VB tops team standings, Carey's Plott shines

VAN BUREN – Van Buren made itself at home Thursday at the Doug Mowery Invitational. Of course, the Black Knights were home, and performed like it. The Black Knight boys rolled, putting up 166 points to outdistance Lake for the team crown. The Flyers scored 141 points, while McComb and Elmwood each had 89. On the girls side, Lily Grady won the 800 and the 1,600, helping the Black Knights to a 167-158 win over Carey, which received a brilliant outing from Lexi Plott. In the boys meet, Van Buren won a pair of relays – the 4x400 and the 4x800 – while Hudson Sendelbach, who was on both winning relays, won the 1,600 in 4:51. Michael Huffman – also part of the two winning relays – won the 800 in 2:05. VB's Nathan Curry was part of the 4x400, and won the 400 in 53.89. Curtis Ware (4x400) and Carter Finley (4x800) and Reed Harmon were also part of winning relays for Van Buren. Also for the Black Knights, Reese Reichley won the 110 hurdles in 16.81. McComb's Brandon Althauser had a big day, claiming three individual events. Althauser ran 11.31 in the 100, 23.47 in the 200, then leapt to 21-5 in the long jump. Elmwood's Jackson Childress took home both throwing events, claiming the shot (50-0) and the discus (174-10). The Royals' other victory came in the 3,200, where Jakob Zibbel took first in 10:44.47. Arlington also claimed a pair of individual victories, with Calvin Willow (6-6) winning the high jump and Clay Hurt (10-0) winning the pole vault. Carey took fifth with 67 points, while Arlington (49), Vanlue (28), North Baltimore (15) and Arcadia (10) also competed. While Van Buren won the girls meet, the individual star was Plott. The Carey standout won three individual events and was part of a winning relay. Plott won both hurdles events, taking the 100 in 16.32 and the 300 in 51.66. She also cleared 5-2 to win the high jump, then teamed with Kelsey Bursby, Riley Yost and Eliza Weinandy to get first in the 4x200. The foursome finished in 1:53.23 The Black Knights won a pair of relays, with Joseyn Hunt, Maddie Hudok, Rylee Orchard and Sasha Busey claiming the 4x4 in 4:33.66. Hunt then teamed with Olivia Coutinho, Lacey Bowman and Zoe Fruth for a victory in the 4x8, finishing in 11:11.13. Also claiming a win for the Black Knights was Brooke Ingwersen, who won the pole vault by clearing 7-6. For the Blue Devils, Abbie Bushong won the shot (34-6) and the discus (113-11), while Chloe Etzinger (12:47.83) finished first in the 3,200. Vanlue's Olivia Secord won the 400, racing to the finish in 1:05.2 She was the only winner in the girls meet who didn't come from Van Buren, Carey or Lake. In the girls standings, Elmwood finished fourth, with 65 ½ points, while Arlington had 38 points and McComb had 32. Vanlue (26), Arcadia (19) and North Baltimore (16 ½) rounded out the scoring. BOBCAT INVITATIONAL BOWLING GREEN – Findlay's Katelyn Stechschulte was a part of three wins Thursday. But Liberty-Benton's girls notched three wins of their own in Bowling Green, and did enough scoring in the other events to claim the team crown at the Duff Madaras Bobcat Invitational. The Eagles held off Oak Harbor, 126 ½-96 ½ for the title. Findlay was also at the meet, collecting five wins overall and finishing third with 90 ½ points. For the Eagles, Riley Irwin, Hailey Hochstettler, Emma Garmatter and Kylie Recker teamed to cross the line first in the 4x800 relay in 10:20.11. L-B's Kaitlyn Eyink raced to a win the 100 meter hurdles, finishing in 16.77, while Karis Willow cleared 5-2 to claim the high jump. Two of the FHS wins came on relays. In the 4x200, the Trojans' Hannah Ragland, Katelyn Stechschulte, Aariona Thomas and Lilly Zaciewski ended in 1:54.72, while in the 4x1, Ragland and Stechschulte rab with Bella Watson and Olivia Gayhart to win in 52.66. Stechschulte was at it again in the long jump, registering a 16-11 for the win. The Trojans' Makayla May cleared 11-1 in the pole vault for first. Findlay's other win came when McKenna Hall threw 36-4 ¼ to win the shot put. Napoleon (88), Wauseon (84), Bowling Green (58 ½), Fremont Ross (58) and Defiance (57) also competed. On the boys side, Oak Harbor outdistanced Fremont Ross 140-129 in the team standings, while Findlay scored 95 points to finish third. Liberty-Benton's boys – who had a pair of champions – placed fourth with 68 ½ points, 2 ½ points better than the host Bobcats. For the Eagles, Jackson Hostettler ran the 800 in 2:03.2 to win, while in the pole vault, Stefan Kolan cleared 13-6 for first. The Trojans didn't have any champions, but they did have three second-place finishes, two by hurdler Jimmy Steffen. Steffen ran 16.65 in the 110 hurdles, and 42.98 in the 300 hurdles. Meanwhile, Findlay's Sam Ernst cleared 5-8 in the high jump for runner-up honors. Napoleon (59), Wauseon (58 ½) and Defiance (46) rounded out the boys standings. RIVERDALE INVITATIONAL MOUNT BLANCHARD – Riverdale's girls won all four of the relays, and the Falcons cruised to victory in their home invite, outdistancing Hardin Northern, 199-89. In the 4x100, the Falcons team of Kendel Rall, Ella Roach, Kennedy Phelps and Auhdra Myers claimed first in 53.91. In the 4x200, the same four Falcons won in 1:57.7. In the 4x4, Riverdale's Emily O'Flaherty, Shae Berger, Phelps and Eden Barnes won in 4:47.42, The 4x800 was won by O'Flaherty, Chloe Powell, Phelps and Allison Woodruff in 11:26.53. Meanwhile, Myers took home victories in the 200 and the long jump, while Roach won the 100 and Rall won the 300 hurdles. Continental (72), Leipsic (64), Miller City (42) and Temple Christian (7) also had competitors at the event. On the boys side, Leipsic held off Hardin Northern, 149-140 for the team crown. Riverdale (127) was third, with Continental, (69) and Temple Christian (8) wrapping up the scoring,. For Leipsic, Seth Apple won both throwing events, going 166-9 ½ in the discus and 47-7 ½ in the shot. For Riverdale, Andrew Woodruff won the 3,200 in 11:19.63, while Hardin Northern claimed three of the four relays. Carter Curtis also won the 200 and 400.