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BHS boys, Laker girls finish fifth at CBC The Central Buckeye Conference cross country meet was like a miniature state tournament Saturday at Bellefontaine’s Southview Park. The CBC hosted four of the top 10 state-ranked teams in the boys race, while the girls race had two state-ranked squads. “The CBC is the toughest league in the state,” said BHS boys head coach Ben Davis. “You’re looking at the sixth through ninth ranked teams in the state all competing in the same race.” The area teams had respectable finishes considering the field of competition. Bellefontaine’s boys team finished sixth with 135 points and Benjamin Logan took ninth with 269. In the girls race, Indian Lake placed fifth with 113 points. Bellefontaine finished in seventh with 184 and Ben Logan was ninth with 196. Tippecanoe won both races Saturday. The Red Devil boys, ranked seventh in the state, took first with 45 points, while Tipp City’s girls, ranked 15th, were first with 55. Greenon’s Jordan Stafford won the girls race in 19:02 and Tippecanoe’s Jason Salyer won the boys meet in 16:07. Chieftain sophomore Mica Hatcher continues to improve in his first year of cross country as he led Bellefontaine’s boys with an area best fifthplace finish (16:26). “Mica is running with the elite runners now,” said Davis. “This was by far the best race of his short career. He got out a little quick, but finished strong.” Also racing for the Chiefs were Blake Price in 19th (17:20), Nolan Hunt in 35th (18:01), Taylor Cornell in 39th (18:16), Todd White in 44th (18:21), Chris Walker in 48th (18:38), and Christian Golden in 49th (18:39). Rounding out the BHS runners were Justin Guenther in 55th (19:00), Andy Marshall in 57th (19:21), Lawrence Miller in 60th (19:21), Jamie Patrick in 67th (19:28) and Patrick Malloy in 75th (19:59). “Blake ran a quality race and I’m very pleased with Todd White, Chris Walker and Justin Guenther,” said Davis. Logan Leis led Ben Logan’s boys with a 51st-place finish in 18:48. Placing in the top 80 were Jake Penhorwood in 58th (19:15), Cody Rees in 69th (19:32), Jared Campbell in 71st (19:45), Tyler Ahle in 76th (20:06), Kyle VanDyke in 77th (20:10) and Theron Glauner in 78th (20:13). Also running for the Raiders were Mike Heaslip in 81st (20:29), Steven Watson in 90th (21:30), Evan Daugherty in 94th (23:08) and Wes Stover in 98th (23:54). “The guys ran well,” said BL boys head coach Tom Braddock. “Time-wise most of them ran the best they have all year. The team ran well; it is just a very tough conference.” Neill Schwieterman, Indian Lake’s lone representative in the boys race, finished 65th with a time of 19:26. “Neill got his personal best and that was his goal,” said Laker head coach Jesse Avila. “I’m happy for him.” The tandem of Rachel Watt and Aubrey Gardner has proved to be vital for the Laker girls this fall, and Saturday the duo led the team once again. Watt finished in 10th place (20:00), while Gardner was 12th (20:07). Also finishing in the top 50 for Indian Lake were Emily Gardner in 24th (20:51), Taylor Norviel in 34th (21:38), Melissa Bell in 38th (21:47), Robyn Zwiebel in 45th (22:11) and Sarah Bell in 49th (22:27). Rounding out the Lakers’ squad were Haley Tron in 73rd (23:53), Ashley Knight in 94th (25:07), Alyssa Wies in 95th (25:21) and Mara Hemmer in 101st (27:32). “We were hoping for the top four,” said Avila. “But Rachel and Aubrey ran well and our top six all had personal bests. We are coming together as a team. They will be more motivated next week for the district meet.” Alyssa Elliott powered Bellefontaine’s girls with a 23rd-place effort (20:40). Chiefs in the top 60 were Kaileigh Bible in 40th (22:00), Michelle Goble in 41st (22:03), Chelsea Harshfield in 42nd (22:07), Samantha Chaney in 53rd (22:41) and Jessica Haushalter in 57th (22:48). Also for BHS were Bethany Harshfield in 80th (24:08), Abby Post in 93rd (24:57) and Michelle Miller in 103rd (29:58). “We were a little disappointed with the finish,” said BHS head coach Aaron Lauck. “We didn’t run the race we wanted to. Alyssa and Kaileigh were our 1-2 and ran well. The girls hope to do better next week.” Freshmen Mackenzie Roebuck and Morgan Cline fueled Ben Logan’s girls efforts. Roebuck took 28th (21:14), while Cline was 30th (21:18). Other Raiders in action included Liz Marcinko in 44th (22:11), Cayla Orr in 54th (22:42), Brittney Poling in 59th (22:52), Larrilyn Yelton in 63rd (23:08), Chelsea Self in 82nd (24:09), Hillary Lantz in 88th (24:38), Brooke Poppe in 90th (24:52), Brianne Britton in 96th (25:48) and Alexis Drumm in 97th (25:49). “My girls ran the best they have all season,” said Raider girls head coach Stacey Longshore. “Mackenzie and Morgan ran really well. We wanted to finish higher, but it is a tough field of teams. I’m excited to have a young group coming back next season. This is the best group of girls I’ve had.” All three squads race in the Division II district meet Saturday at the Miami Valley Career Technical Center. The girls race at 12:20 p.m. and the boys race at 1 p.m. The top four teams and any remaining individuals in the top 16 advance to the regional meet. CBC RESULTS GIRLS RACE 1. Tippecanoe 55; 2. Northwestern 68; 3. Springfield Shawnee 84; 4. Tecumseh 104; 5. Indian Lake 113; 6. Greenon 169; 7. Bellefontaine 184; 8. Kenton Ridge 194; 9. Ben Logan 196. |