Banner day for cross country runners

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

COLUMBUS GROVE — What a day Saturday was for Van Wert County cross country runners and their teams.

Van Wert, Crestview and Lincolnview all competed at the district level and the three teams combined for two individual champions, three team championships, five regional qualifying teams and three other individuals who advanced on to regionals.

Division III

As a whole, Van Wert runners simply dominated on Saturday, as the Cougars brought home boys’ and girls’ Division III district championships.

Van Wert finished with 45 team points, a comfortable margin ahead of runner-up Elmwood (67 points). Bryan placed third (61) at the 10-team district.

The Cougars finished with five runners in the top 13. Freshman Oliver Scott led the way with a sixth place finish (16:20.4), while teammate Calvin Byrum placed seventh with a time of 16:29.9. Alex Bauer finished ninth overall (16:38.7), Harrison Sloan 10th (16:42.5), and Quintin Parrish rounded out the scoring for Van Wert (13th, 16:53.1).

“The consistent preparation by all 38 of our athletes propelled our eventual top boys and girls to race personal bests for 7 of our 14 athletes racing Saturday,” Van Wert head coach Bob Spath said. “I like our confidence and believe our boys can win their first regional championship since 1998 and if we stay healthy, we can have both teams advance onto state.”

Elmwood’s Henry Good was the individual champion (15:41.1), while Colton Sheline of Bryan was the runner-up (15:42.1). Elmwood and Bryan had the top five individual runners.

On the girls’ side, the Cougars had the runner-up in Noelle Byrum and Van Wert had five runners place in the top 15 to clinch a district championship.

Byrum recorded a time of 19:05, just behind champion Abby Alig of Coldwater (19:03.8). Symphony Schuerman finished fifth (19:41), followed by Jasleen Sharma (eighth, 20:10.2), Ruby Dicke (12th, 20:32.3), and Faith Stoller (15th, 20:51.3).

“The culture of working hard at practice and caring about each other throughout the season has lead to athletes holding each other accountable,” Spath said. “We are dedicated to giving each other our best effort during practices and at meets.”

Van Wert won the team title with 42 points, while Coldwater was the runner-up (58) at the 9-team district.

Division IV

The Crestview boys delivered a dominant performance, claiming a Division IV district championship and advancing to the regional meet as a team.

Once again, Derek Young led the charge by winning the individual district title in a blazing 15:26.

“Derek has put together an outstanding season and continues to compete at a very high level, often without much competition around him,” Crestview head coach Randy Grandstaff said. “He has established himself as one of the top runners in the state and it will be exciting to watch him race against some of the best competition over the next couple of weeks.”

Hudson Perrott added a third-place finish in 16:19, while Kale Vining placed seventh in 16:21. Caleb Thomas crossed the line 13th in 16:41, Andy Heth finished 23rd in 17:15, Luke Sawmiller was 38th in 17:39, and Levi Hoblet placed 48th in 17:46.

“The boys delivered their fastest and most complete team performance of the season at districts,” Grandstaff said. “We had four personal records and saw excellent pack running from our No. 2 through No. 5 runners. As a group, they are beginning to peak at the right time and are running their best races of the year. That makes the upcoming weeks especially exciting.”

The Lincolnview boys are also regional-bound after finishing sixth as a team on Saturday.

Aaron Sawyer was the first to finish for Lincolnview (12th, 16:37.2), followed by Max Hammons (36th, 17:34.5), Zander Coil (37th, 17:34.5), Evan Young (49th, 17:47.7) and Ethan Renner (57th, 18:02.9).

“The boys really stepped up on Saturday and with that race have put themselves among some of the best teams in Ohio in Division IV,” Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said. “I credit my two seniors, Max Hammons and Zander Coil, for taking the race out and putting our guys in a position to find success. We needed that race and it allows the boys the opportunity to do some special things next weekend in Tiffin.”

Top honors in the girls’ race went to Lincolnview freshman Maeleigh Evans, who won the individual championship with a time of 19:02.5, while St. Henry’s Aliyah Zimmerman was the runner-up (19.11.6).

“Maeleigh continues to get better each week,” Langdon said. “She is a great teammate and remains humble despite all the individual success she is having this season. We had a very specific race plan for her and the girls team and they each followed it perfectly.”

The showing by Evans helped the Lancers to a third place finish, which qualifies them for Saturday’s regionals at Tiffin. Kassidy Hammons finished 10th overall (20:14.3), followed by Josie Miller (30th, 21:18.5), Addie Breese (39th, 21:38.3), and Destiny Breese (64th, 22:49.4).

“Many of the girls were still able to run career best times and that is exciting for regionals,” Langdon said. “We are excited to race again this weekend. Even after the race, the girls seemed ready to roll.”

The Lady Knights finished 11th out of 14 teams and turned in one of their strongest performances of the season, highlighted by several personal records. Sophomore Emily Heth paced Crestview with a 26th place finish in 21:07. Lydia Grace followed in 34th place with a time of 21:30, while Kenzie Harting placed 51st in 22:17. Ava Motycka finished 80th in 24:02, Marlee Temple was 83rd in 24:15, Chloe Miller placed 91st in 24:57, and Jetta Merkle rounded out the scoring lineup in 93rd place.

Although the girls fell just short of qualifying as a team for the regional meet, Heth, Grace, and Harting each earned individual regional berths with their performances.

“The girls have worked incredibly hard this season and that dedication showed at the district meet as they posted significantly faster times across the board,” Grandstaff said. “While we fell short of advancing as a team, it was amazing to see the amount of individual improvement throughout the season. Three of our runners recorded personal records, each by nearly or more than a minute, which is a testament to their commitment and effort.”

“Coach Harting has done an outstanding job helping the girls prepare and execute their race plans,” he added. “I am especially excited that Emily, Lydia, and Kenzie qualified individually for the regional meet, and I look forward to seeing their hard work continue to pay off in the weeks ahead.”

Van Wert, Crestview and Lincolnview will compete at regionals at Tiffin on Saturday.