Huron girls perfect, win fourth straight SBC title

TIFFIN — Huron went out with a bang. Competing in the last Sandusky Bay Conference meet they've known for years, the Tigers could not have done any better. Huron tallied the first five scorers of the girls race Saturday at Hedges-Boyer Park, scoring the least amount of points possible to win its fourth straight league championship. "It's great for the girls team since it's the fourth in a row," Huron coach Taylor Miller said. "We were even looking last year when we had 18 points. We were going for 15 points overall today. To have that and win our fourth in a row is great overall for the team." Edison was second with 67 points behind Huron's perfect score of 15. Willard was third (71 points) and Margaretta (86) was fourth. Neither Port Clinton or Vermilion scored as a team. "Looking at what the mock meet on Milesplit was, we saw what we expected," Miller said. "We are very lucky to have a pretty solid girls team. Very happy just with their overall performance. We had a lot of PRs, so it was a good day." Port Clinton's Morgan Wiechman won the girls race in a time of 18 minutes, 18 seconds, but Huron had the next six finishers in the Bay Division. Rylie Towns was second in 18:57 while Claire Putnam took third in 19:31. Putnam was followed by Laney Schlessman (19:47), Andrea Lesnak (19:51), Sasha Fry (20:14) and Liz Heidl (20:49). "Individually and as a team to get better, they just need to keep doing what they're supposed to be doing," Miller said. "They have been doing that all year. Focusing on sleep and nutrition is the big thing. You don't want to get sick either, because you face that at this time of the year." Wiechman won the race as a sophomore and junior making her a three-time winner now. Her 18:18 was her fastest time at Hedges-Boyer. "It was really exciting," Wiechman said. "I definitely wanted to come back and win this year. I ran a PR on this course today, so that's also really exciting. It feels really good because the SBC is disappearing with the divisions splitting. "It is really special that the last time that it ran as the SBC it was for however many years, that I got to win it overall." Saturday was the 11th time Wiechman has run the course in Tiffin. After becoming quite experienced on the course, she has an idea on how to make things go quicker. "There's different spots where you need to know the lines to take," Wiechman said. "A lot of times if you cut the lines a little bit, you're running a little less than 3.1 (miles). When you run it so many times, you get familiar with the perfect lines you want to take." Wiechman has lofty goal the rest of the season. It starts with next weekend's district race at Galion. She hopes that it is the first of three more races in her high school career, culminating with the state meet Nov. 1. "The thing our team has been saying is the hay is in the barn," Wiechman said. "I can't do anything for my legs. It's all mental. I have to be prepared to be ready to get uncomfortable when I'm running. I have to be ready to take that next step when that time arises." Towns used a new strategy in the race, starting out a little slower than she normally does. "I was staying with the pack," Towns said. "I passed the pack and was staying relaxed. I wasn't breathing heavy or anything. I got through the first mile a little faster than I wanted to, but that's probably because of the downhill. I still had a lot of consciousness in my mind. I was able to talk myself through what I was doing and what I felt." Towns said she could have pushed a little harder in the second mile, but gave it her all in the third mile. She and Wiechman are best friends and typically cool down together after the race. "I want to push to make it to state as an individual," Towns said. "I think we can do it as a team, but I really want to push for individual qualification. I think I can get my time down a lot and get an all-time PR at state." Edison was led by Claire Michaelis' ninth-place finish of 21:04 while Margaretta's Tenlee Hammer was 10th in 21:15. Norwalk's Saige Konik (19:26) was the individual girls champion in the SBC Lake, finishing third overall. She was followed by teammate Olive Leavitt (19:45), Bellevue's Reese Meacham (20:09) and Clyde's Marissa Gessner (20:22). Columbian won the team championship with 50 points while Norwalk was runner-up with 53. Bellevue (60) was third, Clyde (68) was fourth and Perkins (121) was fifth. Sandusky competed, but did not score as a team. Kameron Koch took seventh for Bellevue in a time of 21:01. Perkins freshman Lillie Price was ninth in 21:17 while Norwalk's Grace Norris took 10th in 21:25. Grace Tackett from Old Fort (19:53) crossed the line first among SBC River competitors. St. Mary Central Catholic's Nicolette Hill was third in 20:31 while Danbury's Ellie Colon was seventh, crossing the line in 21:41. Woodmore took the team title with 47 points while Northwood was second with 50. Neither SMCC or Danbury scored as a team. Miranda Ertsenian finished eighth in 21:46 for Danbury while Evie Dinsmore was 14th for SMCC in a time of 23:01. Smelcer wins boys title Perkins junior Joel Smelcer won the boys individual championship, finishing in a time of 15:26, a personal best. "It feels great," Smelcer said. "I really worked for it and I was really hoping for it. It's really nice to feel that way of being the overall winner." Teammate Blake Witter took fourth in 17:22 while Norwalk's Nolan Jones was fifth in 17:33. Nicholas Coiffard was sixth for Perkins, crossing the line in 17:50. Casey Kromer from Norwalk was seventh in 17:53 and Miguel Marquez from Sandusky was 11th in 17:56. Columbian won the SBC Lake team title with 32 points while Perkins was runner-up with 49. Norwalk (51) finished third, Clyde (123) took fourth, Sandusky (142) was fifth and Bellevue (160) took sixth. Smelcer has been victorious in every race he has run this season. He doesn't plan on changing much as the postseason gets underway. "I was told the course was a little bit changed because of that first uphill," Smelcer said. "To be honest, from last year it felt the same. It just looked different." Huron's Sage Edgerly-Bork was second overall, taking the top spot in the SBC Bay in 16:12. Edgerly-Bork said he felt a little fatigued. "It was good that I won our division, but I wasn't feeling good," Edgerly-Bork said. "I've been training hard, but I'm waiting for state to run something fast." He was able to keep his pace with Smelcer, but wishes he could have done a little better. "I was hoping for something a little faster so I could be up by Joel, but it didn't feel very different," Edgerly-Bork said. Margaretta's Cole Zang was second in the Bay in 16:23 while Huron's Jason Nims was third in 16:37. Edison's Kellen McDonnell (17:05) and Mason Leber (17:16) were fourth and fifth followed by Port Clinton's Charlie Simpson (17:20) and Huron's Achilles Figueroa (17:38). Margaretta's AJ Walters (17:45) was eighth and Edison's Logan Facemire (18:09) was ninth. Edison took the SBC Bay boys team championship. The Chargers and Huron each scored 41 points, but Edison won it on the next-best score after the top five runners. Margaretta (78 points) was third, Port Clinton (109) was fourth and Vermilion did not score as a team. Old Fort won the SBC River team title with 38 points. New Riegel was runner-up with 42 points while SMCC (135) was fifth. Danbury did not score as a team. New Riegel's Cameron Hohman was the individual winner in a time of 16:19. Eli Etchill took fourth for SMCC in 16:59 while Pavan Gorty took 19th for the Panthers, crossing the line in 18:23. Geo Torres added a 26th-place finish for SMCC in 18:57. Killian Marsden was 38th for Danbury in 19:14. GIRLS Lake team standings 1. Columbian, 50 points; 2. Norwalk, 53; 3. Bellevue, 60; 4. Clyde, 68; 5. Perkins, 121; 6. Sandusky, did not score Lake top 15 1. Saige Konik, Norwalk, 19:26; 2. Olive Leavitt, Norwalk, 19:45; 3. Reese Meacham, Bellevue, 20:09; 4. Marissa Gessner, Clyde, 20:22; 5. Carmen Lewis, Columbian, 20:34; 6. Maddie Kelley, Columbian, 20:47; 7. Kameron Koch, Bellevue, 21:01; 8. Emma Musgrave, Columbian, 21:12; 9. Lillie Price, Perkins, 21:17; 10. Grace Norris, Norwalk, 21:25; 11. Laney Renfro, Clyde, 21:19; 12. Gabriella Hohman, Columbian, 21:56; 13. Holly Caranfa, Bellevue, 22:44; 14. Kayla Tischler, Clyde, 22:45; 15. Raelyn Konik, Norwalk, 22:55 Bay team standings 1. Huron, 15 points; 2. Edison, 67; 3. Willard, 71; 4. Margaretta, 86; 5. Port Clinton, did not score; 5. Vermilion, did not score Bay top 15 1. Morgan Wiechman, Port Clinton, 18:18; 2. Rylie Towns, Huron, 18:57; 3. Claire Putnam, Huron, 19:31; 4. Laney Schlessman, Huron, 19:47; 5. Andrea Lesnak, Huron, 19:51; 6. Sasha Fry, Huron, 20:14; 7. Liz Heidl, Huron, 20:49; 8. Keilly Hernandez Rojas, Willard, 21:03; 9. Claire Michaelis, Edison, 21:04; 10. Tenlee Hemmer, Margaretta, 21:15; 11. Lily Risner, Edison, 21:30; 12. Amyra Ruffing, Margaretta, 21:41; 13. Aili Corfman, Edison, 21:58; 14. Kaylee Tenore, Willard, 22:01; 15. Helen Acosta, Willard, 22:06 River team standings 1. Woodmore, 47 points; 2. Northwood, 50; 3. Gibsonburg, 58; 4. Hopewell-Loudon, 82; 5. Fremont SJCC, 119; 6. Calvert 128; 7. Danbury, did not score; 8. Lakota, did not score; 9. New Riegel, did not score; 10. Old Fort, did not score; 11. St. Mary Central Catholic, did not score River top 15 1. Grace Tackett, Old Fort, 19:53; 2. Jorja Flores, Gibsonburg, 20:31; 3. Nicolette Hile, SMCC, 20:31; 4. Emily Reichow, Northwood, 21:31; 5. Macey Kohler, Gibsonburg, 21:35; 6. Peyton Damschroder, Woodmore, 21:39; 7. Ellie Colon, Danbury, 21:41; 8. Miranda Ertsenian, Danbury, 21:46; 9. Wren Lewis, Woodmore, 22:12; 10. Miriam Fowler, Northwood, 22:24; 11. Megan Stone, Northwood, 22:28; 12. Kara Wyman, Hopewell-Loudon, 22:35; 13. Emily Arbogast, Hopewell-Loudon, 22:41; 14. Evie Dinsmore, SMCC, 23:01; 15. Addison Lowry, Woodmore, 23:12 BOYS Lake team standings 1. Columbian, 32 points; 2. Perkins, 49; 3. Norwalk, 51; 4. Clyde, 123; 5. Sandusky, 142; 6. Bellevue, 160 Lake top 15 1. Joel Smelcer, Perkins, 15:26; 2. Xavier Melick, Columbian, 16:57; 3. Noah Townsend, Columbian, 17:10; 4. Blake Witter, Perkins, 17:22; 5. Nolan Jones, 17:33; 6. Nicholas Coiffard, Perkins, 17:50; 7. Casey Kromer, Norwalk, 17:53; 8. Owen Hoyda, Columbian, 17:54; 9. Marcelino Gallardo, Columbian, 17:55; 10. Connor Dukeshire, Columbian, 17:56; 11. Miguel Marquez, Sandusky, 17:56; 12. Clay Heyman, Norwalk, 18:03; 13. Jason Cruz Segovia, Norwalk, 18:08; 14. Alexander Christophel, Norwalk, 18:20; 15. Tristan Biddinger, Norwalk, 18:20 Bay team standings 1. Edison, 41 points (won on tiebreaker); 2. Huron, 41; 3. Margaretta, 78; 4. Port Clinton, 99; 5. Willard, 109; 6. Vermilion, did not score Bay top 15 1. Sage Edgerly-Bork, Huron, 16:12; 2. Cole Zang, Margaretta, 16:23; 3. Jason Nims, Huron, 16:37; 4. Kellen McDonnell, Edison, 17:05; 5. Mason Leber, Edison, 17:16; 6. Charlie Simpson, Port Clinton, 17:20; 7. Achilles Figueroa, Huron, 17:38; 8. AJ Walters, Margaretta, 17:45; 9. Logan Facemire, Edison, 18:09; 10. Dream Mills, Willard, 18:12; 11. Caleb Jeremay, Edison, 18:22; 12. Liam Chase, Edison, 18:24; 13. Sam Case, Huron, 18:24; 14. Colin Butler, Edison, 18:32; 15. Kyle Walton, Margaretta, 18:45 River team standings 1. Old Fort, 38 points; 2. New Riegel, 42; 3. Hopewell-Loudon, 99; 4. Lakota, 133; 5. St. Mary Central Catholic, 134; 6. Gibsonburg, 136; 7. Woodmore, 158; 8. Danbury, did not score; 9. Calvert, did not score; 10. Fremont SJCC, did not score; Northwood, did not score River top 15 1. Cameron Hohman, New Riegel, 16:19; 2. Cale Hull, Old Fort, 16:40; 3. Ian Bloom, Hopewell-Loudon, 16:54; 4. Eli Etchill, SMCC, 16:59; 5. Dalton Hessick, Old Fort, 17:13; 6. Issac Gallagher, Old Fort, 17:23; 7. Isaiah Wood, New Riegel, 17:35; 8. Myles Byrd, Woodmore, 17:37; 9. Alec Hohman, New Riegel, 17:44; 10. Grant Miller, Old Fort, 17:45; 11. Tyler Hill, Gibsonburg, 17:45; 12. Grady Faeth, New Riegel, 17:46; 13. Lance Clouse, New Riegel, 18:05; 14. Donovan Statham, Lakota, 18:08; 15. Aiden Dick, Old Fort, 18:10