Cougars, Lancers CC qualify for state

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

TIFFIN — Goal set and goal met.

Van Wert is headed to the 2023 OHSAA Cross Country State Championships at Fortress Obetz this weekend. The Cougars qualified for state by finishing third at Saturday’s Division II regionals at Hedges-Boyer Park in Tiffin. Van Wert and Shelby actually tied for second (92 team points), but the Whippets won the tiebreaker. Liberty-Benton won the team title with 87 points.

“Our guys had some mixed emotions,” Van Wert head coach Kimberly Laudick said. “They were excited to be going to state but when they saw that final score, they knew if we ran just a little bit better we could have been regional champs.”

In addition, Lincolnview is state bound on both the boys’ and girls’ side. The Crestview boys saw their season come to an end in Tiffin.

Division II

Led by Owen Scott, the Cougars notched a place at this week’s state meet.

Scott, a junior, placed third at the regional meet (16:05.7), behind individual champion Ty Rosengarten of Ottawa-Glandorf (15:52.3) and runner-up Xander Fackler of Bryan (15:52.4) who were neck-and-neck at the finish line.

John Kramer finished 19th (17:14.6) and Drew Laudick placed 22nd overall (17:18.2). Freshman Harrison Sloan was 35th (17:45.7), Rylan Miller was 42nd (17:56.5) and Noah Spath was 73rd (18:48.9). The tiebreaker came down to Shelby’s Evan Reed (61st, 18:35.3) and Van Wert’s Johan Gemmer (75th, 18:51.3).

“Heading into the race we felt confident that if we ran the way we are capable of, we had a good shot of qualifying for state as a team,” Laudick said. “To be honest as the race unfolded I felt we were not having our best race. Our times were a little slower than the past couple of weeks. We had a guy fall at the beginning of the race, we had some more illness within our team and we didn’t make some moves we normally do during our races but when the dust settled, we put together a race that will have us competing in Obetz.”

“I am so happy for our guys because this was one of our goals we set in the preseason,” she added. “I am also pretty fired up to have a team that is hungry to do better next weekend because they didn’t do their best on Saturday.”

The Cougars are scheduled to in the Division II state finals at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, with awards to follow at 1:15 p.m.

Division III

Lincolnview’s boys and girls teams are state bound.

The boys topped six state-ranked teams and finished as the regional runner-up to Columbus Grove (96 points), while the girls placed fourth overall, behind Minster, Liberty Center and Huron.

The Lancers (122 points) were led by Conner Baldauf, who finished sixth overall with a time of 16.28.6. Evan Johns placed 14th (16:48.8), followed by Kreston Tow (23rd, 16:55.5), Myles Moody (17:37.4) and Maddox Norton (17:40.0).

“Today was something that the boys have been working towards since the moment the track season ended in June,” Lincolnview head coach Matt Langdon said. “They have committed to our process and have done everything the coaching staff has asked them to do.  We still have work to do and that is going to be our focus heading into the state meet.” 

“We have unfinished business from last season and we are excited to have another chance to race on the state course,” he continued. “We have raced the best in the state all season so Saturday will simply be a chance to put it all together at the end of our journey. I’m very proud of these young men.  What they do is much more difficult than most realize.”

The Lancers will race at 10:45 Saturday morning.

The Lincolnview girls beat five state ranked teams. Brynleigh Moody was the first finisher for the Lady Lancers, playing 11th with a time of 19:10.3. Ava Milligan finished 29th (20:01.7, followed by Keira Breese (68th, 21:10.4), Kendall Hoffman (78th, 21:20.4) and Kassidy Hammons (86th, 21:23.7).

“This girls team has simply amazed me,” Langdon said. “Their grit and determination have been inspiring to watch. They have set the school record three times in the last four weeks and they are excited to have one more chance not only to race, but to practice with each other during the week.” 

“Practice is like hanging out with family and that shows on race day,” Langdon added. “They race for each other and that has been so rewarding to be a part of this season.  We have had several girls racing on injuries that few even know about.  But there is no way they would not race because of how much this means to them.  What an incredible journey they are having.”

The Lady Lancers finished with 192 team points. The girls will race at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Crestview finished 18th overall and the Knights (384 points) were led by Lincoln Smith (44th, 17:28.0), followed Andy Heth (56th, 17:40.7), Payton Scott (104th, 18:30.0), Kale Vining (142nd, 19:12.5), Jake Heth (150th, 19:31.1) and Drayden Hoffman (161st, 20:09.3).

“I”m very proud of how well this young team ran this year,” Crestview head coach Randy Grandstaff said. “We improved every race and ran our final race at the regional race. The future is very bright.”

Outside of Foudy, all of Crestivew’s regional runners were underclassmen.