The West Liberty-Salem girls cross country team continued its impressive postseason tradition Saturday, earning a fourth-place finish at the Division III Southwest Regional meet in Troy and securing another trip to the OHSAA State Championships.

The Big Orange finished with 142 team points, placing fourth among 19 competing schools. The top five teams qualified for the state meet, with Minster claiming the regional championship with 82 points, followed by Fort Loramie (107) and Summit Country Day (121). West Liberty-Salem edged Dayton Christian (159) to secure the final spot on the podium and punch its ticket to state.

Junior Isla Leichty led the Tigers with an outstanding performance, placing 12th out of 162 runners with a personal-best time of 19:34.5. Her finish earned her a spot on the top-20 podium, while also moving her into 17th place on the program's all-time 5K list. Leichty made an impressive push throughout the race, gaining five positions from the mile mark to the finish.

Fellow junior Addi Wallen also earned a top-20 podium finish, crossing the line 17th in 19:49.9. Wallen continued her consistency on the postseason stage, earning an individual podium finish for the third consecutive year.

Freshman Elin Leichty finished 33rd in 20:40.0, while sophomore Elia Matthews placed 54th in 21:20.7. Senior Hattie Jacobs delivered one of the team's most important performances, finishing 60th in 21:35, a season-best time. Jacobs stepped into the Tigers' fifth scoring position and improved by approximately 50 seconds from her previous season-best mark.

Junior Olive Matthews also recorded a personal best, finishing 75th in 22:00.4. Sophomore Charlee Matthews followed closely behind in 76th with a time of 22:00.5.

Following the regional performance, the coaching staff praised the entire group for handling the pressure and competition while earning another state qualification. The team's advancement represents the dedication and hard work of the entire program, with particular recognition given to Leichty's strong finish, Wallen's consistency and Jacobs' significant improvement.

The regional qualification marks West Liberty-Salem's 11th consecutive appearance at the state meet and the 19th in program history, continuing an impressive tradition of postseason success for the Big Orange girls.

West Liberty-Salem will now turn its attention to the Division III OHSAA State Cross Country Championships at Fortress Obetz. The Tigers are scheduled to compete Saturday at 3:30 p.m., where they will look to finish the season with their strongest performance of the year on the state's biggest stage.