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Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Columbus Grove wins NWC track titles

Northwest Conference track & field information

COLUMBUS GROVE — Columbus Grove swept both the boys’ and girls’ track championships in the Northwest Conference tournament held Thursday through Saturday at Columbus Grove High School.

This makes two years in a row that the Bulldogs have taken both the boys’ and the girls’ crowns. ‘Grove has now won four consecutive boys’ NWC track championships.

Bluffton finished runner-up in both the boys’ and girls’ meets and Spencerville took third place in the team standings for both. Final team standings for both the boys and girls can be found at the following link:

http://www.baumspage.com/track/northwestconf/2015/2015%20Final%20Team%20Scores.htm

Bayley Tow of Lincolnview and Kacie Mulholland were voted as the 2015 “NWC Male and Female Athletes of the Year”, respectively, by the coaches of the league schools.

Lincolnview represented itself very well with efforts that resulted in one NWC record, three multiple event champions, and a total of four NWC event champions.

Tow led the charge, winning the 1600-meter run in record setting fashion. Tow finished the race in a record time of 4:23.07, finishing ahead of teammate Alex Rodriguez, who ran a career best time of 4:36.

Tow also won the 3200-meter run in dramatic fashion by only four-hundredths of a second, out-leaning Crestview’s Mycah Grandstaff in a time of 9:50.67.

Tow was the NWC runner-up in the 800-meter and anchored the second place 4×800-meter relay team.

Lancer Hunter Blankemeyer was also a multiple event winner, finishing first in both hurdle races. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.3 seconds and set a career best in the 300-meter hurdles, running the course in 40.7.  Blankemeyer also placed second in the high jump, clearing 6 feet event.

Other top finishers for the boys included Chandler Adams, fourth in the discus, and Logan Jewel, fifth in the 100.

The girls’ team also had a multiple event winner in Anna Gorman, who won the 800-meter run in a time of 2:28 and the 1600-meter run in time of 5:37. Gorman led off the 4×800 relay (Gorman, Wendel, Roberts, Enyart), which placed third in a season-best time of 10:50 and anchored the 4×400-meter relay team (Klausing, Wendel, Enyart, Gorman) that placed third in a season best time of 4:28.

Hannah McCleery won the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 2 inches. Also scoring for the girls were Olivia Gorman in the high jump and Abbie Enyart in the 1600m run.

“We had a very good meet,” said Lincolnview Coach Matt Langdon. “We asked a lot out of some of our top kids, as many of them competed in four events, including Bayley in all four distance events.

“Those kids really stepped up and showed how tough they are and how much the team means to them,” Langdon added. “I think that sets them up perfectly for the tournament.

The coach noted that, once the team rests and focuses on some individual events — and they get fresh legs back – performances will skyrocket.

“It’s always a fun time of year,” the Lincolnview coach added. “Our kids know how to perform at their highest level at the right time. They are excited.”

POSTED: 05/18/15 at 6:50 am. FILED UNDER: Sports