Cross country qualifies for regional after third, fifth sectional finish
By Wes Anderson | Oct 16, 2023 8:10 AM
The Greensburg cross-country teams competed in IHSAA Sectional 21 hosted by Brown County Saturday morning in Nashville. Columbus North’s Neal White was the individual champion in a time of 15:27.9 and led the Bulldogs to the boys’ team title. The Pirates finished in third place out of 14 teams and qualified for the regional round for the ninth consecutive season. Greensburg also improved their record 89-33 in 2023. Senior TJ Gorman was the first Pirate finisher. He recorded a time of 16:14.9 placing sixth overall and earned all-sectional honors for the second time. Joe Hawkins was also all-sectional for the second-straight season taking eighth place in 16:23.3. Jake Hawkins finished 14th overall with a time of 17:06.3 to garner All-Sectional recognition for the fourth time in his high school career. Senior Cameron Schwartz ran a season-best time of 17:39.3, and he was 21st in the race. Quinton Walker placed 35th in 18:21.9. Dante Hess was 56 th in 19:50.1 with teammate Malakai Nicolaides finishing 58th in 19:55.8. Martinsville’s Eleanor Barco outsprinted Edgewood’s Hannah Crain to win the girls’ race in 18:57.8. Columbus North took five of the top 10 places and won the team competition with 30 pts. The Lady Pirates placed fifth out of 14 schools to qualify for the regional meet for the 12th season in a row. Alaina Bedel had her fastest race of the season. She earned all-sectional honors placing ninth overall in 20:00.3. Bedel’s performance moved her to the seventh fastest Lady Pirate in school history. Junior Tori Gauck placed 23rd in 22:13.4 while teammate Ally Foster ran a personal best of 22:16.6 for 25th overall. Hannah Crowell ran 22:51.7 for 34th, and Tiffani Gramman took 38th in 23:05.4. Brooke Welsh finished in 24:38.5 while Allison Duncan was 60th in 26:21.5. The Lady Pirates are now 66-47 on the year. “I was very proud of the way we raced this morning,” said Coach Troy Davis. “Getting both teams to the regional was a goal we worked toward all season.” Both teams travel to Evansville for the IHSAA Regional Meet held at Angel Mounds on Saturday, Oct. 21st. The boys’ race will begin at 11:30 a.m. with the girls to follow at 12:15 p.m.