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Colin Buening helped Celina's boys cross country team earn its first-ever state qualification. Photo courtesy of Dan Melograna.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The Celina boys cross country team will make its first-ever trip to the state meet after qualifying in the Division II regional meet on Saturday at Hedges Boyer Park in Tiffin.
The Bulldogs claimed the fourth and final team qualifying spot with 105 points, seven points clear of fifth-place Bryan. Liberty-Benton won regional crown, edging Shelby 87-92 with Van Wert also scoring 92 with Shelby getting the nod for second with the sixth runner tiebreaker 49-61.
Colin Buening led Celina with a fourth place finish. Kaleb Dameron and Kaden Steed finished 24th and 25 with Eli Spring and Caleb Lehman finishing 40th and 41st.
Coldwater's Mason Ayers finished fifth to earn an individual qualifying spot that goes to runners not on a qualifying team that finishes in the top 16.
St. Marys' Gavin Luebke finished 29th to complete his season.
In the girls' Division II race, Celina's Jennalee Dameron finished 11th overall to claim an individual state qualifying spot. Lexington won the regional title with WBL champion Ottawa-Glandorf second followed by Shelby and Eastwood earning qualifying spots.
The Minster girls took a step closer to defending their Division III state title with convincing win with 48 points with Liberty Center taking second with 15 points. Fort Recovery placed sixth with 220 points. to take one of the seven team qualifying spots for state. Parkway finished eighth, missing a state berth by 32 points as Patrick Henry placed seventh. St. Henry took 16th.
Fort Recovery's Natalie Brunswick (257) and Minster's Maria Niekamp (289) and Margaret Hemmelgarn (284) will run at this weekend's state cross country meet. File photo.
Minster's Chaney Cedarleaf finished second behind race champion Reese Landis of New London. Wildcat teammates Maria Niekamp and Margaret Hemmelgarn finished fifth and seventh, respectively. Fort Recovery's Natalie Brunswick finished 19th. Rileigh Baumer led St. Henry with a 30th-place finish with Parkway's Taylor Muhlenkamp placing 35th.
Coldwater's Audrey Alig finished 56th. New Knoxville's Ariyah Pfenning was 76th and Marion Local's Josie Bruns was 95th.
Marion Local's Lucas Broering will compete with his teammates this weekend at the state cross country meet. File photo.
In Division III boys, three MAC teams earned trips to state after finishing in the top seven. New Bremen finished fourth with 192 points with Minster taking fifth with 215 points and Marion Local placing sixth with 244 points. Columbus Grove took the regional title with Lincolnview and Ottawa Hills securing second and third.
New Bremen's Zach Wiedeman finished fourth. Minster's Ryan Halpin placed eighth.
Fort Recovery's Trevor Heitkamp earned a spot as an individual with a 12th place finish. Trey Goettemoeller led Marion Local with a 39th-place finish.
The state cross country meet will take place at Fortress Obetz on Saturday. The Division III girls race with be at 10 a.m. with the Division III boys running at 10:45 a.m. with awards to be presented at 11:15 a.m. The Division II girls run at noon with the boys at 12:45 p.m. with awards at 1:15 p.m.
