DELPHOS — Good competition, staying healthy, finding depth, looking to peak.

At this time of year, track and field coaches all have these things on their minds as conference tournaments and the post-season begin to shape up.

Based on Saturday’s results at the St. John’s Invitational held at the Delphos Community Track, most of the local coaches seem very pleased with their teams’ positioning at the moment.

Take the two St. John’s coaches whose teams won the meet: girls coach Dave Desenberg and boys coach Jay DeWitt.

“We’re right where we want to be, outside of a couple of injuries. We’ve got (sprinter) Allison Reindel back but we’re taking it slow and easy with her but (junior) Tori Recker isn’t back yet; she could return tomorrow or two weeks,” Desenberg began. “Both of them like to push it hard; they need to learn to dial it back. What’s good is that we have good numbers out this spring and we’re getting some of the younger girls in there. We’ve been able to build some nice depth and that should help us down the road this year.

“Right now, it feels like we’re slogging through but we’re getting there. As I’ve said before, the season is about peaking in May and June. You want to stay healthy and still stay sharp. We’ve worked them hard the last few weeks and we’ve got those nagging injuries.”

DeWitt can commiserate with his compatriot.

“We’ve got those injuries that just won’t quite go away; we work with them every day to try and get them healthy. We did get Scott Recker back but he’s got a lot of catching up to do,” DeWitt began. “It was an OK meet for us overall and it was an OK day to run a track meet. It was windy but it wasn’t damp or rainy. As far as I can tell, we didn’t have any major injuries.”

There were some surprises outside of the usual steady hands, like Cameron Hermiller.

“The Justins (Shrider and Hanf) really had a good day, helping us win the 4×4 and coming in first and fourth in the open 4. We got some points in the field events, too,” DeWitt added. “I put Steven (Metcalfe) down as a 130-foot seed throw in the discus when his best was 128; I told him he was going to throw 130 and he did. That was an excellent throw today.

“Our middle distance guys have been nicked up and we have to get them healthy.”

For Jefferson girls coach Ryan Carder and boys coach Bub Lindeman, they like their teams’ progress.

“We’ve got more depth this year and that helped us finish second today. Last year, we were so young and thin, I think we had something like 15 points; we’ve made a lot of progress,” Carder said. “Our sprints have been doing very well. Bridget Culp is a freshman but she lost in the 100 and 200 sprints to a state qualifier (St. John’s Lindsey Looser), so that’s very good.

“It seems like every meet now, a lot of the girls are setting their personal-bests. You want to see them take those steps; it means they’re working hard and getting better. For us, the handoffs on the relays seem to be the biggest concern. I look for big things in the districts from the relays if we can get that shored up.”

Lindeman’s unit ended up third.

“We had a lot of good times and distances; we’re not dependent on one or two to carry us. That’s good about this team,” Lindeman noted. “For example, we set a meet record in the 4×2 (Kyle Richards, Michael Wiltsie, Wes and Jordan Allenbaugh), Tim Sanders won both hurdles, Sean Osting won both the shot and the discus.

“Andy Wiltsie was second in the long jump, as was Jordan in the 200, Korey Mullenhour in the 110 hurdles and Quentin Lauf in the shot. We did well across the board. We’d have done better teamwise if we hadn’t dropped the baton in the 4×1 but that happens.”

Lindeman also was looking ahead for better things.

“The kids are getting their times down and distances up. We want to do big things in the NWC, districts and beyond,” he added.

Lincolnview coach Matt Langdon saw his girls unit finish third and the boys fourth.

“We had over 100 points; that’s a good day. It’s even better considering the wind; the times were pretty good nonetheless and overall, I’m pleased with how both teams did,” Langdon said.

Langdon pointed out the usual suspects who contributed mightily to the day: for example, senior twins Katie and Kylie Honigford, who have branched out from their normal distance and middle distance events to even include the 4×4 relay.

However, Sarah Korte and Jordon Reynolds also were standard-bearers.

“The twins have done well all year but Sarah winning both hurdles and Jordon doing really well in several events makes us stronger as a team,” Langdon noted. “On the boys side, we only had Jordan Simpson win an event — the high jump — but we had a number finish in the middle of the pack.

“What I like about this meet is you see a team like Jefferson we’ve seen before and will see again in the NWC. You see other teams you’ll see in the districts and it gives you a measuring stick. We haven’t peaked yet and you hope you can keep getting better. It all comes down to health.”

For Jennings coach Kevin Horstman, injuries have taken a toll on his progressing squads, both of whom finished last.

“Katie Von Lehmden has been out with an illness for the girls squad — she’ll be back this week — and we just got Brad Bruskotter, our main man for the boys, back from an injury. He ran one race Saturday,” Horstman noted. “For the girls, Stacie Chandler has had a great year. She won the 400 Saturday and set the school record the week before at Grove. With only 14 girls, it’s difficult to get a lot of points.

“Overall, I like how we’ve come along and where we’re headed. Right now, we’re shooting for the PCL meet in two weeks. For the first time in a long time, Grove doesn’t appear to be the favorites; that might take some getting used to. The Pandora boys and Ottoville girls are the likely favorites. Our 1,600 girls relay should be quite competitive but, unfortunately, our district is loaded in that event.”

Jefferson is in action Tuesday at Columbus Grove (with Ottawa-Glandorf). St. John’s is at Spencerville (with Perry); the Musketeers have a quad at Wayne Trace; and Lincolnview is at Crestview (with Van Wert) in the Van Wert County Meet.

St. John’s Invitationa

Saturday

At Scott Memorial Track

Girls Team Rankings: St. John’s 164, Jefferson 124, Lincolnview 107, Hopewell-Loudon 75, Calvert 43, Allen East 27, Fort Jennings 21.

Boys Team Rankings: St. John’s 134, Hopewell-Loudon 112, Jefferson 109, Lincolnview 85, Calvert 73, Allen East 47, Fort Jennings 5.

Points: 10-8-6-4-3-2-1 individuals; 10-8-6-4-2-1 relays.

Girls 4×800 Meter Relay: 1. Lincolnview (Jordon Reynolds, Taylar Boroff, Kylie Honigford, Katie Honigford) 10:34.27; 2. Calvert 11:00.13; 3. St. John’s (Erin Calvelage, Katie Neumeier, Emily Schwieterman, Mary Bemis) 11:22.91; 4. Jefferson (Taylor Van Grootheest, Kristy Schuerman, Korey Boggs, Adrian Kimmett) 11:43.03; 5. Fort Jennings (Chelsea Chandler, Brittany Piasecki, Alexis Cummings, Rachel Grothause)11:52.19; 6. Hopewell-Loudon 12:05.14.

Boys 4×800 Meter Relay: 1. Hopewell-Loudon 8:39.21; 2. Calvert 8:50.84; 3. Allen East 9:03.04; 4. St. John’s (Ryan Ricker, Scott Recker, A.J. Klausing, Scott Klausing) 9:08.04; 5. Lincolnview (Chris Beck, Jack Frank, Seth Wisener, Kaleb Baucom) 9:22.69; 6. Fort Jennings (Tanner Adams, Ryan Kraner, Adam Von Lehmden, Brad Briskotter) 9:25.95; … 7. Jefferson (Eric Renner, Brandon Carder, Andy Wiltsie, Josh Menke) 9:28.03.

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles: 1. Sarah Korte (LV) 17.42; 2. Emily Van Grootheest (DJ) 17.82; 3. Alicia Ankerman (SJ) 17.98; 4. McAllister (HL) 18.05; 5. Kayla Mullenhour (DJ) 18.45; 6. Samantha Ginter (SJ) 18.92; 7. Schafer (AE) 19.08; …8. Mary Smith (LV) 20.05.

Boys 110 Meter Hurdles: 1. Tim Sanders (DJ) 16.14; 2. Korey Mullenhour (DJ) 16.71; 3. Siebenaller (HL) 17.14; 4. Kirk Bonifas (LV) 17.31; 5. Joe Haggard (SJ) 17.44; 6. Schick (AE) 18.18; 7. Painter (HL) 18.28; … 8. Ben Smith (FJ) 20.25.

Girls 100 Meter Dash: 1. Lindsey Looser (SJ) 13.06; 2. Bridget Culp (DJ) 13.34; 3. Lauren Burgei (SJ) 13.79; 4. Calista Dowdy (LV) 14.26; 5. Shulaw (AE) 14.46; 6. T. Schick (AE) 14.63; 7. Leigh Brock (DJ) 14.66.

Boys 100 Meter Dash: 1. Cameron Hermiller (SJ) 11.11; 2. Collin Etzkorn (SJ) 11.57; 3. Jordan Allenbaugh (DJ) 11.60; 4. James Brake (LV) 11.91; 5. Demith (TC) 12.04; 6. Wise (HL) 12.07; 7. Wes Allenbaugh (DJ) 12.17.

Girls 4×200 Meter Relay: 1. Jefferson (Tiffany Semrock, Emily Fought, Morgan Fischbach, Bridget Culp) 1:50.93; 2 St. John’s (Lindsey Looser, Lauren Burgei, Dana Martin, Bailey Calvelage) 1:51.31; 3. Hopewell-Loudon 1:56.47; 4. Allen East 2:02.36.

Boys 4×200 Meter Relay: 1. Jefferson (Kyle Richards, Michael Wiltsie, Wes Allenbaugh, Jordan Allenbaugh) 1:34.46#; 2. St. John’s (Matt Trentman, Justin Shrider, A.J. Klausing, Evan Burgei) 1:36.06; 3. Hopewell-Loudon 1:38.59; 4. Calvert 1:39.84; 5. Lincolnview (Kirk Bonifas, Austin Miller, Tyler Kraner, James Brake) 1:40.64; 6. Fort Jennings (Johannes Schaber, Kyle Recker, Tanner Adams, Ben Smith) 1:42.94.

Girls 1,600 Meter Run: 1. Kylie Honigford (LV) 5:29.00; 2. Erin Calvelage (SJ) 5:35.40; 3. Swartz (TC) 5:46.00; 4. Adrian Kimmett (DJ) 5:52.60; 5. Jordon Reynolds (LV) 5:55.40; 6. Buchman (TC) 5:56.00; 7. Morman (AE) 6:03.00; … 8. Katie Neumeier (SJ) 6:11.21.

Boys 1,600 Meter Run: 1. Szablewski (TC) 4:47.73; 2. T. Wise (HL) 4:58.62; 3. Seth Wisener (LV) 5:01.04; 4. Burkey (AE) 5:07.93; 5. Alex Bockey (SJ) 5:22.06; 6. Jaurez (HL) 5:23.33; 7. Jared Atterberry (DJ) 5:25.19; … 8. Chris Beck (LV) 5:26.03; … 10. Austin Bonifas (DJ) 5:52.72; 11. Jon Metzger (FJ) 6:00.30; 12. Andrew Kleman (FJ) 6:08.27.

Girls 4×100 Meter Relay: 1. St. John’s (Lindsey Looser, Lauren Burgei, Dana Martin, Allison Reindel) 52.36; 2. Jefferson (Tiffany Semrock, Emily Fought, Morgan Fischbach, Bridget Culp) 53.07; 3. Hopewell-Loudon 55.05; 4. Allen East 57.94; 5. Lincolnview (Mary Smith, Brittany Bigham, Ashley Dominique, Kirsten Barnhart) 1:00.58.

Boys 4×100 Meter Relay: 1. St. John’s (Tony Reindel, Collin Etzkorn, Jay Leininger, Cameron Hermiller) 44.72; 2. Calvert 47.24; 3. Lincolnview (Tyler Miller, Austin Miller, Andrew Diller, James Brake) 47.49; 4. Hopewell-Loudon 48.53; 5. Allen East 49.86; 6. Fort Jennings (Ryan Calvelage, Andrew Louth, Ben Schnipke, Todd Kleman) 57.47.

Girls 400 Meter Dash: 1. Stacie Chandler (FJ) 1:03.93; 2. Tiffany Semrock (DJ) 1:06.75; 3. Brittany Katalenas (LV) 1:08.16; 4. Berner (HL) 1:10.86; 5. Korey Boggs (DJ) 1:11.17; 6. Brodman (TC) 1:12.00; 7. Tatum Mauk (SJ) 1:13.43.

Boys 400 Meter Dash: 1. Justin Shrider (SJ) 53.85; 2. Mullen (TC) 54.76; 3. Tyler Dunn (LV) 55.43; 4. Justin Hanf (SJ) 56.33; 5. Steve (HL) 57.54; 6. Andy Wiltsie (DJ)  57.96; 7. Logan Bonifas (DJ) 58.71.

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles: 1. Sarah Korte (LV) 51.03; 2. Harrison (HL) 51.38; 3. Kayla Mullenhour (DJ) 52.30; 4. McAllister (HL) 53.51; 5. Emma Boggs (SJ) 53.78; 6. Schafer (AE) 54.72; 7. Sara Shrider (SJ) 55.63; … 8. Alyssa Piasecki (FJ) 58.78.

Boys 300 Meter Hurdles: 1. Tim Sanders (DJ) 42.64; 2. Siebenaller (HL) 43.06; 3. Kirk Bonifas (LV) 44.26; 4. Kory Mullenhour (DJ) 44.49; 5. Weaver (HL) 45.20; 6. Schick (AE) 46.15; 7. Ryan Fischer (SJ) 47.30; … 8. Joe Haggard (SJ) 48.08.

Girls 800 Meter Run: 1. Katie Honigford (LV) 2:27.97; 2. Chambers (TC) 2:31.88; 3. Adrian Kimmett (DJ) 2:40.94; 4. Morman (AE) 2:42.84; 5. Jordon Reynolds (LV) 2:44.43; 6. Emily Schwieterman (SJ) 2:51.03; 7. Saalman (HL) 2:54.26; … 8. Katie Neumeier (SJ) 2:57.18; … 10. TaylorVan Grootheest (DJ) 3:11.56.

Boys 800 Meter Run: 1. Cook (AE) 2:05.84; 2. Mullen (TC) 2:07.95; 3. Dandurand (HL) 2:10.75; 4. Mendoza (TC) 2:15.80; 5. Kaleb Baucom (LV) 2:16.05; 6. Steyer (HL) 2:19.47; 7. Ryan Ricker (SJ) 2:21.65; … 8. Brandon Carder (DJ) 2:22.59; …10. Scott Klausing (SJ) 2:24.60; 11. Jack Frank (LV) 2:27.65; 12. Eric Renner (DJ) 2:28.42; 13. Todd Kleman (FJ) 3:01.17; 14. Ben Kleman (FJ) 3:38.62.

Girls 200 Meter Dash: 1. Lindsey Looser (SJ) 26.42; 2. Bridget Culp (DJ) 27.79; 3. Dana Martin (SJ) 27.99; 4. Emily Fought (DJ) 28.10; 5. Harrison (HL) 28.60; 6. Stacie Chandler (FJ) 28.75; 7. Calista Dowdy (LV) 28.79.

Boys 200 Meter Dash: 1. Cameron Hermiller (SJ) 22.84; 2. Jordan Allenbaugh (DJ) 23.44; 3. Evan Burgei (SJ) 23.46; 4. Michael Wiltsie (DJ) 23.87; 5. James Brake (LV) 24.72; 6. Painter (HL) 24.75; 7. Andrew Diller (LV) 25.24.

Girls 3,200 Meter Run: 1. Erin Calvelage (SJ) 12:18.90; 2. Swartz (TC) 12:37.74; 3. Kylie Honigford (LV) 12:53.61; 4. Taylar Boroff (LV) 12:55.95; 5. Buchman (TC) 13:22.52; 6. Ritter (HL) 13:50.36; 7. Morman (AE) 13:57.52; … 8. Mary Bemis (SJ) 14:07.34; … 10. Adrian Kimmett (DJ) 14:51.73.

Boys 3,200 Meter Run: 1. Szablewski (TC) 10:06.87#; 2. Hohman (HL) 10:38.45; 3. Seth Wisener (LV) 10:56.12; 4. Hutchinson (AE) 11:04.46; 5. Burkey (AE) 11:08.98; 6. Richey (HL) 11:22.04; 7. Perry (TC) 11:40.26; … 8. Nathan Wurst (FJ) 12:13.00; 9. Chris Beck (LV) 12:13.83; 10. Ryan Kraner (FJ) 12:36.78; 11. Aaron Curth (DJ) 13:32.34; 12. Hiro Tokunaga (DJ) 13:54.06

Girls 4×400 Meter Relay: 1. Lincolnview (Jordon Reynolds, Kylie Honigford, Brittany Katalenas, Katie Honigford) 4:30.44; 2. Jefferson (Mallorie Wilson, Kayla Mullenhour, Emily Fought, Morgan Fischbach) 4:32.07; 3. Calvert 4:42.77; 4. St. John’s (Dana Lindeman, Danielle Wilkerson, Tiffany Geise, Tatum Mauk) 4:44.73; 5. Hopewell-Loudon 4:48.47.

Boys 4×400 Meter Relay: 1. St. John’s (Aaron Hackworth, Collin Etzkorn, Justin Shrider, Justin Hanf) 3:43.34; 2. Calvert 3:43.60; 3. Hopewell-Loudon 3:45.04; 4. Lincolnview (Kirk Bonifas, Jack Frank, Tyler Dunn, Kaleb Baucom) 3:46.85; 5. Jefferson (Eric Renner, Josh Menke, Andy Wiltsie, Tim Sanders) 3:51.73.

Girls High Jump: 1. Tiffany Geise (SJ) 4-8; 2. (tie) Kayla Mullenhour (DJ), Emily Schwieterman (SJ), Calista Dowdy (LV), Kracher (HL) and Richey (HL) 4-6; 7. Stephanie Clay (SJ) and Stacie Chandler (FJ) 4-4.

Boys High Jump: 1. Jordan Simpson (LV) 5-10#; 2. Jordan Leininger (SJ) 5-10#; 3. (tie) Kory Mullenhour (DJ), Tyler Kraner (LV), Laing (AE) and Wise (HL) 5-4; 7. Jeff Michel (SJ) 5-2; … 8. Mitchel Antalis (DJ) 5-0.

Girls Pole Vault: 1. Katie Grothouse (SJ) 9-6#; 2. (tie) Stacey Blockberger (DJ) and Bailey Calvelage (SJ) 8-9; 4. (tie) Morgan Miller (LV), Woods (AE) and Lucius (HL) 7-6; 7. Korey Boggs (DJ) 6-6.

Boys Pole Vault: 1. Jay Leininger (SJ) 13-6#; 2. Austin Miller (LV) 11-0; 3.  Romanko (HL) 10-0; 4. Tyler Miller (LV) 9-6; 5. Mitchell Antalis (DJ) 9-0; 6. (tie) Ryan Beck (SJ) and C. Adams (HL) 8-6.

Girls Long Jump: 1. Dana Martin (SJ) 15-7 1/2; 2. Bailey Calvelage (SJ) 15-1; 3. Kristina Clippinger (FJ) 14-0; 4. Casey Patterson (LV) 13-11 1/2; 5. Jordon Reynolds (LV) 13-5 1/4; 6. Lucius (HL) 13-2 1/2; 7. Korey Boggs (DJ) 12-11.

Boys Long Jump: 1. Blake Williams (SJ) 18-6 1/2; 2. Andy Wiltsie (DJ) 18-2 1/2; 3. Ryan Fischer (SJ) 17-11 3/4; 4. Andrew Diller (LV) 17-8 1/4; 5. Romanko (HL) 17-6 1/2; 6. Johannes Schaber (FJ) 17-4 1/2; 7. Steve (HL) 17-3 1/2.

Girls Discus: 1. Rachel Miller (SJ) 110-0; 2. Mallorie Wilson (DJ) 108-10; 3. Tracy Mueller (SJ) 102-10; 4. DeVlugt (HL) 100-8; 5. Hoover (HL) 92-10; 6. Shelbi Brown (DJ) 83-7; 7. Coulter (AE) 82-10; … 8. Katie Runyon (LV) 73-6.

Boys Discus: 1. Sean Osting (DJ) 142-2; 2. Laing (AE) 139-9; 3. Frisch (HL) 134-4; 4. Schleter (HL) 134-0; 5. Steven Metcalfe (SJ) 130-6; 6. Jared Runyon (LV) 120-9; 7. Coffman (TC) 118-7; … 8. Quentin Lauf (DJ) 117-5.

Girls Shot Put: 1. Mallorie Wilson (DJ) 33-8; 2. DeVlugt (HL) 32-9; 3. Rachel Miller (SJ) 31-7; 4. Hohman (HL) 29-10; 5. Sarah Medford (LV) 29-3 1/2; 6. Bridget Baer (LV) 28-11; 7. Tiffany Recker (SJ) 28-2; … 8. Emily Edinger (DJ) 28-0 1/2.

Boys Shot Put: 1. Sean Osting (DJ) 45-1; 2. Quentin Lauf (DJ) 43-10; 3. Tony Reindel (SJ) 43-0; 4. Frisch (HL) 41-0; 5. Schleter (HL) 39-3 1/2; 6. Preston Cunningham (LV) 38-6; 7. Laing (AE) 37-11 1/2.

# - new meet record