Saturday, Oct. 19, was a good day for Wayne County athletes and teams participating in the Rushville cross country sectional. The top five teams and the top 15 individuals not on an advancing team qualified to participate in the Shelbyville regional on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The Richmond boys and girls teams both advanced. The Seton Catholic girls and the Hagerstown boys also advanced as teams. Hagerstown competed without top runner Bryce Tinkle, who is fighting an ongoing knee injury. Centerville and Northeastern advanced individuals in both the boys and girls races and Hagerstown advanced three individuals in the girls race, including Avery Blunk, who overcame an asthma attack at the two-mile mark.
Callie Bentley from East Central won the girls race in a time of 18:07.5, finishing over a minute faster than the second-place runner. The first Wayne County runner to cross the finish line was Anna Nevels from Centerville in eighth place.
Top ten teams for girls: East Central 32*, Batesville 35*, New Castle 105*, **Seton Catholic 144* (Jackie Clemente ninth, Gwynie Falcone 14th, Sara Swinney 26th, Jana Clemente 35th, Aubry Bihl 60th, Kelsey Brim 61st) Richmond 150* (Keena Barker 16th, Lauren Newton 24th, Katy Peacock 25th, Kemaira Ferris-Craig 27th, Lena Allen 58th, Peyton Loveless 62nd), Centerville 158 (Anna Nevels eighth, Evie Morgan 32nd, Lily Black 36th, Paige Dixon 39th, Addie Talbott 43rd, Bowi Frame 52nd, Victoria Beatty 53rd), **Rushville Consolidated 175, Hagerstown 194 (Abigail Smith 31st, Avery Blunk 34th, Zaylee Payne 40th, Claire Bowen 41st, Cameron Robertson 48th, Abigail Gilbert 50th), Northeastern 222 (Madelyn 33rd, Bella Stoops 42nd, Heather Crull 47th, Amiyah Davis 49th, Brooklyn Lee 51st, Olivia Crull 59th), Oldenburg Academy 233. *advancing team
Advancing individuals from Wayne County schools — Centerville: Anna Nevels, Evie Morgan, Lily Black and Paige Dixon, Hagerstown: Abigail Smith, Avery Blunk and Zaylee Payne, Northeastern: Madelyn Green
Jacob Chapman, from Batesville, won the boys race in a time of 16:24.3. The first Wayne County runner to cross the finish line was Xavier Ogle, from Richmond, who beat teammate Cale Newton by a step.
Top ten teams for boys: Batesville 38*, Rushville Consolidated 75*, East Central 113*, Richmond 117* (Xavier Ogle fourth, Cale Newton fifth, Julian Bowman 28th, Brayden Villafuete 35th, Brady Newton 45th, Austin Retter 49th, Trevin Crosby 56th), Hagerstown 139* (Hayden Pruitt 21st, Max Cabrera 22nd, Kendrick Herr 23rd, Brock Creech 36th, Cory Nash 37th, Brayden Sanders 42nd, Benjamin Smith 66th), Tri High 153, Northeastern 156 (Lucas Chamness seventh, Dalton Justice 29th, Zachary Kiracofe 31st, Nicholas Marward 41st, Kayden Hill 48th, Brandt Benjamin 54th, Lucas Cameron 71st), Centerville 216 (Jonah Cornett 33rd, Tate Chasteen 34th, Grayson Hawkins 46th, Conner Scheer 51st, Jayden Cornett 52nd, Clay Johnson 53rd), Connersville 231, Union County 236. *advancing team
Advancing individuals from Wayne County schools — Centerville: Jonah Cornett and Tate Chasteen, Northeastern: Lucas Chamness, Dalton Justice and Zachary Kiracofe.
A version of this article will appear in the October 23 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.