The West Liberty-Salem boys cross country team, ranked No. 3 in Division III in this week’s OATCCC poll, captured the Red Division title at the Columbus Grove Invitational on Saturday.
The Tigers placed four runners inside the top 15 and scored 64 points to edge out Bryan (73) and Findlay (123) in the 16-team field.
Varsity Results (148 runners):
- Asher Cole – 2nd, 15:31.5 (PR, new school record)
- Caleb Larson – 3rd, 15:42.3 (SB)
- Brayan Gullett – 11th, 16:27.0 (PR)
- Dylan King – 13th, 16:32.0 (SB)
- Owen Hardwick – 35th, 17:16.3 (PR)
- Garrett Wallen – 49th, 17:53.4 (SB)
- Eric Hoover – 62nd, 18:08.6 (PR)
With the win, the Tigers improved to 20-0 on the meet record and 35-0 overall this season.
Junior Varsity
WL-Salem’s JV squad finished 5th out of 14 teams.
- Zac Carter – 9th, 18:52.4 (SB)
- Gauge Lee – 18th, 19:15.8
- Zeke Sidders – 28th, 19:41.4 (PR)
- Landon McKenzie – 52nd, 20:39.0 (PR)
- Daniel Erne – 73rd, 21:27.7 (PR)
- Isaiah Barth – 80th, 21:38.8 (PR)
- Jackson Henry – 88th, 21:58.8 (SB)
Head coach Mike Louden praised his runners for their effort and preparation:
“The guys took full advantage of amazing weather conditions and competition and put up some fast times. These times don’t just happen from conditions — they’re the result of hard work all summer. Asher Cole and Caleb Larson ran outstanding up front, while Brayan Gullett and Dylan King delivered solid top-15 finishes. Owen Hardwick anchored the scoring with a career PR. Between varsity and JV, we had eight career bests and several others with season bests.”
Louden also highlighted Cole’s record-breaking performance:
“I’m extremely proud of Asher for breaking the school record previously set by his senior teammate Caleb Larson. These two continue to sharpen each other every day, and I can’t wait to see how far they push one another this season.”
Next up: The Tigers travel to the Troy Twilight Invitational on Saturday, September 13.
The girls also competed at the Columbus Grove Invitational and finished 3rd out of 19 teams.
The race featured strong competition, including six state-ranked teams.
Top 5 Team Scores (Red Division):
- Lancaster – 62 (5th D1 OATCC poll)
- Ottawa-Glandorf – 91 (5th D3 OATCC poll)
- West Liberty-Salem – 122 (5th D4 OATCC poll)
- Napoleon – 128 (7th D3 OATCC poll)
- Findlay – 162
Individual Finishers (Out of 192):
- 12th – Malia Miller – 19:36.5
- 20th – Addi Wallen – 20:17.6
- 21st – Isla Leichty – 20:18.7
- 27th – Gwen McCullough – 20:42.9
- 46th – Ivy Matthews – 21:30.1
- 50th – Elia Matthews – 21:42.7
- 61st – Hattie Jacobs – 22:01.8
- 63rd – Mariska Smith – 22:02.4
- 76th – Charlee Albers – 22:38.0
- 97th – Mia Dooley – 23:52.4
- 110th – Emma Smith – 24:21.9
- 111th – Rachel Stanford – 24:22.3
The team delivered a solid performance against high-level competition and will take the next week off from racing to focus on health and training.
The girls will return to competition on September 13 at the Troy Twilight Invitational.
