Several area cross country teams competed Saturday at the Columbus Grove Invitational, with West Liberty-Salem turning in a pair of strong team performances. The Tigers’ boys won the Red Division for the fourth consecutive year, while the girls finished fifth in the Gray Division.
WEST LIBERTY-SALEM
High School Boys – Columbus Grove Invitational
The West Liberty-Salem boys cross country team, ranked No. 3 in this week’s Division III OATCCC State Poll, won the Red Division at the Columbus Grove Invitational for the fourth consecutive year.
The Tigers scored 103 points to finish ahead of Brayan with 108 and Division IV No. 1 Tinora with 109. Van Wert finished fourth with 122 points.
Junior Asher Cole led West Liberty-Salem with a second-place finish in 15:53.9, a season best. Junior Brayan Gullett placed sixth in 16:16.2, also recording a season best.
Owen Hardwick finished 16th in 17:06.2 with a personal record, followed by Eric Hoover in 37th at 17:46.6.
Freshman Milo Matthews placed 45th in 18:00.9 with a PR, while Gauge Lee finished 53rd in 18:14.1. Zeke Lauck was 69th in 18:32.2 with a PR.
West Liberty-Salem’s junior varsity team finished second in the JV race. Zeke Longshore led the JV runners with a second-place finish in 18:27.3, while Liam Harrington placed fifth in 18:59.1.
Danny Erne finished 20th, Zeke Sidders was 23rd, Walker Williams placed 25th with a PR, Isaiah Barth finished 40th with a PR, and Raylan Wulf was 49th. Connor Watson and Jude Roberts also competed and recorded PRs.
The varsity race featured 175 runners.
West Liberty-Salem improved to 37-2 on the season and extended its Columbus Grove Invitational meet record to 24-0.
“It was an excellent day for the program across the board despite wet, hot, and humid conditions. I was really proud of the way the guys battled the less than ideal conditions to come out on top against a solid field of quality state ranked teams from several divisions.”
— Head Coach Mike Louden
The Tigers will compete next Saturday, September 12, at the Piqua Night Race Invitational.
High School Girls – Columbus Grove Invitational
The West Liberty-Salem girls cross country team finished fifth out of 23 teams in the Gray Division at the Columbus Grove Invitational.
Fremont Ross won the team competition with 93 points, followed by Liberty Center with 104, Ottawa-Glandorf with 123 and Van Wert with 136. West Liberty-Salem scored 167 points to finish fifth.
Junior Isla Leichty led the Tigers with a seventh-place finish in 19:57.5, setting a personal best.
Junior Addi Wallen placed 10th in 20:18.7, while freshman Elin Leichty finished 15th in 20:35.5 with a PR.
Elia Matthews placed 55th in 22:11.2, followed by Charlee Albers in 86th at 23:13.0 with a season best.
Hattie Jacobs finished 99th in 23:46.1 with a season best, while Mia Dooley placed 113th in 24:20.7.
Emily Finch finished 140th in 25:51.6 with a personal best, and Olive Matthews placed 157th in 26:40.5, also recording a PR.
A total of 238 runners competed in the girls race.
The West Liberty-Salem girls will compete next Saturday at the Piqua Night Race Invitational.
