By KEVIN EIS

cnsports@crescent-news.com

CELINA -- There were no tie-breakers this year, just a clean sweep for the Defiance High School. The DHS boys and girls cross country teams as each captured a Western Buckeye League title while producing a pair of league champions at the WBL championship meet Saturday at Celina's Wright State Lake Campus.

After finishing second to Celina last year only after a sixth-man tie-breaker, the Defiance boys claimed the crown with 35 points, besting second-place Celina by seven. In the girls race, DHS secured its fourth consecutive league crown with 41 points while Van Wert came in just behind with 46.

"We did enough today," commented Defiance girls mentor Scott Saner, who saw three of his runners earn-first team honors with top-five finishes. "It wasn't a perfect day by any means. It's always hard to predict how these races will go."

The pair of victories marks the first time DHS boys and girls teams won the league crown together since 1999. In a point of interest, both former championship squads were coached by current DHS boys' mentor Obie Mouser.

"We're pretty proud of ourselves here," lauded Mouser of the dual-championship. "We were hoping that we could do that in here. We were thinking about it and we made reference to it. We knew the girls were going to be in for a tough race and we knew we were in for a tough race. We were just hoping we both could do it."

It was a special day for the Defiance girls, securing a team victory following a championship performance by Megan Vogelsong. The DHS junior finished first with a time of 19:33, besting the second-place time of Van Wert's Lauren Taylor by 20 seconds.

"(Taylor) got me in the middle of the race," said Vogelsong. "I thought she had me there but I just kept going and in the end I just gave it my all. I think our team has been improving every week and it was the best we could do. It's awesome, four in a row, especially for the seniors."

"She looked so strong on the third mile," Saner said of Vogelsong. "Megan was terrific and did exactly what she was supposed to do today. We haven't had a champion since Kristen Barth three or four years ago, so that's awesome."

Junior Anna Meyer and senior Taylor Schultz finished fourth and fifth to also earn first-team honors for the Lady Bulldogs, while Sadie Daeger (13th) and Kelsey Dale (18th) picked up low points with strong finishes.

"I got a huge burst of energy," stated Schultz. "This is my senior year and I'm just really proud of my team. I know my team is really excited and this is what we were working for."

"This is my first year of cross country but I know it was really important to us and to our coach," replied Meyer. "I'm so proud of everyone. Even the people that didn't run were a big part of what we did today. We have an awesome coach and we owe it all to him."

Saner was quick to praise the efforts of his entire squad, including Alex Ramirez and Candice Lawson, who placed 20th and 22nd, respectively.

"You can kind of guess what you think will happen, but we just had enough people where they were supposed to be. Having three of the top five, that is huge. Our four, five, six and seven did just enough to get us by. It was a great team win for us today."

Meanwhile, the boys garnered their 17th solo title behind a first-place finish by WBL-champion Zach Wiles, who set the pace with a time of 16:13.

"It was a great race by the team," said Wiles, who was one of four DHS runners placing in the top 12. "When I started moving I was running by myself probably the last half of the race. To be honest, I didn't feel real good today. My legs were more tired than I thought they would be. Everybody ran well today and I'm glad we won for the first time in four or five years.

"Give a lot of credit to the girls, they ran a great race as well" he added. "It was definitely a Defiance day."

Also placing well for Defiance were Trevin Flickinger (3rd), Sebastion Brown (6th) and Ben Hackworth (10th), who all earned all-league first-team honors.

"At the beginning of the season this was one of our main goals," noted Flickinger. "Next week is districts and we want to get after that. We're the returning district champs and we want to get our title back."

While Wiles and Flickinger have become well-known around the area due to their consistently strong performances, Brown's performance was instrumental in putting the distance between DHS and league rival Celina.

"I knew every point counts, that's what happened last year," said Brown, who is new to the program as a senior. "It feels real good coming in here with a great team as they are. We have a lot of guys picking it up who don't get a lot of attention and everyone picked it up today to get this win."

Also running well for the boys squad were Mario Ramirez (15th), Ryan Zeller (18th) and Chaz Burkhart (25th).

"These kids have worked really, really hard and I hope we're ready for the next step which is the districts and the regionals," stated Mouser. "This was a tough meet for us and a well-run meet."

The Defiance boys and girls will now compete in the Division-II district meet Saturday at Ottawa Park.

At Celina

Boys Meet

Defiance 35, Celina 42, Van Wert 100, Shawnee 113, Wapakoneta 123, Ottawa-Glandorf 167, Kenton 211, Bath 214, St. Marys 222, Elida 255

Individuals

Zach Wiles (D), 16:13; Mitch Williams (C); Trevin Flickinger (D); Andrew Goodwin (C); Garrett Diltz (S); Sebastion Brown (D); Zach Diltz (S); Peter Starnes (C); Jacob Bagley (VW); Ben Hackworth (D); Luke Bonvillian (C); Kenton Holliday (VW).

Other Defiance Finishers

15. Mario Ramirez; 18. Ryan Zeller; 25. Chaz Burkhart.

Girls Meet

Defiance 41, Van Wert 46, Ottawa-Glandorf 108, Celina 115, St. Marys 126, Shawnee 138, Wapakoneta 176, Elida 202, Kenton 216, Bath

Individuals

Megan Vogelsong (D), 19.33; Lauren Taylor (VW); Andrea Glenn (S); Anna Meyer (D); Taylor Schultz (D); Demi Snyder (K); Taylor Greve (VW); Erin Phahler (O-G); Kristi Steva (SM); Lyndsey Barlage (O-G); Erika Smith (VW); Katie Bono (VW) .

Other Defiance Finishers

13. Sadie Daeger; 18. Kelsey Dale; 20. Alex Ramirez; 22. Candice Lawson.