Cougar boys 1st, girls 3rd at O-G invite

Van Wert independent sports

OTTAWA — The Van Wert High School boys’ cross country team finished in first place out of 20 teams at the Ottawa-Glandorf Blue/Gold Invitational on Tuesday.

The Cougars scored 56 points to take home the championship, while Lincolnview was a close second with 65 points, and Fairview was third with 117 points.

Cal Wolfrum once again led Van Wert as its top runner, placing second overall. Stephen Hamblett was the Cougar’s second finished, taking eighth place, while Cade Chiles (12th), Dylan Lautzenheiser (16th), and Thane Cowan (18th) rounded out the scoring for Van Wert. Sterling Rigdon (24th) and Gage Chiles (31st) also had outstanding races as the team’s sixth and seventh runners.

“Out guys showed a ton of drive and poise tonight,” said Coach Ryan Holliday. “We were presented with a lot of challenges: the reschedule (the meet was to have taken place on Saturday, but was canceled due to weather), a Tuesday night invitational, and the heat.

“The guys handled those challenges well and we had our best collective race this season,” Coach Holliday added. “With that said, we remain hungry for more, as we truly believe the best is yet to come.”

The Van Wert girls finished in third place, behind Fairview and Holgate and just ahead of fourth-place Lincolnview.

Jerica Huebner was Van Wert’s top runner, in eighth place, while Caylee Phillips was 14th, Julia Springer 25th, Sienna Shaffer 26th, and Caton Williamson 36th.

The Cougar girls and boys will race at home this Saturday at the Van Wert County Hospital Invitational. The girls’ race will begin at 10 a.m. and the boys compete at 10:35 that morning.