The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

2018-19 in VW County was big athletically

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It was quite a school year in terms of high school athletics in Van Wert County. Here is a list of notable accomplishments involving teams and student athletes from Crestview, Lincolnview and Van Wert.

Crestview

Volleyball: NWC co-champions (17-7, 7-1), head coach Tammy Gregory named conference Coach of the year.

Cross Country: Lizzie Bowen, Emily Greulach, Ragen Harting, Kenzie Leeth, Adalynn Longstreth, Lydia Saylor and Lauren Wells qualified for state.

Football: NWC tri-champions (11-2, 6-1), defeated defeating state champion Minster 28-14 in Division VII regional semifinals, advanced to regional championship game; ranked No. 10 in final Associated Press poll of the season.

Girls basketball: Finished 6-2 in Northwest Conference play, finished with 15 wins.

Boys basketball: 28-1, NWC co-champions (7-1); No. 2 in final Associated Press poll; Van Wert sectional champions, Elida district champions, BGSU regional champions, Division IV state champions; Javin Etzler named NWC Player of the Year.

Softball: Finished second in the NWC (22-4, 7-1); sectional champions; Elida district champions; lost in regional finals to eventual state champion Antwerp.

Track and Field: 4×100 meter relay team of Darrin Nihiser, Jordan Perrott, Caylib Pruett and Wade Sheets qualified for state and finished 11th.

Lincolnview

Golf: Finished as NWC runner-up.

Volleyball: Finished 6-2 in NWC play, finished 16-7 overall.

Cross Country: Finished second in NWC competition on the boys and girls side; Devon Bill, Alek Bowersock, Daegan Hatfield, Jacob Keysor, Collin Puckett, Joe Sadowski, Karter Tow qualified for state, along with Rylee Byrne, Dylann Carey, Brayden Langdon, Madison Langdon, Madeline Snyder, Victoria Snyder and Julia Stetler; Lancers finished 10th, Lady Lancers finished 16th.

Baseball: Finished second in the NWC (7-1), set a school record with 21 wins, finished No. 2 in final Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association poll; played a game at Fifth Third Field, home of the Dayton Dragons.

Track and Field: Brad Korte finished fifth in the state in the long jump and 11th in the preliminaries of the 200 meter dash, was part of the 4×200 meter relay team (Logan Williams, Dylan Schimmoeller, Camden Miller) that finished 14th; the 4×800 meter relay team of Jacob Keysor, Karter Tow, Joe Sadowski and Alek Bowersock finished 11th at state.

Van Wert

Volleyball: won 19 matches (school record), won Division II sectional championship.

Cross Country: Boys finished second in the WBL, won district title. Caylee Phillips won WBL and district on the girls’ side, finished 46th out of 177 runners at state.

Football: Cougars finished 7-2 in the WBL, qualified for the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in Division IV, Region 14; first trip to the playoffs since 2000, first home playoff game in Van Wert High School history; defeated Huron before falling to St. Marys Memorial; head coach Keith Recker named Division IV Northwest District Coach of the Year by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.

Boys’ basketball: defeated No. 5 Wauseon to win Division II sectional title at Findlay; won Ohio Northern district semifinal game over Defiance before losing in overtime to Shawnee in district championship game.

Wrestling: Gabe Steyer qualified for state in Division II.

Bowling: Lorrie Decker qualified for state, finished 35th in Division II; Nathan Bidlack finished 25th, also in Division II.

Track and Field: Cougars won WBL title, Division II regional title at Defiance; Austin Clay, who set various school records, finished third in the state in the shot put; Blake Henry finished fourth in the state in the high jump; Record setting Kirsten Clay won the Division II discus throw state championship, finished fifth in the shot put; Jill Gemmer finished at Division II runner-up in the shot put.

Baseball: Won a school record 27 games, finished as WBL co-champions for the first time in 35 years; won Division II sectional title vs. 2018 state runner-up Wapakoneta; won district championship at Defiance; won BGSU regional title, qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history; lost to defending state champion and eventual 2019 state champion Dayton Chaminade Julienne in the state semifinals.

POSTED: 06/12/19 at 4:50 am. FILED UNDER: Sports