Lancer boys 2nd, Bowen wins girls’ race

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

Local cross country teams did well in the 2016 Van Wert County Hospital Invitational held Saturday at the city reservoirs.

The Lincolnview Lancer boys finished highest, earning a second-place finish behind meet winner Wauseon. Van Wert was fourth, while Crestview finished in seventh place out of 20 teams. Wauseon won the boys’ race.

For the girls’, it was Van Wert’s fourth-place finish that was the highest for county teams, with Lincolnview sixth, and the Lady Knights eighth out of 15 teams. Columbus Grove was the girls’ race champion.

The Cougars had the fastest runner of the local boys’ teams, with sophomore Cal Wolfrum placing third in the boys’ race in a time of 16:52. Lincolnview senior Austin Elick was fourth in 17:17. Ottoville junior Brendon Siefker won the boys’ race in 16:06, with Wauseon junior Kyle Vernot second in 16:46.

The Lancer boys had the tightest pack of the local teams, with Elick’s teammate Karter Tow taking 10th place, Jacob Keysor finishing 13th, Tracey West 23rd, and Alek Bowersock in 28th place. Lincolnview’s Devon Bill (47th) and Joe Sadowski (75th) were the team’s sixth and seventh runners.

In addition to Wolfrum’s third place finish, Cougar boy finishers included Dylan Lautzenheiser (18th), Stephen Hamblett (19th), Thane Cowan (22nd), and Cade Chiles (30th). Blake Henry (31st) and Sterling Rigdon (36th) were the team’s sixth and seventh runners.

Crestview boys were led by Wyatt Richardson’s 25th place finish, while

Van Wert Head Coach Ryan Holliday was somewhat disappointed in the boys’ team finish, but was pleased with individual performances.

Obviously, we were hoping to place higher as a team, but I was very pleased with our efforts,” Coach Holliday said. “We went in with clear team objectives and expected to run PR (personal record) times.

“We put our top pack with (eventual champion) Wauseon for two-plus miles and our guys finished only about 5 seconds Wauseon’s pack,” he added. “Also, nearly 85 percent of our guys ran their season best time today, and several were their lifetime best.”

Lincolnview Head Coach Matt Langdon was pleased with his team’s finish, especially with the fact that his top five boy runners all finished in the top 30 of the race.

“I was very proud of how the boys fought today,” Coach Langdon said. “They ran with confidence from the beginning and put themselves in a good position to place well as a team.

“We accomplished several of our team goals, but still have a bit of work to do if we are going to reach our full potential,” he added. “Our top 5 has a lot of big meet experience and I thought that showed today,” Langdon added. “We have a couple of tough training weeks ahead and then we start to prepare for tournament.”

Crestview’s Ashley Bowen won the girls’ race in a time of 19:44, with Van Wert’s Caylee Phillips finishing ninth (21:12), and Lincolnview’s top finisher Rylee Byrne, who placed 22nd in a time of 22:07. Crestview’s Ragen Harting was 11th in a time of 21:18.

In addition to Bowen and Harting, other Crestview finishers included Brooke Ripley (64th), Lauren Schumm (99th), and Lydia Saylor (103rd).

In addition to Phillips, Van Wert girl finishers were Julia Springer (16th), Jerica Huebner (17th), Caton Williamson (43rd), and Nicole Clay (47th).

For Lincolnview, girl finishers behind Byrne were Tori Snyder (28th), Madeline Snyder (37th), Alena Looser (43rd), and Miah Katalenas (104th).

“Just like our boys’ team, we had many season best times on our girls’ side,” said Coach Holliday. “Our girls finished only five points behind third-place Coldwater, so I was really proud of how we came out and competed on our home course.”