Champions, improvement and thank you

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

The 2018 spring sports season is rapidly coming to an end. The regular season is in the books and tournaments are underway, and it seems like a good time to reflect a bit on what’s transpired, and to thank a number of people for their help.

Tri-champs in the NWC

It came down to the final game of the Northwest Conference baseball season. Crestview needed a win over Delphos Jefferson to capture a share of the Northwest Conference championship. In an odd twist, rival Lincolnview was forced to root for the Knights to win in order to also claim a share of the conference title.

The Knights won the game 5-0, creating a three way tie for the title. While NWC baseball championships seem to be commonplace at Crestview, it was Delphos Jefferson’s first title since 2003, and Lincolnview’s first since 1990.

Congratulations to all three teams.

Lady Cougars are champs

Congratulations to the Van Wert Lady Cougars track and field team for winning the 2018 Western Buckeye League championship, the first since 1976.

It’s not easy to win a league title, especially in the Western Buckeye League did it, and set up the program for future success.

Well done Lady Cougars.

Crestview shows improvement

As I noted last week, Crestview’s track and field program is showing signs of improvement, and head coach Jim Lautzenheiser believes it all goes back to the kids.

“We are definitely a more cohesive and dynamic team in May than we were in late February and early March,” Lautzenheiser explained. “ Our student-athletes have been willing to be coached, and they’ve worked hard to improve on little details throughout the season.”

“We’ve reached a point where most of our competitors have hit personal records multiple times since the end of April in their events,” Lautzenheiser added. “Our goal is for them to continue this stride at OHSAA districts, and hopefully beyond.”

A young and improving roster should bode well for the future of Crestview track and field.

“Our roster is heavily saturated with freshmen and sophomores this season so, along with battling the extended winter weather, our biggest challenge was transitioning some young competitors into veteran positions in relays and individual events,” Lautzenheiser said. “ We were blessed with some key veteran leaders in our different coaching groups (hurdles, sprints, throws, jumps, distance).”

“I believe time will tell that their biggest impact on this year’s roster will likely be felt in the next one or two seasons for our maturing Knights tracksters.”

A heartfelt thank you

The VW independent enhanced and expanded its local sports coverage slightly over a year ago and it’s been a big success.

To all of the coaches, thank you for your time answering questions after games/matches/events (win or lose), and for answering questions and providing information for our regular stories and features.

The list of coaches includes Keith Recker, Rich Nouza, Alex Schmidt, Emily Holliday, Kim Doidge, Keith Rydell, Mark Bagley, Rob Adams, Ben Collins, Jeff Kreischer, Kevin Decker, Charlie Witten, Greg Steinecker, Mark Collins, Jared Owens, Tammy Gregory, Jeff Bagley, John Dowler, Jeremy Best, Mark Gregory, Carl Etzler, Morgan Hicks, Jim Wharton, Jim Lautzenheiser, Matt Langdon, Anson Moody, Tyson Thatcher, Brad Doidge, Daryl Dowdy, JaNahn Evans, Brett Hammons, Dan Williamson, Steve Pardon, Neil Korte, Eric Fishpaw and Matt Langdon.

Athletic Directors Craig Hershey, Dave Bowen and Greg Leeth have been a huge help as well, and are some of the best in the business.

Other thanks go out to Bob Barnes, Jerry Mason and Wyatt Richardson for providing outstanding pictures of local high school sporting events. I have to admit I’m not much of a photographer, but these three do excellent work and it’s very appreciated.

WKSD’s Kenny Stabler, Shawn Gerber and Jason Williamson, along with WERT’s Scot Alan and Ron Burt have been a huge help to me as well, and it’s my pleasure to fill in for any of them when needed.

Of course, thank you for reading VW independent sports. If you have any thoughts, comments, suggestions or concerns, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com.