Ottawa-Glandorf’s Anna Buddelmeyer competes in the Blue Gold Cross Country Invitational at Ottawa Memorial Park.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
OTTAWA – Building a pack of runners is the goal for every cross country team.
The Van Wert boys’ team has done just that.
At Saturday’s Ottawa-Glandorf Blue/Gold Invitational at Ottawa Memorial Park, Van Wert placed its top five runners in the top 18 overall spots, en route to winning the boys’ team title.
Van Wert scored 49 points, compared to second-place Byan’s 74 points. Tinora (103), Bath (123) and Wauseon (189) rounded out the top five teams in a field of 21.
“We were hoping for that (first-place team finish), but you can never expect anything, especially in cross country,” Van Wert head coach Kim Laudick said. “You just never know what each course is going to bring, what race day conditions are going to be and how athletes are feeling.
“Like most teams right now, we’ve been dealing with sickness. … It has been going around. So, we’ve had a little bit of that. Our No. 1 goal is just to get healthy and continue to stay healthy. So, we are very pleased to walk away with this trophy.”
There was a race within the race on Saturday as Van Wert senior Owen Scott battled O-G senior Ty Rosengarten. Scott was right with Rosengarten for most of Saturday’s race. However, Rosengarten pulled away just enough down the stretch to record the win in 15 minutes, 43.80 seconds on the 5,000-meter course that traversed around Memorial Park. Scott finished in 15:49.95. Tinora’s Paul Westrick finished a distant third (16:25.20). Van Wert’s Drew Laudick (fourth, 16:43.37) and Bath’s Jacob Wireman (fifth, 16:48.08) rounded out the top five runners in a field of 146.
“With Owen (Scott) and Drew (Laudick), we can always expect a pretty stellar performance from them,” Coach Laudick said. “You look at this race – obviously having Ty (Rosengarten) and the Tinora kid running in that top four – they (Scott and Rosengarten) left the pack and ended up running on their own. So, they did their part. My third through sixth (runners) have really come a long way. They have continued to work together, and that’s been on them to believe in themselves. They’re putting the work in and are continuing to push each other.”
At last year’s Division II state cross country meet, Scott placed fifth, while Rosengarten came in ninth.
Rosengarten made his move late in Saturday’s race.
“Right around the 400 (-meter) mark (left in the race) is when I kind of pulled away,” Rosengarten said. “I kind of led the whole race. He (Scott) sat behind me for most of the race. Coming into this week – not making excuses – we both trained really hard. Coming in, I knew it would probably be Owen and me. That’s the way it’s going to be for the next few weeks.
“This is just a straight-line part of the year. We just stay consistent. Honestly, staying consistent is better than some random PR (personal record), because staying consistent means that we’re in good shape for the postseason, and that’s ultimately the main goal.”
At last week’s Tiffin Carnival, Rosengarten (15:28.3) edged out Scott (15:30.7) for second place. Lexington’s Chance Basilone won the race (15:23.8).
The rest of Van Wert’s scorers on Saturday included Drew Laudick (fourth, 16:43.37), Quintin Parrish (11th, 17:13.02), Noah Spath (14th, 17:32) and Johan Gemmer (18th, 17:36.13). There were 146 finishers.
As a team, O-G finished eighth.
On the girls’ side, Ottawa-Glandorf senior Anna Buddelmeyer edged out Napoleon’s Gwen Huddle for the victory. Buddelmeyer’s winning time was 18:31.56. Huddle crossed the finish line in 18:32.99, while Wauseon’s Ella Rhoades came in third (18:42.87). Miller City’s Andrea Pfau (19:31.87) and Kenton’s Addi Manns (19:36.80) rounded out the top five runners in a field of 162.
Buddelmeyer’s stellar performance helped lead O-G to a second-place finish. Napoleon won the girls team title with 79 points, while O-G recorded 87 points. Kenton (120), Patrick Henry (155) and Bath (192) rounded out the top five squads in a field of 22.
“Going in, I was hoping to get the school record on the home course, but honestly, placement is really all that matters,” Buddelmeyer said. “Every course is going to be different, so you really can’t rely on times as much. So, I just go for place and try to help my team.”
Buddelmeyer said this year’s team has great chemistry.
“I have confidence in my team. These girls have been working so hard all season. Before the race, they were talking about how they were going to try to stick with each other. I have a lot of faith in my team,” she said.
At last year’s Division II state cross country meet, Buddelmeyer placed sixth.
The rest of O-G’s scorers behind Buddelmeyer on Saturday included Izzy Utendorf (17th, 20:55.29), Liana Fortman (20th, 21:13.93), Rose Turnwald (24th, 21:22.10) and Carly Siefker (25th, 21:23.85).
O-G head coach James Rader was especially pleased with how his girls team performed on Saturday.
“I think it helps that we’ve been running this course all week, and she (Buddelmeyer) has been doing it for a while,” Rader said. “So, she knows where she is going, and to have that comfort level is nice. She pushed hard today. She really had a good finish.
“We had a good pack of girls today. We’ve been training heavy, and some of that showed today. But our girls are still going out there and competing. When one girl has a day that she wasn’t planning on having, we have others that can pick it up.”
Rader said the battle between Rosengarten and Scott never gets old.
“They are fun to watch. They make each other better. So, it’s always fun to watch those two and see what they’re going to do,” he said.
**Complete results for the Ottawa-Glandorf Blue/Gold Invite are on oh.milesplit.com.
