NEW MARKET — It’s been something that Southmont’s Faith Allen has been chasing for her entire career. On Saturday at the last Sagamore Conference meet of her career, Allen took home the first conference title of her career as she cruised to a first place finish with a time of 20:14.2 as she finished nearly 28 seconds ahead of second place.
“It was just shear grit and determination,” Southmont coach and mom Shelley Allen said of Faith’s first place finish. “We put some strategies in place for this meet and they looked liked the worked out really well. It’s a proud moment not only as a coach but a mom as well.”
After the last few seasons of chasing and coming close to besting former Western Boone, and current University of Georgia runner, Audrey Knoper, Allen was able to enjoy the championship because it didn’t come easy.
“When I crossed that finish line it was a lot of relief,” Faith said. “I knew coming in that there was a girl who her season best was only a second behind mine so there was the worry that I might get beat out at the end. I had to make sure that I was staying in the right head space the entire race and not lose any speed or motivation.”
On the team side of things for the girls it was the Athenians with their third place finish overall that led the three MoCo teams as CHS ended with 71 points. Sophomore Sophia Melevage led the way with a fourth place finish with a time of 21:14. Katherine Novak (22:51), Caroline Novak (23:42), Olivia Biddle (24:21) Gabby Warren (24:31), and Karla Fernandez (25:05) rounded out the race for CHS.
What’s most notable about the girls for CHS is that they just have a single senior in Biddle. Warren an Fernandez are both juniors while the rest of the team are underclassmen. That hasn’t stopped the Athenians from having another strong season and a very good showing before the sectional next week.
“We always look ahead with a positive mindset,” Crawfordsville coach Megan Craig said. “The most important thing I want all our athletes to know is that everyone plays an important part on this team regardless of experience and skill. It’s one of the things I love about this sport. Everyone’s contribution matters. Our program strives to ensure each runner is physically and mentally prepared for the race ahead.”
Southmont took home fifth place overall as a team with Heaven Smith (25:15), Darby Cottrell (25:18), Jaysa Crull (27:39), and Kylee Reeves (29:16) made up the other four runners to race for the Mounties. The Chargers in the girls race took sixth and were led by Maggie Ireland with a time of 26:11. Jordyn Frommer finished second on the team (27:09), followed by Payton Kunz (28:30), Zuri Roldan Santana (30:26), and Eva Rose (34:57). First year coach Tim Leuking was happy with the way his Chargers continue to improve as the season enters it’s final week.
“All of our runners on both sides improved by 2-3 minutes from the last time we raced here,” he said. “Last week they all PR’d as well. We try and train our kids to peak at this time of the year and that’s what it looks we’re doing.”
Lebanon took home the SAC title on the girls side with a team score of 31.
Miller leads CHS boys to second place finish
Crawfordsville boys had the goal of coming in and hopefully claiming a SAC title on Saturday, however the Athenians were bested by Lebanon (43 pts) who ended up sweeping the SAC titles on both sides. It was still a very strong showing for CHS who took home second place with a team score of 52. Ryan Miller placed second overall in the boys race for CHS with a time of 17:06. CHS also got a sixth place finish from Hutton Haas (17:34). Max Brumett finished 12th (17:58), Roman Contreas 13th (18:05), and Tyson Fuller took home 19th with a time of 18:46.
While a SAC title would have been nice, Craig doesn’t let that take away from the strong showing that the boys had.
“We knew it was going to be close with Lebanon,” she said. “We have a lot of respect for that team and knew we had to come prepared. We had some great performances today, and will continue to work on the things we need heading into sectionals. Our team cohesiveness is so good and we’re aware of what is at stake. We have great leadership on this team and it will pay off.”
Southmont placed fifth overall in the boys race and got a strong showing from junior Mason Cass who placed 10th with a time of 17:49. Other runners for the Mountie boys included Ryley Mitton (18:52), Aaron Evans (18:55), Sam Crum (19:41), Ethan Keck (20:11), Hunter Alesi (20:32), and Skyler Wood (21:06)
North Montgomery placed sixth and was led by Paul Leuking (19:02). Nolan Yarger (19:38), Jack Rogers (19:39), Blake Welch (20:08), Kale Mitchell (21:23), Caden Ireland (21:35) and James Brooks (21:56) rounded out the finishes for the Chargers.
All three MoCo teams will have the week off as they prep for Saturday’s sectional. Southmont and Crawfordsville make the trip to Brownsburg while North Montgomery will compete at Benton Central.
