Cross country: Area boys place well at the state meet

Sports High School Sports Top Stories Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp OBETZ – After the Crestview boy’s cross-country team won last year’s Division IV state championship, the bar was immediately raised for the program. This season, Crestview battled injuries and illnesses and made it back to the Ohio High School Athletic Association Cross Country State Championships. At Saturday’s state meet, Crestview made a strong run but fell short, finishing sixth as a team with 231 points. Mount Gilead won the D-IV team title with 84 points, while Russia finished a close second with 99 points. Botkins (155), Legacy Christian (158) and Tinora (214) rounded out the top five teams in a field of 24 squads. Leading the way for Crestview on Saturday was junior Derek Young, who placed fifth in a time of 15:45.7 on the 5,000-meter course around Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park. “I’ve been battling a little bit of injuries throughout the week, and my breathing was not on point at regionals. So, I kind of fell back a little bit,” Young said. “But I was like, ‘I’m just going to come here, enjoy it and control what I can control.’ I honestly felt really good during the race. I maybe could’ve pushed a little more at the end, but I lost it mentally when (Ansonia’s) Bennett (Lehman, first place in 15:30.7) made his move up the hill (late in the race). But I’m very happy with it. It was a great honor. We have so many seniors on the team. So, being able to run their last race here was awesome.” Added Crestview coach Randy Grandstaff, “We ran farther back than we should have. It happened most of the season. So, it has been a challenge this year. We thought we were ready, but there were a lot of teams that ran better than us. “We did what we did, and it wasn’t our best showing. So, we can build on this and hopefully keep developing kids. The first couple of races (of the season), we had some kids who were sick. They ran, but we had kids who were sick. We had some injuries that happened at camp. Then about the third or fourth week, some of them started to come back. So, we were happy to be here.” The rest of Crestview’s team included Hudson Perrott (84th, 17:10.3), Kale Vining (91st, 17:14.7), Caleb Thomas (96th, 17:18), Andy Heth (115th, 17:30.8), Luke Sawmiller (119th, 17:32.9) and Levi Hoblet (169th 18:13.6). In Divisions II, III and IV, the first 24 placers were named First Team All-Ohio. Placers 25-48 were named Second Team All-Ohio. Manns earns first team honors In Division III, Kenton junior Wade Manns placed 19th overall in 15:48.4 and earned First Team All-Ohio. “It wasn’t really fast, but we got first team (all Ohio),” Manns said. “I wanted to get top 10 (overall), but I got 19th. So, that’s not bad. When I came across the finish line, it was all I had. So, I’m happy about that. I’m happy that I still have another year.” Teammate Garry Phipps, a junior, made his first appearance to the state meet in his first year of competing in cross country. A year ago, Phipps was playing football at Kenton. On Saturday, Phipps placed 68th overall in a time of 16:47.5. Van Wert boys placed ninth The Van Wert boys came in ninth place on Saturday in D-III. The Cougars’ team included Oliver Scott (65th, 16:44.8), Alex Bauer (88th, 17:01), Harrison Sloan (105th, 17:13.6), Calvin Byrum (113th, 17:17.9), Quintin Parrish (118th, 17:20.9), Nate Drerup (135th, 17:35.9) and Isaak Castillo (208th, 20:11.4). Columbus Grove placed 12th The Columbus Grove boys’ team finished 12th in D-IV. Caiden Squillante led the Bulldogs, finishing 32nd overall in 16:34.2. The rest of the team included Zach Bryan (49th, 16:46.3), Aidan Vogt (57th, 16:55.8), Joel Schumacher (178th, 18:27.2), Nathaniel Jones (179th, 18:28), Collin Sprague (196th, 18:54.1) and Ethan Basinger (202nd, 19:22.5). Brickner shines in first trip to state In Division IV, Miller City freshman Luke Brickner placed 26th with a time of 16:30.3 ***Complete results of the OHSAA Cross Country State Championships are on athletic.net Featured Local Savings