Breaking News
Local Sports

Luke Rettenberger three-peats, Warriors sweep Broughton

Williamstown\'s Cassie Sites wins girls race

By Jordan Holland 8 min read

Luke Rettenberger won the boys race for the third straight while four Warren girls finished in the top 10 as the Warriors swept the team titles at Saturday's Elizabeth S. Broughton Memorial Invitational.

After finishing first at the Broughton as a sophomore, Rettenberger successfully defended his crown for the second straight season. He clocked in at 15:59, which wasn't quite what he anticipated.

"I ran 15:35 last year, so it was a little slower than I expected it to be," the Warren senior said. "Just got to get back into the competition feeling. Usually the years before we’ve had the (Parkersburg) News and Sentinel two-mile, and then we’ve had Broughton's (the next week). This year we had a week in between, so I think for all of us that just kind of got us out of the competitive mood for a week. Now we just have to get back into it. First race of the year."

The Broughton is one of Rettenberger's favorite courses to run, and not just because he's had so much success there.

"I really like this course," he said. "This is one of my probably top-five favorite courses. I’ve always enjoyed this one. It’s got the right amount of both. It’s got some good flat and it’s got some good hills and some fun terrain. I really enjoy this course.

"Sophomore year, when I won it, it was like one of the first big high school races I won. So it felt really good to do it three times."

Rettenberger finished ahead of runner-up Travis Moore of Tyler Consolidated by 31 seconds.

"I think hills are definitely slept on," Rettenberger said. "A lot of people just kind of run flat grounds. Even if the course doesn’t have hills, having the strength of powering through hills can translate to some flat ground speed, too. You don’t have to obviously train hills every day, but running hills can definitely help you out and make you faster."

Two spots behind Rettenberger was teammate Alex Bishop, who finished third at 17:12. Nick Bishop (17th; 18:58), Ben Rettenberger (21st; 19:36) and Caleb Yost (23rd; 19:52) helped contribute to the top team score of the day as well. Warren finished with 65 points while runner-up Williamstown came in at 83.

"I think we ran well as a team," Luke Rettenberger said. "We’ve had a couple individuals who’ve come out and surprised us to run good. It’s really nice to see that. We have a good group of guys who want to go far and do big things."

The Warren girls bested rival and host Marietta 36-47. Rania Singh (20:45), Ashlee Pate (21:39) and Adi Greenup (21:54) placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, for the Warriors. Cam Edgell finished ninth at 22:52, while Violet Gibson (23:45) finished 14th to round out the scoring for WHS, which will host the annual Scenic Hills Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5.

The runner-up Tigers saw Kelly Nicholas turn in a third-place finish, crossing the finish line in 20:43. Teammate Hailey Powell placed eighth with 22:41, while Aubrey Christensen (11th; 23:32), Anna Knaus (13th; 23:42) and Teagan Brown (16th; 23:58) also scored for MHS.

It was the third-place Williamstown Yellojackets who featured the top girls time of the day, courtesy of senior Cassie Sites. Sites finished at 20:03 to win by a healthy margin over runner-up Elliot Handley of Fort Frye (20:37).

"It’s a really good course," Sites said. "I think Marietta always has some great competition. Hilly, but strong and fast course. If you race it right, you can make a great time.

"I knew that I needed to surge before that last big hill and getting into that forest again, because that’s where it’s a make-or-break point for these girls. It’s easy to get in your head when you’re going up a hill like that. So I’m telling myself as I’m going up, 'someone out there might be right up that hill just as hard as you are. You need to go up it hard and break them.' I never really think they’re far away. I try to say, 'hey, they’re right on you at all times.'"

Sites placed 11th overall at last week's Autumn Classic in St. Marys with a time of 19:48.

"I tried to go out a little different than normal (Saturday) because I’m more of a get-people-as-I-go runner," Sites explained. "I tried to just go out there and make it my own race because I know I’m capable of it. That’s what my coach told me to do, and I followed that.

"I want to work on getting out there with those girls that are going to push me because it’s better to do that. Get strong instead of settle. I want to go out there and get what I can to reach those big goals."

Fellow Yellowjacket Kendall Gant rounded out the top 10 with a time of 22:57, while Raeley Perdue (12th; 23:41), Bridget Kerby (19th; 24:43) and Lucianna Collins (22nd; 25:02) also scored for Williamstown.

"I think this is a breakthrough for our team, because we had so many girls out there pushing each other," Sites said. "We have some great competition team-wise. I think they could push themselves. We’re familiar with this course. It’s close to home. I think our team just did so good. We have Kendall Gant coming in as a freshman, and she’s having amazing times already. We have a new girl, Lucy Collins. She did amazing in our 4×8 (in track), and now she’s doing cross country. I think she’s going to be unstoppable this year for sure."

Caldwell was represented in the top 10 by Emma Hayes, who finished seventh at 22:38.

Lydia Huck recorded a time of 23:48 to come in 14th for fourth-place Fort Frye. Ellie Ehitlatch (17th; 24:05) and Gabby Campbell (18th; 24:18) both finished in the top 20 for fifth-place Belpre.

For the runner-up Yellowjackets, Gavin Wilburn (17:42) cracked the top 10 in sixth place while teammate Zander Boyce (18:08) finished just outside in 11th. Chase Pickering (16th; 18:51), Brody Pickens (20th; 19:18) and Sylas Shotwell (32nd; 20:25) also scored for the 'Jackets

Fort Frye had a strong showing to finish third as a team, powered by a pair of top 10 finishers -- Brody Griffin (7th; 17:45) and Declan Schaad (9th; 17:53)

Moore and Brody Nice (5th; 17:37) both finished inside the top five for Tyler Consolidated, which placed fifth as a team. Ethan Huffman (14th; 18:33), Jude Kehl (33rd; 20:26) and Collin McCurdy (34th; 20:34) also produced points for the Cadets.

Camden Space represented the host Tigers in the top 10, rounding out the list in 10th with a time of 17:57, while teammates Ezekiel Minard (18:17) and Emmett Parman (18:27) weren't far behind in 12th and 13th, respectively.

Caldwell's Zane Boyd (4th; 17:20) and Belpre's Drew Williams (8th; 17:51) put together top 10 finishes, while Caldwell's Marcus Rohrbaugh (15th; 18:47), Waterford's Tyson Franchino (18th; 19:15) and Tyler's Trey Moore (19th; 19:17) rounded out the top 20.

The middle school team titles went to the Jackson girls and Tyler Consolidated boys. Jackson's Collins Rader (12:12) won the girls race while Williamstown's Luke Seago (11:21) was the boys champion.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

Elizabeth S Broughton Memorial Invitational

High School

GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1. Warren 36; 2. Marietta 47; 3. Williamstown 58; 4. Fort Frye 86; 5. Belpre 120

Top 10 Individuals

1. Cassie Sites (Wtown) 20:03; 2. Elliot Handley (Fort Frye) 20:37; 3. Kelly Nicholas (Marietta) 20:43; 4. Rania Singh (Warren) 20:45; 5. Ashlee Pate (Warren) 21:39; 6. Adi Greenup (Warren) 21:54; 7. Emma Hayes (Caldwell) 22:38; 8. Hailey Powell (Marietta) 22:41; 9. Cam Edgell (Warren) 22:52; 10. Kendall Gant (Wtown) 22:57

Local scorers

Warren: 14. Violet Gibson 23:45

Marietta: 11. Aubrey Christensen23:32; 13. Anna Knaus 23:42; 16. Teagan Brown 23:58

Williamstown: 12. Raeley Perdue 23:41; 19. Bridget Kerby 24:43; 22. Lucianna Collins 25:02

Fort Frye: 14. Lydia Huck 23:48; 24. Kya Kehl 25:22; 26. Spencer Thieman 25:37; 29. Heather Phelps 25:55; 32. Audrey Witten 26:07

Belpre: 17. Ellie Whitlatch 24:05; 18. Gabby Campbell 24:18; 27. Anna Miller 25:37; 37. Addy Stewart 28:34; 45. Harper Rogers 31:13

BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1. Warren 65, 2. Williamstown 83; 3. Fort Frye 93; 4. Marietta 98; 5. Tyler Consolidated 108; 6. Caldwell 112; 7. Belpre 157; 8. Waterford 195

Top 10 Individuals

1. Luke Rettenberger (Warren) 15:59; 2. Travis Moore (Tyler) 16:30; 3. Alex Bishop (Warren) 17:12; 4. Zane Boyd (Caldwell) 17:20; 5. Brody Nice (Tyler) 17:37; 6. Gavin Wilburn (Wtown) 17:42; 7. Brody Griffin (FF) 17:45; 8. Drew Williams (Belpre) 17:51; 9. Declan Schaad (FF) 17:53; 10. Camden Space (Mtta) 17:57

Local scorers

Warren: 17. Nick Bishop 18:58; 21. Ben Rettenberger 19:36; 23. Caleb Yost 19:52

Williamstown: 11. Zander Boyce 18:08; 16. Chase Pickering 18:51; 20. Brody Pickens 19:18; 32. Sylas Shotwell 20:25

Fort Frye: 14. Ethan Huffman 18:33; 33. Jude Kehl 20:26; 34. Collin McCurdy 20:34

Marietta: 12. Ezekiel Minard 18:17; 13. Emmett Parman 18:27; 29. Austin Shuler 20:20; 39. Oliver Estes 21:08

Tyler Consolidated: 19. Trey Moore 19:17; 45. Kaden Cross 22:00; 55. Jonathan Cross 24:02

Caldwell: 15. Marcus Rohrbaugh 18:47; 22. Aiden Danford 19:49; 30. Emery Nau 20:21; 54. Aiden Burch 24:00

Belpre: 24. Paxton Hundall-Bolian 20:04; 27. Maddox Crum 20:06; 64. Noah Garbo 28:37; 65. Trenton Reese 29:57

Waterford: 18. Tyson Franchino 19:15; 51. Landon Strahler 22;49; 56. Garin Schaad 24:03; 57. Cashus Wilson 24:07; 61. Aaron Schaad 26:22

Middle School

GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1. Jackson 60; 2. Warren 63; 3. Blennerhassett 74; 4. Williamstown 100; 5. Hamilton 120; 6. Marietta 150; 7. Fort Frye 169; 8. Tyler Consolidated 177

Top 10 Individuals

1. Collins Rader (Jackson) 12:12; 2. Catore Waller (FF) 13:04; 3. Leah Lambert (Wtown) 13:23; 4. Allie Reeder (Warren) 13:47; 5. Kinsley Elliott (Hamilton) 13:51; 6. Olivia Snell (Blenn) 13:56; 7. Kamerlyn Milhoan (Tyler) 13:59; 8. Rylann Thatcher (Warren) 14:10; 9. Avery Null (Blenn) 14:25; 10. Ellie Bretinger (Warwood) 14:33

BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1. Tyler Consolidated 68; 2. Jackson 69; 3. Williamstown 87; 4. Blennerhassett 96; 5. Hamilton 113; 6. Fort Frye 156; 7. Edison 158; 8. Warren 160

Top 10 Individuals

1. Luke Seago (Wtown) 11:21; 2. Emmett Taylor (Buckeye Trail) 12:00; 3. Isaiah Luparus (FF) 12:12; 4. Conner Wilson (Caldwell) 12:12; 5. Raiden Brewer (Blenn) 12:16; 6. Avery Paden (Tyler) 12:33; 7. Benson Smicker (Wtown) 12:50; 8. Kingston Geer (Hamilton) 12:51; 9. Tyson Elam (Jackson) 12:54; 10. Logan Logston (Edison) 13:06

Starting at /week.