Cross country: Area runners stamp tickets to the state meet

TIFFIN – It’s difficult to overcome a strong pack of runners.

Many Division III boys’ cross country teams witnessed this first-hand at Saturday’s regional meet at Tiffin’s Hedges-Boyer Park.

On Saturday, Columbus Grove’s top four runners clocked times below 17 minutes on the 5,000-meter course, en route to the Bulldogs notching the Division III regional team title.

Columbus Grove slipped past Northwest Conference-foe Crestview for the regional title, 147-152.

The top seven teams at the Division III regional meet at Tiffin qualified for next Saturday’s Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park. Along with the top seven teams, the top 28 individual placers also qualified for the state meet.

Complete results for all regional races at Tiffin can be found at Finishtiming.com.

Rounding out the seven state-qualifying D-III teams on Saturday were Ottawa Hills (154), Colonel Crawford (170), Tinora (182), Lincolnview (254) and Minster (259).

Last fall, Columbus Grove won its first-ever state title in boys’ cross country. This season, the Bulldogs hope to make another statement at Fortress Obetz.

“I was hoping that we would run a little better and have a little more of a gap (in Saturday’s scoring),” longtime Columbus Grove boys’ coach Terry Schnipke said with a grin. “I guess I can’t complain. We had a good practice here on Tuesday. They worked pretty hard this week.”

Levi Bryan was the first finisher for Columbus Grove on Saturday, placing 25th in a time of 16 minutes, 28.67 seconds. Rounding out the five scorers for the Bulldogs included Bryce Bonifas (36th, 16:55.91), Caiden Squillante (40th, 16:57.67), Aidan Vogt (44th, 16:59.34) and Braylon Best (47th, 17:06.46). Holden Hartzog (17:16.50) and Zack Bryan (17:47.46) were the sixth and seventh runners, respectively, for Columbus Grove.

“At the beginning (of this season) our coach told us, ‘We won state (last year). … The hardest part is getting to State’. So, we just want to get there first,” Bryan said.

After graduating some key runners from last year’s state championship team, including all-Ohio performer Luke Ellerbrock, Schnipke was not sure what to expect this season. Ellerbrock now competes at the University of Findlay.

“We had a good team (last year), but obviously, nobody thought we were going in there and winning the whole thing (the state title) – and we did,” Schnipke said. “So, now the question that I’ve gotten a million times this year is, ‘Can you repeat’?

“It’s a big state. There are some good teams out there, and this is a different group. But these guys have done everything I’ve asked of them this year and they’ve stepped up, big-time.”

Minster girls win D-III title

The Minster girls’ pack of runners paved the way for the Division III team title on Saturday.

Minster won with 98 points, compared to second-place Ashland Crestview’s 121 points. The remaining five teams that notched state berths on Saturday included Huron (136), Ottawa Hills (177), Lincolnview (217), Riverdale (267) and Patrick Henry (270). The top 28 individual placers also qualified for next Saturday’s state meet.

Maria Niekamp led the way for Minster on Saturday with a second-place finish in 18:39.95, which was a personal best. Teammate Claire Bohman placed fourth (18:46.43). Rounding out the five scorers for the Wildcats on Saturday were Joanna Topp (35th, 20:24.03), Ava Stammen (37th, 20:28.39) and Adriana Kremer (45th, 20:44.82).

Patrick Henry’s Mia Amador won the D-III race in 18:32.67.

“Me and my teammate Claire (Bohman) were running together, and we felt strong,” Niekamp said. “I felt really good. So, I went for it. The girls in the front really pulled me along. It was awesome.”

Longtime Minster girls’ coach Jessie Magoto was not sure how this year’s team would respond after a few key runners from last year’s state championship team graduated.

“You just don’t know, because we lost a lot. We lost three in our top five,” Magoto said. “One day we woke up, and we were family. Suddenly, they had this crazy bond, this love and this connection. It just started to show a couple weeks ago, and I was like, ‘We’re a team’. To me, that is success.”

For the boys, Minster placed seventh and qualified for the D-III state meet.

Nick Prenger led Minster with a 15th-place finish (16:23.15). The rest of Minster’s scorers included Collin Cedarleaf (49th, 17:07.33), Jackson Corona (72nd, 17:29.17), Jack Strausbaugh (91st, 17:45.91) and Carter Dirksen (98th, 17:51.41).

Ottawa-Glandorf, Van Wert shine at Tiffin

The Ottawa-Glandorf girls’ team finished second in Division II on Saturday and stamped its ticket to the state meet.

The top four teams, along with the top 16 individual placers qualified for the state meet.

Lexington won the D-II team title with 58 points, while O-G recorded 118 points. Kenton (127) and Napoleon (146) rounded out the state-qualifying teams.

Anna Buddelmeyer led O-G with a second-place finish (18:28.83). Wauseon’s Ella Rhoades won the race (18:09.37).

Buddelmeyer placed sixth at last year’s Division II state meet. This week, Buddelmeyer was recovering from an injury.

“My legs definitely feel heavy, considering I was not running at all during the week,” Buddelmeyer said. “Mentally, I was just ready to get into this race. I’ve been thinking about it all week. I knew what I needed to do for the team to get down there (to the state meet). So, I’ve been taking it easy all week. Today gave me a little bit of confidence that I can make it through next week too. I think I needed this. I know these girls were working hard. So, I knew even if I didn’t have my best race, we could still do this (qualify for the state meet).”

Rounding out the five scorers for O-G on Saturday were Brea Recker (32nd, 20:38.32), Izzy Utendorf (37th, 20:48.72), Alivia Schroeder (40th, 20:53.41) and Liana Fortman (51st, 21:11.15).

“I was a little nervous about how Anna was going to do,” O-G coach James Rader said. “Today, she looked really strong. We’re really proud of her. And our other girls – not everyone was exactly where they wanted to be, but I thought we ran well. We did exactly what we needed to do to get out.”

On the boys’ side, O-G’s Ty Rosengarten finished second (15:22.42) to Lexington’s Chance Basilone (15:14.28). Van Wert’s Owen Scott ran with Rosengarten until the final 100 meters. That was when Rosengarten managed to pull away. Scott finished third (15:23.09).

At last year’s Division II state meet, Scott placed fifth and Rosengarten came in ninth.

O-G had two boys compete as individuals on Saturday. Along with Rosengarten, teammate Cooper Fischer placed 33rd (17:11.18). Fischer did not advance.

“We qualified,” Rosengarten said with a smile. “(Running on a) hard course, I almost matched my PR. We’ll take it. It was faster than last time (this year’s Tiffin Carnival). I will take what I can get and move on to next week. Next week is the big one.”

Added Scott, “It’s not how we wanted it to play out. We lost to the Lexington kid, but we’re not done. Next week, we’ll be there.”

As a team, the Van Wert boys finished third and notched a state berth.

Lexington won the team title with 36 points, while Liberty-Benton was a distant second (101). Van Wert (106) and Celina (114) rounded out the four state-bound teams.

“They’re bummed,” Van Wert coach Kim Laudick said about her boys’ third-place finish. “It’s like, ‘Guys, our dog didn’t die. We’re going to go to state. A lot of teams would love to be in your position’.

“Did we want to come in and get (at least) runner-up? … Those were the goals. You go after those goals and try to achieve them, and sometimes you come up short. We knew our region was one of the toughest regions. … It’s a tough course. You have to be ready to roll when that gun goes off, just like everyone else does.”

Behind Scott, the rest of Van Wert’s scorers included Andrew Laudick (ninth, 16:12.41), Harrison Sloan (32nd, 17:07.91), Quintin Parrish (38th, 17:18.81) and Johan Gemmer (44th, 17:25.38).

The Celina boys’ team qualified for the D-II state meet with a fourth-place finish on Saturday. Colin Buening led the Bulldogs with a fifth-place finish (16:05.44).

Bath sends runners to the state meet

Bath senior Jacob Wireman notched his third state berth in cross country on Saturday when he placed 16th in the Division II race in 16:38.84.

On the girls’ side, freshman Penny Francis placed 13th (19:05.20) and qualified for the D-II state meet. Francis becomes the first girl state qualifier for Bath since 1996.

As a team, the Bath girls placed ninth.

Crestview boys notch state berth

The Crestview boys’ team placed second to Columbus Grove in Division III on Saturday and notched its first state berth for a boys’ cross country team at Crestview since 2000.

Lincoln Smith (14th, 16:22.81), Andrew Heth (26th, 16:33.10), Derek Young (35th, 16:55.80), Kale Vining (43rd, 16:58.95) and Luke Sawmiller (78th, 17:36.51) were Crestview’s scorers on Saturday.

“We started running our best races at the end of the season, which is every coach’s dream,” Crestview coach Randy Grandstaff said. “They (Columbus Grove) are the ones that we are coming after. If we can run with them, we’re going to finish really well.”

Lincolnview shines in D-III

The Lincolnview girls’ squad placed fifth in Division III and advanced to the state meet.

Brynleigh Moody led the Lancers on Saturday with a ninth-place finish (19:13.07). The rest of Lincolnview’s scorers were Keira Breese (42nd, 20:40.73), Kassidy Hammons (51st, 20:48.29), Josie Miller (81st, 21:25.30) and Harper Reindel (97th, 21:43.11).

Last year, Moody placed 29th at the Division III state meet.

“It (Saturday’s performance) wasn’t as good as last week (districts), but last week was an amazing race. I would say that I did pretty well,” Moody said. “I try to control what I can control myself. All the other girls have their own race plan. I just try to do what’s best for me. I’d really like to finish in the top 20 (at the state meet).”

On the boys’ side, Lincolnview finished sixth and qualified for the D-III state meet.

Evan Johns (31st, 16:43.02), Kreston Tow (53rd, 17:12.93), Max Hammons (73rd, 17:30.64), Kaleb Denman (81st, 17:40.65) and Myles Moody (85th, 17:42.81) were the scorers for Lincolnview.

Kenton girls’ team places third in D-II

The Kenton girls’ squad finished third and qualified for the state meet.

Addi Manns led the way for Kenton with a seventh-place finish (18:49.15). The rest of Kenton’s scorers included Leah Harder (22nd, 19:53.86), Marissa Ledley (31st, 20:29.28), Quinlyn Spearman (35th, 20:45.76) and Mia Musser (77th, 22:26.96).

**All team and individual results from the regional meet at Tiffin can be found at Finishtiming.com