Thrilling till the very end. That’s about the only phrase that I can come up with to describe this year’s County Chase. Crawfordsville made history on Tuesday as they took home the the county golf title and the county chase title. The County Chase title is the first in the now seven year history of the traveling trophy between the three Montgomery County Schools as CHS edged out Southmont 52 points to 51 for the tightest finish in the history of the county chase.
Crawfordsville and Southmont have been neck and neck ever since the winter season began and it was only fitting that it would come down to the final county meet of the season to determine a champion. It was also fitting that it was golf, the sport that had been the tightest all spring long, would decide whether the Mounties would four-peat, or the Athenians get bragging rights for the first time.
A little more about the county golf meet that took place. Southmont and Crawfordsville have been separated by by just a few strokes the entire season. They’ve each gotten the better of each other on different occasions and even tied with each other this season and it’s been one heck of a battle to watch. The two teams have a mutual respect for each other and that’s what you love to see in high school sports. Nonetheless when Crawfordsville was down to just four golfers including being without their No. 2 in senior Landon Timmons, CHS didn’t let the adversity bother them and were still able to go out and get the job done and defeated the Mounties by just two strokes 347-349.
Back to the big picture for Crawfordsville Athletics. The fall season saw Crawfordsville claim county titles in both boys and girls cross country, boys soccer, and volleyball.
As we moved indoors for the winter the Athenians showed their dominance in the pool by taking both county titles on the boys and girls side. Crawfordsville also picked up a pair of points for their win over North Montgomery on the court in boys basketball and added another pair for their win over the Chargers at the county wrestling meet.
This spring the Athenians claimed county titles in four of the six sports. Girls tennis, baseball, girls track, and boys golf all were a top the county.
When all is tallied, CHS took home a total of 10 county championship across the fall, winter, and spring. There is something to be said when a school is able to win a county title in half of the sports here in Montgomery County.
While CHS celebrates history, we can’t ignore the success that Southmont had either and the run that they have been on, winning the chase the previous three seasons.
While we didn’t get to determine a county champion in football as the Mounties and Chargers couldn’t play one another, Southmont did defeat CHS on the gridiron for a pair of points. The Mounties dominated both boys tennis and girls golf in the fall as well as a thrilling shootout victory over North Montgomery in girls soccer as the Mounties would claim three county titles.
This winter saw Southmont wear the county crown in wrestling, boys basketball, and gymnastics as the Mounties saw a historic season on the court while Jamie Welliever and the Mounties continued to dominate the mat.
This past spring Southmont saw their first county title in boys track since 2013 while in softball the Mounties continued their county dominance with another county title.
For the school year the Mounties earned eight county titles.
North Montgomery saw a single county championship in the winter when girls basketball saw their first winning season since 2012-13 as the Chargers picked up wins over both Southmont and Crawfordsville.
I’d like to give a big thank you to Bryce Barton, Matt Merica, and Aaron Charles. When I took over in the ladder part of the fall for Jared, ever since then all three of our athletic directors have done an outstanding job of helping me are some of the best around and I wouldn’t be able to do this job without their help.
While the spring season is 99% percent over we still have all three county golf teams who will compete in the sectional on Friday left standing. The Mounties and Athenians are the two favorites to bring home the sectional title and advance to the Regional, but don’t count out the Chargers either. What Bob Ryker has done in his first year at the helm of the Charger program has been something special to watch unfold.
I’d also like to give a special congrats to the seniors at Crawfordsville high school who have been scratching and clawing their way towards the top of the county for the last few years, now they’ve finally reached the peak and the county chase trophy resides with the Athenians for the first time. Can CHS go on a run that the Chargers and Mounties both have, by each winning three straight? Only time tell and this sports editor looks forward to whatever may lie ahead. Thank you for a very memorable season and stay tuned as our spring player of the year’s will be begin to be rolled out here shortly.
