougars swept the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×800 relays, while finishing second in the 4×400. Sophie Gearhart won the pole vault (8-6), while teammate Claire Benner was the discus champion (97-5) and the shot put champion (35-1.5). 

Full results can be found here.