Shawnee’s Alaina Williams won the girls high school race during Tuesday’s Allen County Invitational at Faurot Park. See more cross country photos at LimaScores.com.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA – At Tuesday’s Allen County Invitational, it was quite evident throughout the girls race that the top two placers were going to be Shawnee runners.
For most of the race on the hilly 5,000-meter cross country course at Faurot Park, Shawnee’s Molly Stump was leading teammate Alaina Williams.
Then, with about 300 meters left to go, Williams began reeling Stump in.
Williams eventually passed Stump, and went on to win the race in a time of 19 minutes, 57 seconds. Stump finished second in 20:06.6. Jenna Stump, Molly’s sister, was a distant third (22:00.9). Savannah Hohe (seventh, 23:35) and Addy Hull (13th, 25:12) rounded out the top five runners for Shawnee.
In the final team standings, Shawnee won the girls title with 23 points. Delphos St. John’s (42) and Elida (67) rounded out the three full teams Tuesday. In all, there were nine schools represented at the Allen County Invitational.
For Williams, a senior, it was her second Allen County individual title. She won the race her freshman season as well.
Williams – who led early on, but fell back to second after the first mile – said she was focused on catching her teammate in the final stretch of the race.
“I just realized how close I was (down the stretch). I kept hearing, ‘It’s the last time you’re ever going to run this race’. So, I knew I had to finish it strong,” Williams said. “I kept getting closer. … I was getting stronger. So, I knew I could do it. I won it my first year and my last year. It was kind of a cool way to end it (last race at Faurot Park).”
Also finishing in the top five in the girls race was Brezlynn Rohr from Delphos St. John’s (fourth, 22:36.5) and Elida’s Emily Durham (fifth, 23:04.6).
And not to be outdone, Alaina Williams’ brother, Noah, jumped out to the early lead Tuesday and ran away for his first high school Allen County title. Williams, a junior, won the middle school Allen County title both seasons of his middle school years.
Noah Williams was never challenged Tuesday, as he won in a stellar time of 16:49.3. Spencerville’s Lanny Oakman finished second (17:14), while Shawnee’s Carter Cleaves placed third (17:48.2).
Shawnee slipped past Bath for the boys team title, 31-34. Spencerville (93), Delphos St. John’s (96), Elida (136) and Lima Senior (170) rounded out the full teams that were figured into the team scoring.
Noah Williams, who has been below 16 minutes this season, realized that Faurot Park presented a huge challenge, when trying to clock a fast time.
“It’s Faurot Park. … It has always been known for those hills and slower times,” Williams said with a grin. “I was really expecting (Spencerville’s) Lanny (Oakman) to be there. I didn’t realize where he was at (during the race), but I knew I needed to push and get away from him, because I knew he’s a pretty good runner. It also feels good to have a team here that really wants it as bad as me.”
Noah Williams said he was not surprised at how his sister won Tuesday’s race.
“I couldn’t read her face, but I knew she wanted it. I just loved how competitive she was. I knew what she could do. I knew she could kick it in,” he said.
The rest of the scorers Tuesday for the Shawnee boys team included Scottie Burden (fifth, 18:28), Ty Schaub (10th, 19:13.1) and Thomas Cover (12th, 19:33).
However, Bath’s tight pack was right there in contention. Bath’s top five runners finished in the top nine spots.
Jacob Wireman led Bath with a fourth-place finish (18:13.5). Landon Jones (sixth, 18:28.6), Connor Raines (seventh, 18:38.8), Everett Bensman (eighth, 18:42.9) and Jaden Ryan (ninth, 19:04.5) rounded out the top five runners for Bath.
“They (Bath) ran in a really nice pack,” longtime Shawnee head coach Russ Holly said. “We had two up front (Williams and Cleaves), which makes a difference. But my third guy had to break into that pack and break it out – and my fourth guy, too.
“So, the league (Western Buckeye League Championships, Oct. 15) could be similar. It could be an interesting race here in a couple weeks.”
Allen County Invitational Results
Boys
Team Scores: 1. Shawnee 31, 2. Bath 34, 3. Spencerville 93, 4. Delphos St. John’s 96, 5. Elida 136, 6. Lima Senior 170. No team scores: LCC, Perry.
Top 25 Finishers: 1. Noah Williams (Sh) 16:49.3, 2. Lanny Oakman (Sp) 17:14.0, 3. Carter Cleaves (Sh) 17:48.2, 4. Jacob Wireman (B) 18:13.5, 5. Scottie Burden (Sh) 18:28.0, 6. Landon Jones (B) 18:28.6, 7. Connor Raines (B) 18:38.8, 8. Everett Bensman (B) 18:42.9, 9. Jaden Ryan (B) 19:04.5, 10. Ty Schaub (Sh) 19:13.1, 11. Treg Sibret (B) 19:24.4, 12. Thomas Cover (Sh) 19:33.0, 13. Carter Owens (Sh) 19:52.4, 14. Amarion Jackson (P) 19:59.9, 15. Hank Kopack (DSJ) 20:14.2, 16. Jonah Volbert (B) 20:25.4, 17. Logan Clark (Sh) 20:31.9, 18. Andrew Bockey (DSJ) 20:32.7, 19. Isaiah Freewalt (DSJ) 20.37.5, 20. Carter Deppe (B) 20:44.2, 21. Gabe Harvey (E) 20:46.4, 22. Wyatt Nielsen (Sp) 20:46.9, 23. Mitchell Adams (Sp) 20:50.9, 24. Sean Alexander (Sh) 20:52.9, 25. Logan Vorhees (Sh) 20:54.3. Top finishers for other schools: 38. Cosimo Di Tolla (LCC), 23:10.6; 40. Cameron King (Lima Senior), 23:18.1.
Girls
Team Scores: 1. Shawnee 23, 2. Delphos St. John’s 42, 3. Elida 67. No team scores: Lima Senior, Spencerville, Allen East, Perry, Bath, LCC.
Top 25 Finishers: 1. Alaina Williams (Sh) 19:57.0, 2. Molly Stump (Sh) 20:06.6, 3. Jenna Stump (Sh) 22:00.9, 4. Brezlynn Rohr (DSJ) 22:36.5, 5. Emily Durham (E) 23:04.6, 6. Kyla Fallis (B) 23:34.4, 7. Savannah Hohe (Sh) 23:35.0, 8. Hailey Hahn (LS) 23:40.7, 9. Loreilei McKeddie (DSJ) 23:44.6, 10. Olivia Bockey (DSJ) 23:48.4, 11. Kayla Dancs (E) 24:11.2, 12. Cady Donaldson (DSJ) 24:57.9, 13. Addy Hull (Sh) 25:12.0, 14. Kate Carson (Sh) 25:17.3, 15. Alena Fuerst (DSJ) 25:25.8, 16. Katelynn Braun (Sp) 25:54.7, 17. Nadia Ricker (Sp) 25:56.1, 18. Mary Claire Kopack (DSJ) 26:04.2, 19. Elayna Will (DSJ) 26:19.4, 20. Sydney Rostorfer (DSJ) 26:22.8, 21. Alayna Wrasman (DSJ) 27:25.2, 22. Aubrey Fairchild (DSJ) 27:33.6, 23. Delaney Neff (AE) 27:37.9, 24. Kaiya Hinebaugh (AE) 28:15.5, 25. Catherine Myers (E) 28:35.1. Top finishers for other schools: 28. Alizabeth Demoss (Perry), 29:28.1; 37. Amaleigh Monaghan (LCC), 35:13.1.
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for The Lima News. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
