WL-S’s Malia Miller (pictured) won at the Ohio Caverns Invitational on Saturday.
Photo by John Coffman Photography
The West Liberty-Salem boys cross country team won the 52nd Annual Max Evans Ohio Caverns Invitational on Saturday.
WL-S had 22 points followed by Columbus Grove with 91. Graham placed 8th with 228.
Top placers for the Tigers included Caleb Larson 2nd 16:14.6, Asher Cole 3rd 16:22.4, Asher Knox 4th 16:26.1, Dylan King 6th 17:04.1, Brayan Gullett 7th 17:04.6, Troy Bradley 12th 17:35.4 and Adly Knox 14th 17:46.0.
“Winning our home Invitational is something we put down as a main goal before the season, so to win convincingly over a solid field is very satisfying,” said WL-S Coach Mike Louden. “We also recognized our three seniors competing at the Ohio Caverns for the final time: Asher Knox, Quentin Rudolph, and Troy Bradley. This program is beyond blessed to have these three leading the 2024 team.”
Graham’s top placer was Ayden Rudolf, who was 26th in 18:06.20.
Triad’s top placer was Henry Beaverson, who was 37th in 18:24.10.
The WL-S girls team also prevailed at the Ohio Caverns Invitational on Saturday.
WL-S had 31 points and Columbus Grove was second with 82.
For the Tigers, Malia Miller was 1st (19:35), Gwen McCullough was 2nd (20:27) and Addi Wallen was 3rd (20:34).
In addition, Isla Leichty was 13th (22:12), Mariska Smith was 14th (22:22), Bella Hughes was 39th (24:30) and Emma Smith was 43rd (24:50).
“A home invitational combined with homecoming festivities presented a few challenges,” said WL-S Coach Aaron Lauck. “These girls stayed focused throughout the week and took care of business Saturday morning quite well. A 1-2-3 finish from Malia, Gwen and Addi is quite a statement. Malia took the lead in the race early and never looked back.”
Triad’s top placer was Aubrey Johnson, who was 6th in 21:12.80.
Graham’s top placer was Hailey Nash, who was 8th in 21:21.80.
JH cross country
On Saturday, the WL-S junior high teams competed at the Ohio Caverns Invitational. The boys team was led by Aydan Knox, who was first out of a field of 111 runners in 11:16. The boys team placed second.
On the girls side for WL-S, Charlee Albers led the way with a 4th place finish in 13:30. The girls team placed third.
