Several area cross country runners have advanced through the Southwest District meet held last weekend at the Montgomery County CTC in Englewood, and will be running this weekend in Troy at the regional meet as they look for a chance at getting to the state meet.
Both the Tippecanoe boys and girls teams won the district championships and qualified as a team, while the Troy girls also will be advancing as a group to the regionals. In addition to the teams qualifying, some individuals also will be moving on to the next stage.
In the Division One girls’ race, the Troy squad earned a hard-fought team victory on Saturday, earning 39 points. Leading the way was the district champion Morgan Gigandet, who finished with a time of 18:04. Other times for the Trojans include Megan Myers who finished fourth (19:39), Emma Shigley was sixth (19:55), Kate Pence ninth (20:00) and Olivia Tyre 19th (20:29).
*Tecumseh’s girls squad saw their season come to an end in the Division One race, with a 13th place finish. Danielle Franklin finished 57th (21:55), Morgan Crowley 69th (22:40), Emma Hoover 76th (23:05), Staci Harmon 82nd (23:33) and Breanna Crowley 86th (23:43).
Troy just missed qualifying in the Division One boys race with a ninth place finish. Stephen Jones did advance to the regionals with a second place overall finish at 16:17, but is the lone Trojan to qualify. Other times for Troy included Andy Smith (17:52), Parker Hench (17:57), Carter Hench (18:41) and Pete Sheehan (18:54).
Tecumseh’s top finisher was Garrett Gemmaka with a 17:44, good enough for 38th. Also , Caleb Ricks 19:04, Ethan Adams 19:06, Jack Dague 19:19 and Reid Hale 20:30.
Division Two- The defending state champion Tippecanoe boys’ squad repeated as district champions this year, with an easy win over Shawnee who placed second. Qualifying to regionals from Tipp were district champion Mitchell Poynter (16:08), Thomas Chaney (6th, 16:51), Keenan Fraylick (9th, 17:00), Tim Andrews (11th, 17:06) and Spencer Ranft (15th,17:14).
Northwestern also had a solid day at districts, finishing fifth overall and heading to regionals. Justin Prack led the way with a second place overall finish at 16:29, followed by Kyle Jamison (17:07), Ryan Cleland (17:39), Liam Randall (17:59) and Jacob Boop (19:06).
Greenon will send Max Pettit to regionals, as he finished tenth with a time of 17:04. Other times for Greenon were Joel Pensworth (18:26), Cameron Haught (18:37), TJ Wisecup (20:03) and Conner Bushnell (20:22).
*In the girls’ race, Tippecanoe again was victorious as they claimed the district championship and will send their team to the regionals. Kaili Titley finishes sixth overall with a 19:31, Abby Halsey seventh (19:36), Katie Taylor eighth (19:44), Laura Fink ninth (19:49) and Stephanie Fink 13th (20:17). That group consists of three freshman, one sophomore and one junior.
Northwestern also finished eleventh, with Brooke Smith captured 22nd overall with a 21:05 advancing her to regionals. Emily Funderburg (24;13), Kaylee Parrett (24:54), Maddie Johnson (25:25) and Brittany Flarida (25:30) also competed.
Greenon was one spot behind the Warriors, as Rachel Dewey led with a 23:00, Olivia Blevins 23:28, Rhiannon Morlock 24:20, Cheyanne Caswell 28:09 and Heather Fulton 34:55.
Division Three- Bethel’s Korry Hamlin qualified to the regionals in the boys race, with a sixth place finish of 16:49, and will be joined by teammate Coleman Clark at 17:49. Other Bethel district times were Conner Whalen 19:53, Benton Wright 20:11 and Chase Heck 20:35.
Nick Pratt led the way for Troy Christian with an 18:38, followed by Isaac Flora 18:55, Zach Davidson 19:40, Noah Davidson 21:29 and Nicholas Flannery 21:42.
Bethel’s girls were led by Kaitlyn Balkcom with a 23:17, Kaylee Baugh 26:38, Eiliana Wright 28:25, Morgan Jergens 29:48 and Olivia Norris 31:37.
