O-G girls regional champion, Bath's Walsh wins 400

May 25—PIQUA — The depth of the Ottawa-Glandorf track and field program has been on full display all season.

At this week's Division II regional meet at Piqua, the depth of the Ottawa-Glandorf girls team was on center stage as the Titans notched the team title.

Ottawa-Glandorf pulled away on the track in Saturday's finals, en route to winning the girls team title with 68 points. Bellefontaine finished second with 60 points, while Waynesville (47) and Oakwood (46.50) rounded out the top four teams. Van Wert (33) and Bath (33) tied for seventh place.

The top four placers in each event at the regional meets automatically qualify for the upcoming Ohio High School Athletic Association's Track and Field State Tournament at the University of Dayton this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There are also possible at-large state qualifiers to be announced this weekend.

"All the girls ran hard. We had some hiccups in the morning, but the girls went hard every race," O-G girls head coach Matt Burwell said. "There were a lot of times where they were (running) at their seed times or better. And I know there were a lot of PRs right across the board. (It was) just an outstanding job by these ladies. All the hard work is paying off, and this is our first regional championship in a lot of years. It's a pretty awesome feeling.

"We got quite a few girls out. We got all four relays out. We got (Liana) Fortman out in the 800. We had Anna Buddelmeyer double-place in the mile (1,600) and 2-mile (3,200). It's exciting. I'm looking forward to next weekend down in Dayton. We'll see what happens."

Anna Buddelmeyer scored big points for O-G on Saturday.

In the 1,600, Buddelmeyer, a junior, finished second in a personal-best time of 5 minutes, 4.78 seconds. Buddelmeyer recovered from the afternoon heat and came back later to place third in the 3,200 (11:20.73).

"I just wanted to get out in both. I wanted to PR, because I was thinking the competition would push me. It was really hot," Buddelmeyer said. "I'm hoping to go like sub 5 (minutes at the state meet in the 1,600) and sub 11 (in the 3,200). I was really hoping for that today, but I'm just glad to make it out. I can't be mad. I made it out in three events. So, I'm happy."

On Thursday, the first day of the regional meet, the O-G girls 3,200-meter relay (Corinne Closson, Liana Fortman, Madelyn Hovest, Buddelmeyer) won in a school-record time of 9:18.09.

"I think I'm looking forward to that (3,200 relay) the most," Buddelmeyer said. "We had a great time. I think we were all a little nervous going into it. I don't think we were expecting that (school record) at all. We were really just hoping for first. But when we crossed the finish line and saw 9:18, I think we were all shocked. We were just hoping to get in the 9:20s."

The O-G girls 800 relay (Laney Hedrick, Savannah Recker, Alivia Grothause, Averie Fox) finished second on Saturday (1:43.94).

In the 400 relay, O-G (Savannah Recker, Alivia Grothause, Delaney Duling, Averie Fox) finished second (49.43).

The O-G girls 1,600 relay (Brea Recker, Emma Heringhaus, Corinne Closson, Averie Fox) wrapped up Saturday's competition with a third-place finish (4:00.66).

On the boys side, Batavia edged out Carroll for the team title, 45-44.33. O-G finished third (37), while Brookville (35) and Waynesville (35) tied for fourth place. Bath was the next Lima area finisher, finishing in eighth place (24).

On Thursday, the O-G boys 3,200 relay (Masen Vogt, Ethan Metzger, Isaac Macke, Ty Rosengarten) finished second in a new school-record time of 7:58.38. Carroll won the 3,200 relay (7:55.41).

On Saturday, Rosengarten finished second in the 1,600 (4:23.52), while Van Wert's Owen Scott was a close third (4:24.15). Bath's Jacob Wireman came in fifth (4:26.54).

Scott came back later and stamped his ticket to the Division II state meet in the 3,200 with a fourth-place finish (9:39.44).

At last year's D-II state meet, Rosengarten placed 10th in the 3,200, while Scott finished 11th in the 3,200.

Bath shines on the track

Bath will be sending a contingent of athletes to the state meet.

Bath senior Tatum Walsh won the 400 (57.49), just edging out St. Marys' Syerra Greber (57.70).

Walsh also placed fourth in the 200 (25.54) and was the anchor of the 1,600 relay (Hailey Hale, Isabella Bartlett, Gwyneth Foust, Walsh) that came in second (3:58.77).

Walsh finished sixth in the 100 (12.70).

"This is one of my biggest dreams," Walsh said after winning the 400. "I never thought — looking at the (awards) podium last year — that this would happen.

"Overall, this year, I dropped about two seconds (in the 400), which alone, I'm so happy about. My season has been amazing. I dropped a lot of time. And just to even qualify for the finals in all the events that I did — I couldn't have asked for a better senior season."

On the boys side, Bath senior Brennon Ryan won the high jump on Saturday with a clearance of 6-3.

"As far as regionals last year, I had a bit of a slump. I didn't make it to state," Ryan said. "To bounce back this year as the (regional) champion, it's a really good emotional jump for me."

Bath junior Ethan Cole finished second in the 300-meter hurdles (39.23) on Saturday.

"The ultimate goal is to win (a state title)," Cole said. "I want to try to break into the 38s. But more than anything, I just want to be able to get to state and get the jitters out. I just want to get it all out now and know what it feels like to run at that level."

Van Wert shines on the track

On Saturday, Van Wert notched several state berths.

For the girls, Macy Johnson finished second in the 200 (25.21).

Johnson also was part of the winning 400 relay (Olivia Vaas, Johnson, Mia Rager, Kendra Deehring; 49.05) and the 800 relay (Olivia Vaas, Macy Johnson, Harper Roop, Deehring) that finished third (1:44.31).

Kendra Deehring placed third in the 100 (12.42).

For the Van Wert boys, Owen Scott placed third in the 1,600 (4:24.15) and fourth in the 3,200 (9:39.44).

**Complete results from the Division II regional track and field meet at Piqua can be found on milesplit.oh.