VWHS runners 4th at Greenville meet

Van Wert cross country news

GREENVILLE — The Van Wert High School cross country teams competed at the highly competitive Greenville Treaty City Invitational on Saturday.  Both teams fared well, garnering fourth place finishes in the men’s and women’s races.

Connor Holliday again led the charge for the Cougars, finishing third overall and clocking a season-best time of 16:45.  Not far behind were Jordan Butler in 12th (17:15), Connor Shaffer in 20th (17:35), Cade Fleming in 29th (17:53), and Daniel Perry in 32nd (17:55).  Other varsity runners competing included Eric Easley, Ryan Rice, Nick Keber, Ryan Keber, and Tyrone Cowdrick.

The Lady Cougars put forth a solid effort against three state-ranked teams. Chloee Gamble was the first Cougar to cross the line in ninth place in a time of 20:08. Seniors Amanda Clay (15th) and Andi Foster (16th) were the next Cougar finishers (20:58 and 20:59, respectively).  Rounding out the scorers were Schealissa Williams in 19th (21:16) and Megan Barnhart in 31st (22:09).  Other varsity finishers were Whitney Meyers, Natalie Riethman, and Alicia Danylchuck.

“I was proud of how both teams performed today,” said Van Wert Coach Brendon Moody. “Although a fourth place finish isn’t where we want to be, you have to put into perspective the quality of teams that were racing today.”

In the open races, Morgan Bracken was the top Cougar runner, finishing in ninth place, while Dylan Lautzenheiser paced the boys with a 32nd place finish.