WEST LAFAYETTE — The Crawfordsville boy’ cross country team snagged a spot on the sectional podium Saturday by placing fifth and will now advance to the regional.
Leading the team were Josh Inskeep (17:05), Hutton Haas (17:14) and Jantzen Thayer (17:59), followed by Max Brumett (18:08), Colten Custer (18:23), Alex Sanchez (18:36) and Jackson Hill (21:46). The top five scoring teams, as well as the top 15 individuals not part of those teams, will compete in the regional competition in Brownsburg this coming Saturday.
“I’m pretty pleased with how we ran today,” said coach Jared McMurry. “The boys had a goal of advancing to the regional like they did last year, and we did that one place out of fourth. We had four lifetime best PRs out of our top seven runners, so I couldn’t be more proud of that. This is the most consistent run we’ve had all season on a really good course.”
The boys’ team will be joined by Katherine Novak (21:36), Remy Swinford (21:53) and Caroline Novak (22:28) as individuals in the girls’ meet. The Athenians girls placed seventh as a team.
“On the girls’ side, we were short-handed today, but our three advancing girls all ran three of their best races this season,” McMurry said. “I’m really proud of their accomplishments, and it’s a nice reward to get a chance to run one more week of the season at the regional next week.”
Other Crawfordsville girls competing were Isabel Gerdes (27:01) and Paige Johnson (30:07).
Despite North’s 11th- and 10th-place finishes as a team in the boys’ and girls’ races, the team saw four athletes — Jack Rogers (17:31), Drew Dark (18:29), Katelyn Woolwine (23:00) and Zoey McFarland (23:49) — advance as individuals.
“I’m so proud of both of our teams,” said coach Tim Leuking. “Boys and girls had awesome racing and I’m just excited to see Crawfordsville make it out as a team, and for Southmont having runners get out as well. As a county, I was very happy with our results.
“Drew Dark broke our school record for freshman time, so that was exciting. … [Zoey McFarland] did amazing. She has had one of those years where she’s steadily progressed and I’m very proud of her.”
Other Charger finishers for the boys were Nolan Yarger (19:52), Kale Mitchell (19:53), Connor Laws (20:00), Kyle Ratliff (20:32) and Blake Welch (20:41).
Other Charger girls finishers were Kendra McClamroh (24:86), Avery Gayler (24:59) and Lucia Southwood (34:38).
Southmont’s 10th- and 11th-place finishers in the boys’ and girls’ competitions, produced the only individual top-10 finisher, senior Vince Reimondo finished eighth with a time of 17:01. Joining Reimondo in the regional competition is Darby Cottrell (22:29).
“I’m proud of the team,” said coach Shelley Allen. “They ran well. We’re still dealing with injuries and illnesses, but all in all, everybody ran well today.”
Other Mountie boys who competed were Samuel Crum (18:56), Jackson Fruits (19:07), Paxton Burris (19:23), Clayton Allen (20:38) and Kyle Vaught (21:39).
Other Mountie girls finishers were Jaysa Crull (24:03), Marlena Trautwein (27:46), Kylee Reeves (31:02) and Kendyll Bullerdick (36:11).
Fountain Central placed ninth in the girls’ race. The Mustangs have Raley Akers (22:17) advancing to the regional. Brailey Hoagland (23:58), Madisyn Morgan (24:36), Haley Kler (25:10) and Kaylee Spragg (28:21) also competed.
The Mustang boys team was represented by Lucas Kirkpatrick (19:18), Ayden Donaldson (20:23) and Brandon Pigg (20:41).
