The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Minster's Maria Niekamp (6495) and Joanna Topp with Coldwater's Abby Alig in the background run in the Division IV state cross country race at Fortress Obetz on Saturday.
OBETZ - Some familiar teams and new faces climbed the podium at the 2025 OHSAA cross country championships, as Minster predictably finished strong while Celina ended the day on a good note.
Minster's Claire Bohman (6489) stays ahead of Ottawa Hills' Natalie Nixon during the Division IV state cross country race.
Like the sun rising in the east, so the Minster girls cross country team topped all local cross country teams, this time in the newly-created Division IV. The Wildcats finished second as a team with 158 points as Ottawa Hills took the top spot with 114.
"We knew after last week that Ottawa Hills were good, we knew it was going to be a battle," Minster coach Jessie Magoto said. "Wherever the chips fall, I know how we raced today. We were second, but that's still a win."
It was Clarie Bohman who finished the best of all the Wildcats, as her time of 18:48 was good enough for tenth in the meet. It means an All-Ohio honor for the junior, who placed 20th a year ago.
"She's just a spitfire," Magoto said of Bohman. "She's aggressive, she's so excited to race and she's just a competitor."
Joanna Topp was next for the Wildcats, as she clocked in at 19:33 to finish in the top 30. Just 13 seconds later, senior Annie Hemmelgarn crossed the line in her final race at 40th. Maria Niekamp was next at 19:53 to break into the top 50. Ava Colter wrapped up her season at 20:58, while Catelyn Cedarleaf finished her freshman year at the 21:23 mark. Madison Eilerman was the final Wildcat to finish at 156th with a 21:54 time.
Coldwater's Lana Kaiser (6165) leads Marion Local's Maria Dirksen.
Coldwater was the other local team in the event, as the Cavaliers finished 17th as a group with a score of 397.
The team was led by freshman Abby Alig, one of the four underclassmen Coldwater sent to the event. Alig clocked in at 19:42 and earned a top 40 finish. Lana Kaiser was the next Cavalier to cross the line, as the sophomore finished her season with a 20:36 race.
A pack of runners was next, as Channing Lefeld topped a group of three Cavs within just 16 spots. Lefeld finished 144th at the 21:36 mark, with Audrey Alig nine spots behind at 21:51. Grace Heyne was next at 161st, as the freshman clocked in at 22:01.
Breann Mathewson finished at 178th with a 22:38 time, and Eve Lisi wrapped up Coldwater's efforts at 23:23, good enough for 193rd.
Marion Local's Maria Dirksen qualified as an individual, as the freshman cracked the top 100 with a time of 20:37.
St. Henry's Michael Kunkler (7488) leads Galion Northmor's David Blunk (7338) and Marion Local's Dalton Pohlman during the Division IV state cross country meet at Fortress Obetz.
St. Henry finished ninth as a team to finish as the top local team in the Division IV boys race, with 308 points. Convoy Crestview finished in first with 86 points, just seven points better ahead of Northwest Conference rival Columbus Grove. It's the first state cross country title for a Van Wert County school.
"We knew we had an opportunity to get top 10. They just had to finish what they started at the beginning of the season," St. Henry coach Angie Wendel said.
Two juniors led the Redskins' efforts. Michael Kunkler finished just inside the top 50 with a time of 16:44. Michael Rindler was just two seconds behind Kunkler, and finished 55th overall.
Jack Siefring was the next St. Henry runner to cross, as the junior finished at 102nd and clocked in at 17:22. Zach Heath and Johan Horstman were neck and neck at 142nd and 143rd, with the junior Heath beating out Horstman by just .05 seconds.
Freshman Clayton Koesters finished 168th at the 18:19 mark, while Jack Fullenkamp rounded out the Redskins' score at 193rd at an even 19 minutes.
Marion Local finished 16th overall with 373 points.
The Flyers were led by Dalton Pohlmann at 16:45, good enough for 52nd overall. Trey Gottemoeller was the next Flyer at 71st with a time out 16:57. Ryan Stucke cracked the top 90 with a time of 17:10. Christian Kremer and Issac Bruns were separated by just seven places, with Kremer finishing at 18:21 and Bruns at 18:29.
Austin Mescher finished just inside the top 200 with a 19:15 effort, and Brody Otte finished his final season at 19:36.
Minster's Collin Cedarleaf ran as an individual and finished 62nd at 16:53.
Celina's Jennalee Dameron earned All-Ohio honors in finishing 11th in the Division II race.
Celina competed well at the Division II girls race, as the Bulldogs finished 24th with 453 points as a team in their first team race since 2019.
"I was very happy. Just proud of all the hard work that they put in this season," Celina coach Jason Andrew said. "Very impressed with what they were able to do today."
Senior Jennalee Dameron, running in her fourth and fifth state meet, was the top runner for Celina and earned All-Ohio honors, finishing 11th overall at 18:27.
"I never podiumed here, so this year that was my goal." Dameron said after the race.
Elle Miesse was one of three freshmen to run for the Bulldogs in the event, as she clocked in a time of 19:13 which was good enough for 39th. Claire Huwer was the next Celina runner at 21:05, and Janelle Dameron was not far behind at 21:28.
Sophie Gudorf and Danica Draiss finished 206th and 207th, with Gudorf five seconds quicker at 22:11. Alika Bridge was the final Bulldog to finish with a time of 24:49.
Celina's Collin Buening competes in the Division II boys cross country race.
Celina sent two runners to the Division II boys race. Colin Buening finished 33rd with a time of 16:19, while Caleb Lehman clocked in at 16:47 and 87th overall.
"They did really well," Andrew said. "They're probably their biggest critics so they'll probably say 'we weren't happy' but they were fantastic."
