Local teams thrive at Delta XC sectional

Wapahani may have won the first edition of the new Delta cross country sectional, but local teams still thrived, taking the next four spots in the team standings and sending Bellmont, along with all three Wells County schools to the Fort Wayne regional next Saturday.

Nick Cook helped Wapahani win the team trophy with a championship run of his own, beating Bluffton’s Tyler Godwin by 25 seconds. The Tigers finished second as a team with standout runs by Godwin and Levi Johns, who both finished in the top ten.

Norwell, led by Gage Reinhard’s 13th-place finish, took third, while the Bellmont Braves outperformed their own expectations to advance with a fourth-place finish.

Hudson Krull, who had not run in weeks due to an injury, gutted out a performance to keep the team’s season alive. He was the team’s fifth scorer but the Braves needed his time, besting sixth-place Delta by just 12 points.

The Braves were led by the duo of Hayden Whittenbarger and Harry Gunsett, who finished together at 16th and 17th, respectively. Gunsett’s time of 17:38.5 was his career best.

“Hayden and Harry combined in the last mile to cut over 20 points from our score,” noted head coach Randy Hisner. “Their intelligent pacing allowed them to pass numerous runners down the stretch.”

Bellmont was projected to finish in seventh place, but a good day sent the team to regional for the 11th straight season.

Hisner had special praise for Krull after the race.

*Hudson Krull finishes the race Saturday in pain with a brace on his ankle but clinches a spot in the regional for Bellmont’s cross country team. (Photo by Kris Everett)*

“Early in the week it was doubtful that he could even run,” said Hisner. “but he felt better toward the end of the week and was determined to compete. Without him, we would have fallen a few points short of the top five. It was a gutsy effort by the rookie!”

The sectional is an expanded and more challenging field now since the IHSAA has eliminated the semi-state and reduced the number of sectionals from 32 to 25.

The course at Taylor University received over an inch of rain between Friday night and the start of Saturday’s races.