Tribune staff reports
SELLERSBURG
Crothersville captured its first Southern Athletic Conference girls cross-country title Saturday at Sellersburg.
The Tigers scored 37 points to Lanesville’s 40 and South Central’s 43. Borden, Henryville and New Washington all fielded incomplete teams.
In the boys meet, Borden took the title with 30 points, followed by Lanesville with 38, New Washington 81 and Crothersville 88. Henryville and South Central didn’t have enough runners for a team score.
Crothersville girls earning all-SAC for placing in the top seven were junior Breanna Barger (third, 20:59), junior Tristan Maschino (fifth, 22:26) and freshman Piper Hensley (seventh, 22:53).
“It has just been a fantastic year for these girls,” Tigers coach Carl Bowman said. “They’ve been working hard, and when they took off, all three got into pretty good position. Then, it seemed like they separated themselves from the rest of them, so I had a pretty good feeling.”
Bowman said he was excited when the girls team was announced the winner.
“When they said South Central girls finished third and then pausing and said Lanesville, I just kind of let out a scream,” he said.
In his 37 years of coaching, Bowman hadn’t won an SAC title in girls cross-country, but he had three boys conference titles. He also coaches track and field, and he has had three boys teams win conference crowns.
“I think that was pretty good to just come out of nowhere and surprise everybody,” he said. “It was such a shock to them, too. I don’t think any of them honestly ever thought we would walk out of there as champions and three as all-SAC. It just kind of caught me so off guard.”
Torri Boldery was Crothersville’s fourth finisher, followed by Taylor Blake and Alisha Basil. All three are seniors.
“The other girls stepped up a little bit to help us out because obviously you’ve got to have five. It had to be a team effort,” Bowman said.
In some recent seasons, he hasn’t had enough girls to post a team score.
“To have at least six or seven girls to make a team, by having that number, you at least give yourself a shot,” he said. “They stepped up their game in the rain and cold. They just hung in there.”
With the team’s win, Bowman was named Coach of the Year.
“I’ve been hanging around for a long time,” he said. “I told the girls, ‘You brought it home not just for Crothersville but for me and really for themselves.’ That’s one thing that I want them to understand; no one can ever take this away from them. If we win again, that won’t be the first time. These girls made history.”
Freshman Lane Wienhorst led the Crothersville boys, placing ninth in 18:56.
Borden’s Julien Magallanes won the boys race in 15:38, nearly two minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. Henryville’s Cia Greene placed first in the girls meet with a time of 19:32.