Cougars, Lancers do well in Delphos

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

DELPHOS — Van Wert finished second and Lincolnview was fifth out of 12 girls teams, and the two teams finished No. 3 and No. 4 on the boys side at the Blue Jay Invitational at Stadium Park in Delphos on Saturday.

For the Lady Cougars, it was highest finish ever at the invite, and Caylee Phillips led Van Wert by placing second out of 114 runners, covering the 5K course in 20:17.

Tyra McClain was the second finisher for Van Wert, placing 15th overall with a time of 21:49), and Rachel Spath (19th, 22:10) and Kyra Welch (20th, 22:14) were the other top 20 finishers for the squad. Lyrissa Hammons (28th, 22:46) rounded out the scoring for Van Wert, and earned the program’s “Cougar Pride Award” for her efforts. Ali Gemmer was right behind (29th, 22:47) Hammons, while Serena Havill finished as the team’s seventh runner (42nd, 23:49).

“Today was a fantastic day for our whole team,” Van Wert head coach Ryan Holliday said. “Our girls came in hungry today and it really showed. We wanted to run the first half of the race tough but controlled and we knew if we did that, it would set us up to have a strong finish in the second half of the race. The girls executed the strategy very well, and that helped us come out with the runner-up finish.”

Madison Langdon led Lincolnview with a fourth place finish and a time of 20:42, followed by Julia Stetler (22nd, 22:21), Victoria Snyder (40th, 23:47), Dylann Carey (49th, 24:23) and Kenna Mason (62nd, 25:23). Grace Sadowksi and Izzy Donnelly finished No. 102 and No. 103 with times of 30:21 and 30:28.

On the boys’ side, Hunter Sherer led Van Wert to a third place finish by placing third out of 162 runners with a career best time of 17:14, while Gage Wannemacher also set a personal record with a time of 17:44, good enough for a 10th place finish and the “Cougar Pride Award.”

Jayden Welker was next, placing 26th, clocking in at 18:37, followed by Jacob Sealscott (39th, 19:20) and Ben Lange (55th, 19:53).

“We were so excited to see the effort put forth by the guys today,” Holliday said. “We have been slowly but steadily putting in better and better work at practice and that is carrying over to the meets. It will be fun to see the guys continue improving as the season progresses.”

The Lancers finished fourth overall and were led by Devon Bill, who placed 16th with a time of 18:05. Daegan Hatfield finished 25th (18:37.25), Joe Sadowski (29th, 18:46), Jackson Robinson (32nd, 18:52) and Brandon Renner (52nd, 19:52).

Columbus Grove won the girls’ and boys’ titles.

Team standings

Girls

1. Columbus Grove (52); 2. Van Wert (72); 3. Anna (108); 4. Delphos St. John’s (121); 5. Lincolnview (147); 6. Swanton (150); 7. Bath (160); 8. Antwerp (197); 9. Leipsic (201) 10. Spencerville (266); 11. Waynesfield-Goshen 274; 12. Perry 328

Boys

1. Columbus Grove (45); 2. Anna (47); 3. Van Wert (110); 4. Lincolnview (132); 5. Van Buren (161); 6. Ottoville (202); 7. Kalida (224); 8. Antwerp (239); 9. Bluffton (260); 10. Waynesfield-Goshen (282); 11. Allen East (290); 12. Swanton (293); 13. Bath (294); 14. Wayne Trace (345); 15. Lima Central Catholic (358)