Rachel Dickman wins Van Wert 4 Mile

VW independent sports/submitted information

Elite runners and high school runners, along with runners of all ages and experience levels from all around the Midwest converged on the streets of Van Wert on Saturday night, but the fastest woman in the field just had to trot out her home door to get to the starting line before she picked up the win in a time of 21 minutes, 40 seconds at the Van Wert 4 Mile.

In 87 degree heat, Rachel Dickman of Playmakers New Balance pulled away at the second mile and was able to hold off several recent Olympic Trials qualifiers as well as six-time Big Ten Champion and University of Michigan track and cross country star Erin Webster Ralston.

“I didn’t think I would be able to win this race or run this quick in the heat,” the Van Wert resident said. “I was pleasantly surprised. The crowd support was great.”

Last year, Dickman placed second in a time of 21:50.

“I’ve been able to be healthy and consistently train at over 70 miles a week for the last few months,” Dickman explained. “I guess it is starting to pay off.”

Nathan Martin, a recent Spring Arbor graduate, was able to pull away from Benson Kiema over the last mile and secure the win on the men’s side. The Jackson, Michigan resident is an NAIA National champion, and he set a new course record in 17:45.

Keima followed with a very strong time of 18:25, while Coldwater, Michigan native and Playmakers New Balance team member and recent Olympic Trials qualifer Mitchell Klinger placed third with a time of 18:49.20, holding off the reigning Columbus Marathon champion Elijah Rugut for fourth place (18:49.26) and Sammy Kemboi for fifth (18:49.86).

Van Wert High School was able to hold off the Lincolnview team for the Mascot Dash portion of the race. Van Wert will receive a $250 donation to their cross country program and Lincolnview will also receive a donation.

Andrew Lane, an East Lansing, Michigan High School student, finished first in the under-20 age group, followed by recent Lincolnview graduates Alex Bowersock in 22:39 and Jacob Keysor in 22:49.

Van Wert High School’s top finisher was Hunter Sherer in 24:55. Madison Langdon of Lincolnview was the first female in the under-20 age group, running a time of 26:14 for 54th overall.

In the Post Collegiate Border Battle, New Balance Playmakers women ran away from competition with team members, Rachel Dickman, Abbey Cook (23:02) , Sarah Brewer (23:04), and Charlotte Etienne (23:20).

Toledo Elite placed second as a team. The Toledo based squad had two Olympic Trials Qualifiers participating. Toledo Elite women’s runners included Mackenzie Chojnacky (23:14), Brooke Tullis (23:38), Joanna Line (23:49) and Genevieve Marchese (24:51).

The Michigan-based New Balance Playmakers men avenged their third place finish last year by defeating Wolf Creek Track Club from Pennsylvania. Playmakers men’s team members included Mitch Klinger (18:49), Andrew Rylaarasdam (19:25), Van Wert native Justin Dickman (20:00), and Jerome Recker in (20:15).

Tony Homan from Coldwater was the fastest Masters runner in 25:29, while local runners Jay Prichard (27:19) and Ron Bonifas (28:06), also had strong showings in the Masters age group.

In the 1-mile fun run, Trace Klausing won the boys division in a time of 5:13 and Natalie Lawrence won the girls division in 6:35.

Full results can be found on https://wolfcreektrackclub.com/van-wert-4-mile-2/.