Every cross country team in Z Land was active Saturday at three different sites across the state.
The South Adams boys and girls teams had the most successful day, winning the Blackford Invite with four runners in the top eleven in both races.
We put all the results and times and context together for you to keep you up to date as the postseason looms for the boys and the girls.
GIRLS’ MEETS
Wildcat Classic at Indiana Wesleyan University
Madison Gerber finished second in the small-school division with a 19:23, just a few second behind Sophia Haslett from Lakewood Park Christian.
Madison Witte was within three seconds of her season best for Bellmont, while Sydney Angel continued to lead the Braves with their top time.
Team Scores
1st-Lake Central 64, 11th-Norwell 375, 15th-Adams Central 506, 22nd-Bluffton 644, 32nd-Bellmont 872, 34th-Southern Wells 946
Winner: Whitney Anderson-Valparaiso 18:14.30
Top Local Times:
Madison Gerber-AC 19:23.00
Addison Gilbert-AC 20:20.80
Cora Kunkel-Bluffton 20:32.70
Ashley Tucker-Norwell 20:48.70
Madison Hamilton-AC 21:44.70
Sydney Angel-Bellmont 23:27.70
Madison Witte-Bellmont 23:42.00
Hailey Brune-AC 23:48.70
Abigail Rudy-Bellmont 23:56.10
Bre Feasel-Bellmont 24:42.90
Macy Isch-AC 25:52.90
Lilly Franz-Bellmont 26:00.10
Bridget Juengel-Bellmont 26:00.40
Blackford Invite
Adalynn Watson was fourth in the field of five teams, finishing in 21:35 for South Adams.
Kalle Trausch cut 35 seconds from her PR and finished 14th.
Team Scores: 1st-South Adams 48, 2nd-Frankton 52, 3rd-Centerville 55, 4th-Shenandoah 78, 5th-Elwood 99
Times & Places of Note:
1. Anna Nevels-Centerville 20:40.6
4. Adalynn Watson-South Adams 21:35.6
11. Ava Kinsey-South Adams 23:30.70
14. Kalle Trausch-South Adams 24:06.40
15. Aleena Bierbaum-South Adams 24:10
25. Stella McIntire-South Adams 26:19.70
South Side Archer Invite
Tough conditions made for a difficult day for the three girls running for Heritage this weekend. Ava Smith and Elise Hissong were a bit behind their regular pace but still finished 10th and 13th, respectively.
Jolena Beckman cut 90 seconds off her last race, however.
Ava Smith -24:32.4
Elise Hissong-25:22.18
Jolena Beckman-27:04.11
BOYS’ MEETS
Wildcat Classic at Indiana Wesleyan University
Bellmont ran as the smallest school in the field and finished in 23rd place. With eight of the top 30 teams in the state competing, this was definitely one of the invites meant to challenge the team’s top runners.
“Hayden Whittenbarger had an amazing race,” noted head coach Randy Hisner. “He cut eight seconds from his career best, which came just last week in much more favorable conditions. We know Columbia City is the class of our conference, but we showed today that we are one of those teams who are capable of taking second in that meet.”
Bryson Edgell was one of the few local runners who came close to replicating his time from the previous weekend due to the different conditions. He was just four seconds slower than last week, when he set his season-best mark.
Team Scores
1st-Noblesville 50, 2nd-Homestead 97, 13th-Bluffton 446, 18th-New Haven 598, 22nd-East Noble 638, 23rd-Bellmont 645, 25th-Norwell 689, 26th-Adams Central 720
Winner: John Libs-Noblesville 15:30.80
Local Times:
Levi Johns-Bluffton 16:26.50
Jude Baumgartner-Bluffton 16:51.80
Hayden Whittenbarger-Bellmont 17:02.90
Trevor Schwartz-AC 17:09.60
Ethan Crockett-AC 17:26.70
Hudson Krull-Bellmont 18:06.30
Maddux Miller-Bellmont 18:11.50
Bryson Edgell-AC 18:41.70
Tyler Schwartz-AC 18:52.80
Harry Gunsett-Bellmont 19:09.80
Ethan Curtis-Bellmont 19:12.20
Landon Rich-Bellmont 19:44.30
Blackford Invite
South Adams won the eight-team invite with all five runners finishing in the Top 14 for the Starfires.
Dakota Sprunger was the top finisher for the Stars, coming across the line in 17:18.
Team Scores: 1st-South Adams 38, 2nd-Centerville 73
Local Times & Places:
1. Simon Nickelson-Lapel 16:27.80
3. Dakota Sprunger-SA 17:18.00
5. Wyatt Mann-SA 17:52.90
7. Deacon Bierbaum-SA 18:13.20
11. Carson Laux-SA 18:44.10
15. Daniel Rupp-SA 19:12.50
24. Maddox Miller-SA 19:57.00
36. Jacob Heflin-SA 22:20.60
43. Zayden Storm-SA 23:16.50
50. Benjamin Rupp-SA 24:43.80
54. Zekiel Baumer-SA 28:48.80
South Side Archer Invite
The Heritage boys finished third out of five teams under difficult conditions in the heat Saturday. The hosts won the event and Garrett finished runner-up.
Team Scores: South Side 41, Garrett 53, Heritage 72, FW Wayne 78, Canterbury 112
Heritage Times: Corban Roth 18:13, Hayden Amstein 19:21, Marshall Harris 18:45, Cooper Naatz 20:13, Zane VanOsdale 22:34, Alex Smith 21:28, Gavin Juricak 22:12, Corbin Saalfrank 22:50
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