Eaton Cross Country boys take first, girls second, at Kettering Invite as Gard wins fourth straight meet

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EATON — The Eaton men and women’s cross country team competed at the Kettering Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 3, where the men placed first and the women took home second in the Division II and Division III race division.

This marks the third straight week the Eagles have run in the rain on a muddy course.

The men dominated the Kettering Invitational, winning by a comfortable 23 points over Wyoming. Seth Gard won for the fourth consecutive meet, winning with a time of 16:38, 32 seconds clear of second place.

Wyatt Cox placed seventh overall with a time of 17:32, followed by teammate Cole Bulach who placed 11th with a time of 17:59. Steven Cottle was 16th, finishing in 18:12. Tyler Early finished 23rd in 18:34 and Mac Altom finished in 18:46 — good enough for 24th. Blake Whitesell came in 33rd with a time of 19:13 and Cole Bulach finished 40th in 19:25.

“The boys are making great progress,” head coach Randy McKinney said afterwards. “They are improving every week. Our goal is to get a little better each week and for each runner to learn a little more about himself as a runner.”

The women’s team finished in second place and was led by Sasha Taxter’s sixth place finish, with a time of 21:28. Katie Bassler came in eighth with a time of 21:35, Lauren Muncy placed tenth with a time of 22:01. Destiny Brubaker finished 18th with a time of 23:23, Nina Albinus was 23rd with a time of 24:23, Allison Webb was 27th with a time of 24:56 and Isabelle Heggs was 28th, one second later. Hannah Perry was 39th with a time of 26:19 and Maddi Meredith finished 46th with a time of 30:04.

McKinney believes the girls’ team is also improving. “The girls too are making progress each race out,” he said. “I am very happy with the progress and focus for our girls’ team. They are improving each race both individually and as a team.”

McKinney said right now his team continues to try to get better every week as they prepare for the SWBL Championships and District Championships.

By Austin Schmidt

[email protected]

Reach Austin Schmidt at 937-683-4062

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