For The Tribune

NASHVILLE

The Seymour girls cross-country team kept with perennial sectional powerhouse Columbus North in the very early stages of Saturday’s Brown County cross-country sectional at Eagle Park.

However, Columbus North showed why it is the sixth-ranked team in the state when it made a final push to claim the top three individual spots and outscore the Owls 21-42.

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North’s Rachel Brougher claimed first place individually with a time of 18 minutes, 24 seconds for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles). Seymour’s Ashton Chase ran right alongside the Bull Dog runners for most of the race to finish fourth in 18:38.

“My start was a lot better than the last time I ran here,” Chase said. “I got out quick and kept a good pace and stuck with the North runners. My goal is to stay up there with them again in the regional. I am going to start training hard at practices and get all my mileage in and hope for a better time at regional.”

Also for Seymour, Makenna Sunbury finished fifth in 19:15. Abby Voss was sixth (19:46), Claire Loebker 11th (20:25), Oriana Morales 16th (21:28), Grace Rennekamp 21st (21:47) and Brett Kleber 26th (21:58).

“Ashton and Makenna had PRs today,” Seymour girls coach Spencer Sunbury said. “Abby has been very consistent for us, which is good for this time of season. Oriana finally had a big breakthrough day because she has been struggling this season, and she is coming back for us.”

Brownstown Central also advanced to the regional by finishing fourth with 126 points, five behind third-place Columbus East. Kaelyn Johnson led the Braves with a time of 20:51 for a 14th-place finish.

Also for Brownstown, Destiny Satterthwaite placed 20th (21:45), Kylee Wischmeier 28th (22:04), Emma Winks 31st (22:08), Shauna Drake 33rd (22:16), Grace Garland 35th (22:34) and Alexis Koch 36th (22:37).

“They ran really well today,” Brownstown girls coach Maria Conklin said. “A lot of these girls had season bests, so I am excited about their performances, and they are happy to move on.”

Crothersville missed out on advancing as a team with an eighth-place finish with 227. They did advance one runner for the regional, with Breanna Barger finishing 12th in 20:33.

Other runners for the Tigers included Makayla Helt, who finished 43rd (23:16), Piper Hensley, 44th (23:21), Hanna Wyra was 63rd (26:23), Nina Jaworek 73rd (33:21) and Rebekah Cook 75th (34:46).

In the boys race, ninth-ranked North ran away from the field to claim the sectional title with 32 points. Seymour placed second with 87.

Nick Yeend of Southwestern (Shelby) won the race in 15:58.

Seymour was led by Jacob Voss, who finished sixth in 16:28. Alex Lovins came in 17th (17:11), Hunter Bauserman 19th (17:16), Cooper Morrow 21st (17:22), Luke Plummer 28th (17:43), Barry Huff 34th (17:59) and Trent Hohenstreiter 42nd (18:33).

“We had a great effort overall with some season bests and PRs, as well,” Seymour boys coach Randy Fife said. “I told the guys that we are getting healthy and getting where we need to be at the end of the season. They responded well, and I was proud of Jacob Voss with a PR today and staying up front.”

Brownstown finished ninth with 199, but Cameron Lee advanced as an individual with a time of 17:44.

Other runners for the Braves included Harlan Deaton, who finished in 35th (18:00), Jeremy Pitts 44th (18:37), Ethan Carroll 46th (18:48), Trey Hackman 50th (19:03), Aaron Kruse 55th (19:39) and Sean Tharp 65th (20:48).

“I am just real happy with what they did,” Brownstown boys coach Derrick Koch said. “We had great weather, and the course was in great shape. We knew they were going to have fast times, which they did. I’m happy about Cameron Lee making it to the regional. He had a PR, and I am pleased with that.”

Crothersville settled for an 11th-place finish with 289. Lane Wienhorst led the Tigers with a time of 18:15 to place 40th, while Noah Kodetzki was 58th (19:42), Chandler Niehause 59th (19:44), Josh Thomas 66th (20:57), Corey Schmelzle 71st (21:54), Kelsey Spangler 74th (22:43) and Noah Hoskins 77th (24:00).

A.J. Goecker, Trinity Lutheran’s lone runner, qualified as an individual after finishing 15th in 17:09.