Local runners advance to regional

Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry

The cross country postseason got underway on Saturday with district meets held throughout the state.

Local teams traveled to Findlay, Ottawa and Columbus Grove for meets where teams tried to advance to the regional meet this Saturday in Tiffin.

At the Findlay campus of Owens Community College, the Celina girls won the Division II team championship, edging Liberty-Benton 32-44 for the title. Eastwood was third and Upper Sandusky was fourth to also earn regional spots.

Celina's Dameron sisters finished 1-2 in the race as younger sister Kaylie won in 19:33.50 with older sister Joscelyn nearly a minute back at 20:29.33. Zoey Aukerman was sixth with Caleigh Ross taking seventh and Rose Kraner finishing 19th.

The Celina boys placed eighth in the Division I District 1 race with 210 points. Ashland, Toledo Whitmer, Bowling Green and Norwalk finished first through fourth to earn regional berths. Ethan Ly will represent Celina at the regional after finishing 13th.
Ottawa District

Both the boys and girls from St. Marys missed out on team qualifying spots in the Division II district meet in Ottawa.

The Roughrider girls finished fifth, missing fourth place by 23 points. Shawnee, Wauseon, Defiance and Van Wert claimed the top four spots. St. Marys' Maria Jutte (11th) and Ellen Schloemmer (14th) earned individual advancements by making the top 16.

The St. Marys boys were seventh in the standings. Defiance, Ottawa-Glandorf, Wauseon and Shawnee earned the four team berths. Roughrider Noah Tobin placed 16th to earn the final qualifying spot.
Columbus Grove District

Local Division III teams competed in the double district meet format where only the top three teams and individuals in the top 12 advance to Tiffin.

In the Division III District 1 race, Minster cruised to victory with 26 points. St. John's and Coldwater finished second and third, respectively. New Bremen was fourth.

Coldwater's Haley Alig was second with the Minster quartet of Taylor Roth, Ella Boate, Mackenzie Bohman and Mason Pohl finishing third through sixth. Minster's Emma Meyer was eighth, Coldwater's Beth Honigford was ninth and Minster's Cameo Cloverleaf was 10th. New Bremen's Alayna Thieman and Journey Boyle just missed on advancing as individuals by placing 14th and 15th, respectively.

In the District 2 girls race, St. Henry finished second behind the host Bulldogs with Fort Recovery taking third to advance. Marion Local was fourth with Parkway fifth.

Marion Local's Kelsey Broering moves on to Tiffin after finishing third in the race. St. Henry's Leah Niekamp was seventh and teammate Katie Kunkler took ninth. Fort Recovery's Hanna Metzger was 12th, St. Henry's Megan Broering was 13th and teammate Ashley Bruns finished 15th. Marion Local's Alison Blackford was 16th, St. Henry's Hannah Osterholt was 17th and Fort Recovery's Caitlin Weitzel and Megan Diller were 18th and 19th, respectively. Parkway was led by Morgan Hunter's 22nd-place finish.

In the District 2 boys race, MAC teams swept the top six spots with Minster racking up 40 points to claim the team title. Parkway was runner-up with 76 points and Marion Local edged New Bremen by 12 points to take third and earn the final team qualifying spot. Coldwater was fifth with St. Henry sixth.

Minster's Alex Albers was the race winner in 16:12.7. Parkway's Kyle Roth was third with Coldwater's Isaac Schoen taking fourth. Minter's Luke Barga was fifth, Parkway's Aaron Bruns eighth, Marion Local's Troy Stucke ninth and Parkway's Blake Strickler 10th. Local runners in 11th through 20th were Minster's Austin Felice (11th), Brock Schulte (13th) and Joseph Slonkosky (14th), New Bremen's Landin Boyle (15th), Minster's Tyler Prenger (16th), Coldwater's Kendrick Tebbe (18th) and Marion Local's Noah Budde (19th) and Aaron Broering (20th). St. Henry's Brady Post, Nolan Fullenkamp and Isaac Wendel were 22nd through 24th.

The Fort Recovery boys finished seventh in the District 1 race. Drew Muhlenkamp was the top finisher for the Indians in 18th place.

Racing begins Saturday at Tiffin's Hedges-Boyer Park at 11 a.m. with Division III girls. Division II girls run at 11:45 a.m. with Division III boys running at 1:30 p.m, Division II boys at 2:15 p.m. and Division I boys at 3 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Bath 3, St. Marys 0

Reining WBL Player of the Year Chandler Clark scored twice, including the final goal with less than 20 seconds remaining, to lead the LadyCats to the Division II Elida District semifinals with the win over St. Marys in Bath Township.

Bath (13-4-0) faces Bryan at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by Celina taking on Kenton.

St. Marys ends its season at 11-4-3.

Ainsley Miller had a goal in the first half for Bath with Clark adding insurance in the second half to raise her season total to 44 goals.

JUNIOR HIGH CROSS COUNTRY
Ohio Middle/Junior High State Invitational

The Minster Junior High boys team won the Race I team title at the state invitational held in Lancaster.

The Wildcats won with a final score of 102 points with Fredericktown taking second. Parkway finished 12th in the 19-team field.

Minster's Jack Grieshop finished third overall with a time of 11:34.1. Teammate Ryan Halpin was 18th overall. Parkway's Tyler Rowan finished 32nd.

The Parkway girls also competed in Race J but did not field a full team. Panther Lexie Barry finished fifth overall with a time of 13:08.8. Teammate Amanda Barrett placed 24th.