Area runners finish strong

HEBRON - The Minster girls entered the race as one of the favorites to win the Division III girls cross country championship at National Trail Raceway at Hebron. The Wildcats fielded a team of five upperclassmen and the runners had a total of 10 runs from previous state meets.

While they were disappointed not to claim their 10th cross country title in school history, the Wildcats were able to finish in fourth place, a one spot improvement over their fifth-place finishes the previous two seasons.
   Minster was led by sophomore Morgan Pohl, whose 12th place time of 19:25 earned her a spot two positions better on the podium than last year's 14th-place effort, partly due to a much better beginning of her race. 
   "Last year I got a bit stuck at the start," remembered Pohl. "This year I knew what to expect."
   Her faster start had an unexpected drawback when the race turned into the headwind.

"I always tried to find someone to tuck in behind, but I was far enough up front that I couldn't always find anyone."

Late in the race, Morgan was borderline as to whether she would finish in the top 16 and thus reach the winners' podium.

"I knew I was around 16th and my goal was to finish higher on the podium than last year, so I had to go," explained Pohl of her strong drive to the finish. "I'm still not sure how I got where I finished."
   Junior Kaci Bornhorst finished in 20th place, her time of 19:34 just four seconds short of the time she needed to join her teammate on the podium. Freshman Cassie Francis also turned in a strong performance, placing 56th with a time of 20:11. She was followed by Gabrielle Barga (66th, 20:22), Julia Slonkosky (79th, 20:42), Lisa Barlage (84th, 20:48) and Margaret Meiring (89th, 21:04).
   For the first time in the last four years, the Coldwater girls arrived without being considered one of the favorites in the team competition. Coldwater's team finished as predicted by their regional times, earning 10th place in the team standings. 
   The next Cavalier runner after champion Sarah Kanney was senior Lauren Seas, who finished her fourth state meet in 51st place and with a time of 20:08. Kierstin Siefring followed in 77th place (20:38), Kelly Jutte in 100th (21:30) and Ashley Schoenheer in 111th (21:49) to round out the scoring. Shannon McNeil (122nd, 22:25) and Mariah Bruns (129th, 22:44) were the final two Cavaliers. Coldwater will have a lot of experience to replace next year, as this was the fourth run at the state meet for Kanney, Seas and Schoenherr.
   After last year's first ever visit to the state meet, the St. Henry girls brought back five runners with state meet experience. The team finished in 15th place, still feeling the loss of senior Jenny Osterholt, who broke her collarbone before last week's run at the Tiffin regional.
   One standout for the Redskins was junior Lindsay Schulze, who led the team with a 75th-place finish and a time of 20:36. This was 50 seconds faster than her run at last week's regional meet. 
   "I started fast, but I got in front of my pack and couldn't draft," described Schulze. "I picked up the pace in the woods, but with 800 meters remaining, two people passed me. I kicked it in and passed three or four people back before the finish."
   Also competing for St. Henry was Breanna Schulze, who finished 82nd with a time of 20:47. Next were Makayla Hoying (99th, 21:30), Olivia Hemmelgarn (107th, 21:41), Katelyn Goettemoeller (130th, 22:44), Riley Post (131st, 22:44) and Rachel Post (140th, 24:30).
Division III Boys
   St. Henry was the only local boys team to qualify for the state meet. For the Redskins, it was their eighth consecutive appearance at the final race of the season. Their 11th-place finish in the team standings was an improvement of two positions from last year's result. Spencer Schulze also improved two places from last year, finishing in 11th place with a time of 16:24. Spencer had already been the first Redskin runner to reach the podium at a state cross country meet. Now he is the first to reach the podium twice.
   Schulze had the best time of his four runs at the state meet, which was quite an accomplishment considering the 20 plus mph winds howling through the course. "Everyone was definitely packed up, and we all drafted going into the wind," confirmed Spencer, who was dismayed that his cross country career was now over. "But I am ready for track season," he added.
   Spencer's teammates also performed well. Seniors Justin Hoying and Alex Hemmelgarn each cut large amounts of time off their performances at last year's state meet and freshmen Devin Huelskamp and Braydon Hoying both improved on their times from last week's regional meet. Justin Hoying was the second Redskin to score, placing 70th with a time of 17:18. He was followed by Devin Huelskamp (88th, 17:34), Scott Knapke (103rd, 17:54), Alex Hemmelgarn (108th, 18:03), Braydon Hoying (119th, 18:18), Ryan Barhorst (144th, 19:30).
   Coldwater senior Jon Wenning also competed for the fourth straight year, the last three as an individual. His time of 16:21 was an improvement of three seconds over last year's performance, but Wenning was more interested in his placing, and he improved from ninth place overall in 2013 to seventh place this year. Wenning put on a burst in the final homestretch where he passed several other runners.
   "I wasn't counting how many people I passed. I just wanted to go," was how Wenning described the final stretch of his high school cross country career. "Coach told me I was 15th after two miles, but I wanted to wait until I got the final tailwind to make my move. I didn't want to worry about time, only where I placed."
   Wenning's teammate Dan Seas also competed for the second straight year, finishing in 45th place with a time of 16:58.
   New Bremen's Cort Speckman also raced as an individual at the state meet. Cort managed to finish 50th with a time of 17:04. Speckman enjoyed finally making it to the championship meet in his senior year. "It was a fun race to take part in," he stated. "But man, they went out fast!"