VW independent sports/submitted information
CELINA — Van Wert traveled to Celina but came up short against the Bulldogs, losing 47-23 on Thursday night. Individual results are listed below.
- 106 – Avianna Bernholt (C) by fall (2:38) over Alianna Estrada (VW)
- 113 – Owen Bates (VW) by fall 2:53 over Isaac Helmer C)
- 120 – Leland Dross (C) by fall :28 over Heath Calvelage (VW)
- 126 – Ryan Wallace (VW) 21-1 major decision over Ross Helmer (C)
- 132 – Roman Martin (VW) 17-14 decision over Mason Homan (C)
- 138 – Aaren King (C) by fall 1:13 over Gavin Gonzalez (VW)
- 144 – Tristan Thiebaut (VW) 17-0 technical fall over Logan Homan (C)
- 150 – Noah Russell (C) 15-0 technical fall over Devon Burker (VW)
- 157 – Briggs Wallace (VW) 19-4 technical fall over Luke Maxwell (C)
- 165 – Matt Eicher (C) injury default over Phillip Burker (VW)
- 175 – Wes Greber (C) fall :42 over Carter Heath (VW)
- 190 – Brenner Hinkle (C) 9-8 decision over Auston Welker (VW)
- 215 – Isaac Posada (C) forfeit
- 285 – Cash Patrick (C) 6-3 overtime decision over Breese Bollenbacher (VW)
The Cougars are back in action Saturday as they cross the state line to compete in the Bill Kerbel Invitational hosted by New Haven High School.
POSTED: 01/08/26 at 10:22 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Celina 46 Van Wert 21
Van Wert trailed by just two after the opening quarter but Celina pulled away for a 46-21 win Thursday night.
The Cougars were down 9-7 after the first quarter, with Jazz Florence supplying four of Van Wert’s points. Celina outscored the hosts 13-8 in the second quarter for a 22-15 halftime lead. The Bulldogs enjoyed a 24-6 scoring advantage in the second half.
Florence led Van Wert with eight points. Celina’s Brenna Korte led all scorers with 14 points.
Van Wert (0-12, 0-4 WBL) will host Paulding on Tuesday.
Crestview 51 Bluffton 44
BLUFFTON — At Bluffton High School, Kaci Gregory and Haley McCoy each scored 15 points and Crestview snapped a four game losing streak with a 51-44 victory over the Pirates Thursday night.
Six of Gregory’s points came in the third quarter and McCoy scored seven points in the final period. A big key was free throw shooting in the fourth quarter. Leading 36-32 to start the period, the Lady Knights converted 9-of-10 foul shots in the final stanza.
Crestview (6-7, 1-2 NWC) will host Parkway on Monday.
Spencerville 41 Lincolnview 36
SPENCERVILLE — The Bearcats defeated Lincolnview 41-36 on Thursday.
Spencerville (11-2, 3-0 NWC) will travel to St. Henry on Saturday and Lincolnview (5-8, 1-1 NWC) will head to Antwerp on Tuesday.
POSTED: 01/08/26 at 10:21 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports/submitted information
LIMA — The Northwest Central Conference is seeking to fill the position of league commissioner. This position is a yearly contract and does not include assigning duties at this time. It’s considered full time and remote with required travel to member schools and conference events.
Current members of the 10-team conference include Cory-Rawson, Elgin, Hardin-Northern, North Baltimore, Perry, Ridgedale, Ridgemont, Temple Christian, Upper Scioto Valley and Waynsfield-Goshen.
A job description and list of duties can be found on the NWCC website, nwccsports.com. Salary considerations and inquiries can be given upon request.
Please send a letter of interest and resume via email to Perry Athletic Director Seth Evans at seth.evans@mycommodores.org. Applications will be accepted through February 2.
POSTED: 01/08/26 at 8:15 am. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Girls basketball
Paulding 48 Crestview 33
PAULDING — Balanced scoring by Paulding was a big factor in a 48-33 win over Crestview Tuesday night.
Addison Pease, Tori Schlatter, Kayleigh Dunham and Anya Mead each scored 10 points in the win. The Lady Panthers (9-1) led 14-11 after one quarter, 25-18 at halftime and 39-26 after three quarters. Crestview’s Kaci Gregory led all scorers with 14 points, including four treys. Zoe Ross chipped in with seven points.
Both teams will return to action Thursday, with Paulding at Antwerp and Crestview (5-7) traveling to Bluffton.
Kalida 50 Lincolnview 36
Kalida’s Addilyn Huber scored 27 points to lead Kalida by Lincolnview 50-36 Tuesday night.
11 of Huber’s points came in the first half, then the 5-9 junior added nine more in the third quarter as the Wildcats built a 39-28 lead, then seven more points in the final period. Valerie Romes added 12 points in the win. Keira Breese led Lincolnview with 12 points, including a pair of triples in the third quarter, and Kassidy Hammons added 11 points.
Lincolnview (5-7) will travel to Spencerville Thursday night.
Bryan 72 Van Wert 24
BRYAN — In a non-conference matchup at Bryan High School, the Golden Bears defeated Van Wert 72-34 Tuesday night.
Bryan clamped down on defense early and often and outscored the Cougars 17-5 in the first quarter, then led 35-13 at halftime and 58-28 after three quarters. Amaya Dowdy led Van Wert with nine points, including seven in the third quarter. Katie DeAmicis scored eight points, all in the first half and Jazz Florence added eight points, all in the second half. Bryan’s Averyann Fisher led all scorers with 18 points and Josey Arnold added 17 points.
Van Wert will host Celina Thursday night.
Bowling
Celina sweeps Van Wert
CELINA — The Bulldogs defeated Van Wert in boys and girls varsity bowling action at Plaza Lanes Tuesday night.
The boys’ team fell 2918-2488. Top bowlers for Van Wert were Tristan Blackmore (243-178-421), and Zaide Blue (182-199-381). Ryan Hammons had a 199 game and Jayden Paige had a 166 game. Van Wert is now 2-4 (2-3 WBL) on the season.
The girls suffered their first loss of the season, 2819-2638. Top bowlers for the night came from Reagan Horine, who led the Cougars with a 211-268- 479 series, and Aydreigh Hanicq (200-216-416). Lindsey Say had a 177 game and Makayla Wannemacher had a 157. The girls are now 5-1 (4-1 WBL).
The Cougars will take on Ottawa-Glandorf at 10 a.m.Saturday at Highland Lanes in Ottawa.
Lincolnview, O-G split
DELPHOS — At the Delphos Recreation Center on Monday, the Lincolnview girls defeated Ottawa-Glandorf, but the Titan boys turned the tables.
The girls won 2299-1882, with Abby Dannenfelser leading the way with a 191-156-347 series. Aubrey Ricker had a 165-166-331 series, followed by Gwen Goins (136-162-298), Hadley Goins (135-162-297) and Lilly Holdgreve (135-112-247). Ava Butler led Ottawa-Glandorf with a 140-176-316 series.
On the boys’ side, Ottawa-Glandorf’s Bryson Compher led all bowlers with a 222-264-486 series and the Titans posted a 2022-1869 victory. Lincolnview was led by Logan Block (189-216-405), followed by Pacey Early (214-179-393), Owen Dannenfelser (192-190-382), Grayden Clay (199-169-368), and Zach Newell (150-171-321).
POSTED: 01/07/26 at 7:06 am. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
The first installment of Random Thoughts in 2026 includes congratulations, a tough stretch of games, the dean of WBL football coaches, and Kevin Stefanski.
Belated congrats
Congratulations to Van Wert wrestler Briggs Wallace, who recently earned his 100th career victory. There’s no doubt that 100 wins is a special mark and is extremely diffcult to achieve. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Well done Briggs Wallace.
Tough stretch
There’s no doubt that Lincolnview is the turnaround team of the boys basketball season. The Lancers went 5-17 last season but now sit at 8-2. The two losses have come to 8-3 Ada (64-63 in overtime) and 8-2 Van Wert on Saturday.
How’s this for a tough stretch – Van Wert this past Saturday, 9-2 Spencerville this Friday, at 9-1 Miller City Saturday, then at 5-3 (decieving record) next Friday. All three games should be entertaining.
Retirement
The dean of all WBL football coaches, and area coaches in general, is retiring. Ottawa-Glandorf head coach Ken Schriner made the announcement on Monday. Schriner led the Titans for 30 seasons and compiled a record of 204-132. He leaves as the all-time winningest coach in school history. His teams won five WBL championships, made the playoffs 17 times and advanced to the state semifinals twice.
I don’t know Coach Schriner very well, outside of requests for comments for stories, stats etc. but I’ll say this – he always provided whatever I was looking for very quickly and was always very friendly to me. He leaves some big shoes to fill.
(more…)POSTED: 01/05/26 at 9:40 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
A first quarter run, including a thrilling buzzer-beater, was the catalyst for Van Wert’s 67-51 win over county rival Lincolnview on Saturday. The game was second part of the YWCA’s Human Trafficking Awareness Game varsity doubleheader between the two schools.
As the game tipped off, the gym buzzed with a tournament-type atmosphere.
“Lincolnview is playing well, we’ve played better as of late and with where the game fell in the year, I anticipated there would be a nice crowd and there was,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “I thought the game was played hard by both teams and that’s kind of why you do this, to play in front of good crowds, your home crowd and two rival county schools. I know I’ve only been here a couple of years but I’ve been in a lot of Lincolnview games before and I have a lot of respect for them and the community, and Brett (Hammons) is one of my favorite coaches of all time and what he’s doing with that team right now needs to be recognized.”
“There were a lot of people here to watch this game and we appreciate them coming out,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “I thought it was good for our guys because it’s kind of a setup if we get the second game in the tournament. I think it’s going to help us in the long run.”
Back-to-back threes by Lincolnview’s Marshall Hammons gave the Lancers an early 6-2 lead, but the Cougars dominated the remainder of the opening quarter by outscoring the visitors 20-4, including a 12-0 scoring run to close the period. Zach Crummey scored seven of his game high 22 points in the quarter, and Keaten Welch and Caden Collins each added five, including a three-quarter court shot by Collins to beat the buzzer and give the Cougars a 22-10 lead.
“I thought Caden played a really good floor game for us tonight, as well as he’s played all year and that’s the vibe he can give us,” Best said.
(more…)POSTED: 01/04/26 at 9:40 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
Van Wert’s Xavier Kelly (above) attempts a three pointer against Lincolnview, while Zach Crummey (23) and Xander Coil (3) find themselves surrounded by defenders during Saturday’s game. Bob Barnes/VW independent
POSTED: 01/04/26 at 9:39 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
Van Wert had some momentum early on but Lincolnview capitalized on numerous second chance opportunities during the opener of Saturday’s YWCA Human Trafficking Awareness Game between the two county rivals at The Den.
Those second chance opportunities came in the form of 22 offensive rebounds, as the Lancers rallied from seven down early to defeat Van Wert 42-29.
“I give credit to Van Wert for contesting a lot of our shots but sometimes in a zone we were able to get backside rebounds,” Lincolnview head coach Kyle Williams said. “Not only did our post players do a nice job rebounding but our guards got dirty as well to give us second chance points. I thought our girls worked really hard.”
Lincolnview’s Kassidy Hammons opened the scoring with a three pointer, Van Wert answered with a layup by Amaya Dowdy and back to-back treys by Jazz Florence. Leading 8-7, Van Wert was able to close the opening quarter on a 6-0 scoring run, thanks to a foul shot by Dowdy, a right corner trey by Katie DeAmicis and an offensive rebound and putback by Flannery Foster.
“This was one of our best starts of the season,” Van Wert head coach Mike Dowdy said. “We came out locked in defensively, taking away open looks from the Lancers. On offense, we were patiently aggressive – attacking with confidence and getting the shots we wanted.”
“Flannery brings size and physicality that make us tougher in the paint,” he added. “She’s been a huge presence on the boards and has helped us turn rebounds into second-chance buckets.”
“As a coach there are times when you get frustrated because you know that your team can perform better, so as the coach, I was a little frustrated because we weren’t talking defensively and we were not doing what we scouted,” Williams said.
In the second quarter, Lincolnview opened with a 7-0 scoring run, with all seven points coming from Keira Breese, including a steal and layup and a left wing three pointer. The two teams went back and fourth from there and Lincolnview took a 21-19 lead into halftime.
“I thought Keira did a nice job on both ends of the floor,” Williams said. “I know she did not particularly shoot the ball from behind the arc that well but was able to distribute, and get down hill in transition to get to the line or finish around the rim. She is great for us.”
(more…)POSTED: 01/04/26 at 9:38 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
Lincolnview’s Kassidy Hammons (above) shoots for two against Van Wert, while Jazz Florence (12) puts up a jumper and Amaya Dowdy (bottom) splits a pair of defenders. Bob Barnes/VW independent
POSTED: 01/04/26 at 9:36 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Basketball
Crestview 66 Antwerp 44
ANTWERP — Crestview scored a season-high 66 points and the Knights enjoyed a 66-44 road win over Antwerp on Saturday. It was the fourth consecutive win by the Knights, who improved to 6-5.
Hayden Perrott helped Crestview get off to a fast start by hitting a pair of treys and scoring eight points in the opening quarter, while Owen Hecker added six points. Leading 19-9 entering the second period, Heckler and Liam Putman each added six points and the Knights led 35-23 at halftime. Will Sheets added three baskets in the third quarter and Kale Lichtensteiger scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter. Heckler led all scorers and rebounders with 16 points and eight boards, Perrott finished with 14 points, Putman with 12 and Sheets with 10. Antwerp (2-8) was led by Zaine McMichael, who scored 12 points, including eight from the foul line.
Crestview will host Bluffton on Friday, then will travel to Arlington on Saturday. Antwerp will entertain Hilltop tonight, travel to Edgerton on Friday, then will host Lincolnview on Saturday.
St. Henry 65 Crestview 34 (girls)
ST. HENRY — St. Henry improved to 8-0 on the season with a 65-34 win over Crestview Saturday afternoon.
The Knights (5-5) will travel to Paulding on Tuesday.
Wrestling
Knights, Lancers at Spartan Invite
LIMA — Crestview and Lincolnview competed at the 20-team Spartan Wrestling Invitational at Lima Sr. High School on Saturday. The Knights finished sixth as a team, while the Lancers finished 13th.
Crestview’s Robert Tyas was the individual champion at 126 pounds. He clinched the title with a 12-5 decision over Kyllan Martin of Lima Central Catholic in the finals. Grant Grubb was the runner-up at 113 pounds after losing via pin (2:56) in the finals. Other placers were Abel Rodriguez (fourth, 132 pounds), Dylan Cress (fifth, 106 pounds), Luke Sawmiller (fifth, 157 pounds), Brayden Barnes, (seventh, 150 pounds) and Hudson Buuck (seventh, 285 pounds).
Lincolnview’s had four fourth place finishers – Ethan Renner (165), Daniel Clark (215) and Adan Qintero (285).
St. Marys Memorial won the team title with 210 points. Lincolnview finished with 133 points and Lincolnview tallied 63 points.
(more…)POSTED: 01/04/26 at 9:35 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
