Friday, October 14th, 2011

Coldwater's harriers sweep team crowns

Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Meet

By Bruce Monnin
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Versailles' Sam Prakel, left, Minster's Francis Slonkosky, middle and Coldwater's Mike Seas run in a pack during the MAC cross country meet on Thursday.Prakel won the boys' race while Seas was second and Slonkosky third.

COLDWATER - The Coldwater cross country teams entered the Midwest Athletic Conference meet with high hopes of being the first school other than Minster (which had accomplished the feat four times since 1997) to win both the boys' and girls' team championships.
The Cavaliers not only handled the pressure, they thrived on it as Coldwater won its first boys' title since 2006 and the first girls' title in school history.
As expected, the boys' race was a duel between Versailles' Sam Prakel and Coldwater's Mike Seas. Prakel blazed the course to win and set a new MAC-record time of 15:28.27. Seas finished just three seconds behind and set a new personal record.
It was a balanced effort that led Coldwater's boys to the team championship. Like Seas, Cavaliers' second-best runner John Wenning also shaved 10 seconds off his previous best to finish in fifth-place overall.
"John has been coming on strong all year," complimented Coldwater's coach Dan Pohlman. "Our seniors were spectacular today, and our fifth runner (Jordan Obringer) set a new personal record by over 20 seconds."
St. Henry finished second in the team standings and was led by Aaren Hemmelgarn's fourth-place finish. Minster finished third and was led by the third-place finish by Francis Slonkosky.
The girls' race was similar with the individual title coming down to an anticipated battle between Coldwater's Sarah Kanney and Versailles' Tammy Berger. Kanney needed a strong sprint in the final stretch to ensure her victory by just four seconds over Berger.
Kanney just missed breaking the 18-minute mark, finishing with a time of 18:00.90 (over 20 seconds faster than her previous best). Kanney was not immediately concerned with her time and was more interested in the team result.
"I was more worried about being first (than the time)," she stated. "We have been working hard and have really come far as a team this year."
Coldwater also had the third- and fourth-place runners in Christina Seas and Jill Kanney. Coach Pohlman was quick to point out it took more than just those top three to win the team title.
"Our top three have been there all year. But out fourth and fifth runners were also spectacular, setting new personal records. Lauren Seas (who finished 11th) always comes through at the end and Ashley Schoenherr (13th place) follows her."
This marked the first time since the win by New Bremen in 1994 that the Minster girls did not earn the MAC championship and the Wildcats topped Versailles by a single point for second place. Gabrielle Barga and Hannah Butler led the Wildcats by both finishing under 20 minutes, but second place came down to fifth-place runner Amanda Sherman, who bested Versailles' Jacquiline Moorman by four-tenths of a second for the decisive point.
In the junior high races, the boys' team title went to Coldwater with Dan Seas taking top individual honors with a time of 10:51.20. The girls' title went to Minster with Julia Slonkosky crossing the line first in a time of 12:06.40.
All the local teams (except for Versailles) will be in district competition next Saturday at Spencerville.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Coldwater's Sarah Kanney, front, pulls away from Versailles' Tammer Berger near the end of Thursday's MAC cross country meet.

Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Coldwater's Christina Seas finished third individually at the Midwest Athletic Conferenc meet on Thursday to help the Cavaliers win their first-ever MAC cross country title.

Additional online stories on this date
Yields still likely below average for Mercer, Auglaize county farmers
Farmers are having a better than expected harvest despite challenges this growing season, but less than average yields are anticipated.
Crops have [More]
ST. HENRY - As far as droughts go, this one wasn't particularly long, but the St. Henry Redskins were ecstatic to see it end.
St. Henry wrapped up [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Harvest season has begun and one injury accident related to farm equipment has been reported in Auglaize County.
A truck driver was injured Monday about 2 p.m. after he attempted to pass a tractor on state Route 66, north of St. Marys.
sgrieshop@dailystandard.com
A St. Henry schools custodian pleaded not guilty today to secretly videotaping two girls in a bathroom at an area home.
CELINA - Inactive city safety service director Rick Bachelor resigned Thursday.
Bachelor had not worked since sometime in April due to medical leave, according to Celina Mayor Sharon LaRue.
Mercer County Soil and Water
Mercer County Soil and Water Conservation District board members Thursday agreed to apply for a $105,000, 3-year grant to continue funding water quality activities.
WAPAKONETA - Robberies from rural homes and vehicles continue to plague Auglaize County.
"Please take your keys out of your pickup trucks," Auglaiz
CELINA - X-rays and electrocardiograms (EKGs) will soon be available on-site for inmates at the Mercer County jail.
Prisoners currently are transported from the jail to local medical facilities for the services.
The Mercer County Sheriff's Office is investigating a traffic fatality that occurred at 1:43 a.m. today at the intersection of Carthagena Road and U.S. 127.
Naturally speaking
When a co-worker showed me the picture of a huge puffball that was found in his woods last week, it took me back to the time, several years ago, when I thought it would be interesting to cook up one of those edible funky looking fall delicacies.
FORT LORAMIE - Author/historian Kevin Schmiesing will present a four-part series on the history of the Catholic church in November at St. Michael Hall.
CELINA - Forgive the Celina volleyball team for being a little selfish.
Celina earned at least a share of the Western Buckeye League title on Tuesday, but the Bulldogs weren't satisfied so the Green and White steamrolled Bath on Thursday to win the league championship outright.
Now that the season is only three weeks from completion, it becomes possible to start predicting where teams will end up when the final computer points are announced.
Local Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Marion Local finished second in the Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball standings following a three-game win over Fort Recovery on Thursday night at The Hangar. The Flyers won with scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-17 to finish 8-1 in the conference (18-4 overall).
FORT SHAWNEE - With the match being a win-or-nothing situation to keep their chances alive for a Western Buckeye League girls' soccer title, St. Marys needed to play a flawless match against Shawnee, which only needed a tie to win their first-ever league soccer championship.