Sprunger finds regional redemption, qualifies for State Finals

Dakota Sprunger ran his best race of the season and was one of the few runners from the Delta sectional to improve his time from a week prior at the New Haven Cross Country Regional Saturday, qualifying for the State Finals as the top finisher from Z-Land with a time of 16:30.9.

Sprunger turned in a 16:31.9 but this week’s course was much tougher, slowing down times by anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds from some of the top runners in the Delta sectional.

The time was the best of the season for Sprunger, who will represent the Starfires at the State Finals.

Also advancing to state was Bluffton’s Jude Baumgartner, who came in just ahead of the final qualifier, Caleb Aber of Wapahani with a 16:35.1.

Last week’s sectional champ, Trevor Schwartz of Adams Central, finished 40 seconds back from the cutoff line.

The top performance for the Bellmont Braves had to be the run of senior Ethan Curtis, who was just 1.7 seconds off his season best, but a wild 40 seconds ahead of his sectional time for coach Randy Hisner.

*Ethan Curtis climbs the hill for the Bellmont Braves at Saturday’s cross country regional. (Photo by Angie Gunsett)*

Hayden Whittenbarger was the top finisher for Bellmont with a 17:28.2.

Sprunger and Baumgartner will represent the ACAC at the Lavern Gibson State Championship Course on the campus of Indiana State University Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Team Scores

1st-Homestead 65; 2nd-Warsaw 112; 3rd-Wabash 144; 4th-Concordia Lutheran 149; 5th-Carroll (FW) 158; 6th-Yorktown 189; 7th-Columbia City 201; 15th-Bluffton 395; 18th-Bellmont 454; 22nd-Norwell 528; 23rd-South Adams 532

Top 5 Individuals

1. Jackson Gackenheimer-Warsaw 15:39.1

2. Bryan Garcia-New Haven 15:42.5