When you win a League Championship, there are many highlights. This week two ladies stepped up to accept the challenge.  In a race that was decided by the fifth runners, Hopewell-Loudon had the best.  Bailey Jameson finished well ahead of Liberty-Benton's fifth runner and grabbed a 2nd Team BVC Honor in the process.  Lizzie Erlanger had to perform to prolong her season into the Tournaments, and she did just that.  And Lizzie also ran well enough to gain Honorable Mention BVC Honors. Great Job, and they are our Runners of the Week !!

The Lady Chieftains advanced in the Tournaments by placing third at the Galion District on Saturday.  The Top 4 teams and the Top 16 individuals all advance to the Regional Meet in Tiffin this Saturday.  The Chieftains were led by Corrin Hoover's 6th place finish in a personal best 20:21.  She was followed by Renae Kapelka in 12th, Ashley Brickner 17th, Bailey Jameson 21st, Camie Tidswell 30th, Lizzie Erlanger 33rd and Emily Pace in 41st.  Brickner, Jameson and Tidswell also achieved Personal Bests in the race.  Come out and support the girls at the Regional Meet at Tiffin's Hedges-Boyer Park this Saturday at 1:30 pm.

The Junior High Lady Chieftains won their second straight BVC Championship in Findlay Saturday.  Leading the way as the Individual League Champion was Taylor Joseph, who matched her personal best time of 13:10.  Also coming up big was Shanny Strahm, who ran a career best  time and placed in the Top 10 to earn League Honors.  Way to go Ladies !!!  You are this week's Runners of the Week ! 

The Lady Chieftains captured their first BVC Cross Country Championship Saturday at Owens Community College in Findlay.  Leading the way for the Chieftains were Corrin Hoover, Renae Kapelka and Ashley Brickner, all with Top 10 finishes.  Emily Pace and Bailey Jameson rounded out the scoring runners, and Camie Tidswell and Lizzie Erlanger the Top 7.  Hoover and Kapelka were named 1st Team BVC, while Brickner, Pace and Jameson captured 2nd Team Honors.   In the Junior High Race, the young Lady Chieftains also captured the League Title, with Taylor Joseph and Taylor Leiter finishing 1st and 2nd in that race. 

The Girls' XC Team placed 4th of 15 teams at the Fostoria Booster Invitational last Saturday.  Leading many solid efforts were Grace Portentoso and Corrin Hoover.  Grace achieved one of the few PRs of the day, and it was a big one, shaving about 30 seconds off her previous best time.  Corrin also had a PR and ran a great race as well, finishing as our Top Runner.  Both young Ladies earn this week's Runner of the Week awards for their efforts.

The Lady Chieftains XC team took fourth place in the 15 team field at the Fostoria Booster Invite on Saturday at Fostoria High School.  Corrin Hoover led the way, followed by Renae Kapelka, Ashley Brickner, Emily Pace and Bailey Jameson.  Marissa Shaver and Camie Tidswell rounded out the top seven.  Marissa and Corrin were joined by Grace Portentoso as runners achieving season's best times in this race.

The Junior High team grabbed the Runner-Up trophy in their race.  Taylor Leiter and Taylor Joseph were the top two runners, followed by Brook Breidenbach, Shanny Strahm and Macy Breidenbach as the scoring runners.

The Fostoria Meet was  a good one for the young Lady Chieftains.  They grabbed the Runner-Up trophy in the field of 9 teams.  Brook and Macy Breidenbach both ran very strong races.  Macy had one of the few PRs on this difficult course, and Brook was once again steady and strong, finishing third on the team as she has done all year long, showing great consistency.  This earned these two our runner of the week awards.  Way to go, Ladies !!

The Hopewell-Loudon Girls' XC team took 3rd place at the Buckeye Central Invitational on Saturday on a very wet course.  They narrowly missed  the Runner-Up spot, finishing behind Colonel Crawford by a 74-77 score.  Galion Northmor, the State's # 6 ranked team, won the meet.  The Lady Chieftains were led By Corrin Hoover and Renae Kapelka.  Ashley Brickner, Emily Pace and Bailey Jameson followed in the top five.  Marissa Shaver and Camie Tidswell rounded out the scoring runners.

The Junior High Girls took third of 10 teams.  They were led by Taylor Joseph, Taylor Leiter, Brook Breidenbach, Shanny Strahm and Macy Breidenbach.  Rounding out the top seven were Riley Suter and Emma Shellhammer.

Marissa Shaver and Camie Tidswell had strong races at the Buckeye Central Invite.  They both ran close to their season best times on a very wet and muddy course.  Their efforts helped the Chieftains take third place in the ten team field and got them this week's Runner of the Week awards.  Keep up the good work, Ladies!!

The Lady Chieftains place four runners in the top 25, and finished second behind state ranked Liberty Center in the 10 team field at the Widewater Invitational on Saturday.  Leading the way were Renae Kapleka and Corrin Hoover with 6th and 7th places. The next pair to cross the line were Emily Pace and Ashley Brickner in 15th and 16th.  Bailey Jameson finished up the scoring by grabbing the 25th place medal.  Rounding out the top seven were Lizzie Erlanger and Camie Tidswell. All fourteen Varsity runners  achieved PRs in this race, including Career PRs for Marissa Shaver and Madisen Crites-Kline.

A couple of big performances highlighted the young Lady Chieftains efforts at the Buckeye Central Invite.  Shanny Strahm and Emma Shellhammer both turned in huge PRs in their races,  Emma shaved off almost 90 seconds and Shanny trimmed 60 seconds off of their previous best times this year.  Way to go ladies !!!

The Hopewell-Loudon Girls XC Team won their second straight Invitational title with a win Saturday at Lakota.  The Lady Chieftains totaled 40 points to finish ahead of second place Sandusky St. Marys 62 and seven other schools.  Renae Kapelka and Corrin Hoover both had Top 10 finishes, and Ashley Brickner and Emily Pace were 15th and 16th.  Lizzie Erlanger, Camie Tidswell and Bailey Jameson rounded out the scoring runners.  Our Junior High Runners finished 4th out of 14 teams, behind only Division I & II schools.

The Lady Chieftains had a big day at the Liberty Center Widewater Invite on Saturday.  The Chieftains finished Runner-Up to State Ranked Liberty Center.  Bailey Jameson had a big PR and moved back up to the fifth runner spot, and Ashley Brickner had a huge PR, taking a full minute off of her previous best time.  That earned these two our Runners of the Week!!  Great Job, Ladies!!

The Hopewell-Loudon Varsity girls captured the crown at the Riverdale Invitational, finishing ahead of second place Carey and five other teams to win their first Invitational of 2016.  Corrin Hoover led the way for the Lady Chieftains, followed by Renae Kapelka, Ashley Brickner, Emily Pace, Lizzie Erlanger, Bailey Jameson and Madisen Crites-Kline to round out the scoring runners.  Madisen and Marissa Shaver also achieved career PRs in this race.

We only had one Runner of the Week for Junior High this week, but what a BIG race she had at Widewater.  Macy Breidenbach shaved 90 seconds off her previous best time and helped the young Lady Chieftains to a third place finish at Liberty Center.  Great Job, Macy, you just keep getting stronger !!

The Lady Chieftains ran up in Division II on Saturday at the Tiffin Cross Country Carnival, finishing 23rd out of 39 teams.  They were led by Renae Kapelka's 26th place finish. Filling in the rest of the scoring five were Ashley Brickner, Bailey Jameson, Emily Pace and Madisen Crites-Kline.  Camie Tidswell led the Open runners with a very solid performance.

The Junior High runners had a great day, finishing 7th of 27 teams in the Varsity race. They were led by the two Taylors, with Leiter finishing 13th and Joseph 15th of the over 200 runners.  The rest of the Varsity runners in order of finish were Brook Breidenbach, Olivia Zender, Shantel Strahm and Riley Suter.  Ainsley Roush led the 7th Grade Open runners.

Week #4 brought the H-L Lady Chieftains Invite Championships at Riverdale and Lakota, so there were many great performances.  Emily Pace has come on strong the last week, achieving PRs at both meets.  Marissa Shaver has also been running well, chalking up a Career PR at Riverdale.  And then there is Corrin Hoover, who led the team at Riverdale and also chipped in a Top 10 finish at Lakota, as well.  These three young ladies had great weeks, as did the whole team !!  Let's keep up the good work at Widewater this week.

The H-L Girls had a very solid showing at the Grove Invite on Saturday.  They took home a third place trophy out of the field of 15 teams.  Rene Kapelka and Corrin Hoover were once again our first two runners with top twenty performances.  They were followed by Ashley Brickner, Bailey Jameson and Lizzie Erlanger to round out the scoring. Emily Pace and Madisen Crites-Kline finished out the Top Seven.

Our Jr. High runners were 7th of 18 teams.  Taylor Joseph and Taylor Leiter both had career best times to finish 1-2.  Brook Breidenbach, Shantel Strahm and Riley Suter finished out the scoring.

The Junior High Lady Chieftains have been having a great season so far.  With the two Taylors leading the way, they finished in the Runner-Up spot at Riverdale, and finished 4th of 14 teams at Lakota.  Leiter and Joseph took turns being the top runner in these two races, and have been two of the area's best young runners this year.  Liliana Ortiz has been working very hard in practice, and achieved a huge PR at the Riverdale Meet.  Way to go Ladies !!  Keep up the good work ! 

The Lady Chieftains started their season with a 4th place finish at the Seneca East Tiger Classic.  The H-L squad was led by three top 25 finishes by Renae Kapelka 11th, Corrin Hoover 14th and Bailey Jameson 24th.  Seneca East led the way with 71 points followed by Mansfield Christianwith 87, Norwalk St. Paul 96 and then the Chieftains with 100.  Following H-L were Mapleton, Mohawk, Lakot, Gibsonburg, Hardin Northern, Old Fort, Wynford and North Baltimore.

The Jr. High Girls took the Runner-Up spot in their meet.  They were led by three top 20 finishes for Taylor Leiter 2nd, Taylor Joseph 7th and Brook Breidenbach 19th. 

Lots of runners, some muggy weather and a challenging course were all there Saturday at the Tiffin Cross Country Carnival.  A couple Lady Chieftains had particularly good days.  Camie Tidswell led the way in the Open Race placing 65th out of 393 runners, and Grace Portentoso was able to fight thru the conditions and still achieve a PR, the only H-L runner able to do so.  A great job by both of these runners !!

The Tiffin Carnival brought out the best in these two Junior High Runners. Brook Breidenbach continues to have a very solid season and was once again the team's third runner.  All her hard work has definitely paid off.  Our other runner of the week showed just how much promise she has.  In her very first XC race, she was the team's fourth runner and ran a 14:58 on a very tough Carnival course.  Great Job by both young ladies !!!!

The meet at Columbus Grove had lots of big performances for the Lady Chieftains.  Standing out were Reane Kapelka and Madisen Crites-Kline.  Renae was our top runner for the second week in a row and ran a 21:09, almost a full minute faster than her race at Grove last year.  Madisen established a Career PR and broke into the Top 7 for the first time this year.  Great Job for both of these young ladies !!

The Junior High girls performed very well at Columbus Grove.  Taylor Joseph was our top runner and established a new Career PR in this race. Along with the other Taylor, she is establishing herself as one of the areas best young runners.  Ainsley Roush also had a very good day, taking almost 35 seconds off the time of her first race.  She works very hard in practice and will continue to get better.  Great Job, Ladies !!

Our first race of the year at Seneca East produced many fine performances, making it hard to choose our 1st week winners, but these two stood out.  Jazmine Nutter started her year with a 25 second improvement over her race on this course last year, and a strong 6th place team finish.  Ashley Brickner made her first ever XC race a memorable one, finishing fourth on the team!  Now we know what to expect from her this week.

When you get the Runner-Up trophy in a big Invite, lots of people have good days, and that certainly was the case at Seneca East in Week #1.  Taylor Leiter was the individual runner-up in a race of 95 runners and Riley Suter shaved over a minute off her race at this meet last year!  A great job by all the Junior High runners, you are going to have a great year!!!!