SPRINGFIELD — The Twin Valley South boys cross country team finished in 19th place at the Buck Creek Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 1, at Northeastern High School in Springfield.
The varsity girls did not field enough participants for a team score. The middle school boys and girls competed, with the girls taking fifth place. The TVMS boys did not record a team score.
In the varsity boys’ 5K division, senior Matt Hemmelgarn finished in 48th with a time of 18:29.4 for TVS. Next was freshman Chris Keener, who placed 81st with a time of 19:18.3. Freshman Kyle Saul finished 107th with a time of 19:56.5. The rest of the team’s performance included sophomore Seth Craft at 126th in 20:22, sophomore Brandan Wright at 196th in 22:02, senior Chris French at 233rd in 24:00 and sophomore Curtis Hittle at 257th in 26:41.
There were 266 runners in the race. The team finished 19th of 26 schools.
In the varsity girls division, junior Megan Wright finished 13th with a time of 20:46.1. Freshman Maddyn McQueen finished 155th with a time of 27:41, while freshman Maggie Johnson finished 188th with a time of 31:17.
“I think we had another very solid performance this week,” said TVS coach Richie Faber. “Matt and Megan both had season bests this week, and are showing signs that they are ready to continue to cut down their times. Craft made a big jump forward and is now looking to break the 20-minute barrier. My freshmen continued to run well by maintaining something close to season bests. The high school has put back-to-back weeks together where they are improving.”
For the junior high boys, Tyler Wright finished 13th with a time of 12:48. His teammates were Jon Stewart, who finished 60th with a time of 14:52, and Austin Tackett, who finished 75th in 15:43.
In the girls division, Isabella Mills was the top TVS Middle School finisher, coming in ninth with a time of 14:49.1. Makiah Newport was next for South, crossing the line at 22nd in 15:41. Abby Utsinger was not far behind from Newport, at 35th, in 15:54. Rounding out the rest of the Little Panthers were Abby McGuire, 57th in 17:15, Pearle Rollyson, 66th in 17:41, and Brooke Bartrum, 80th in 19:16. The team finished fifth of 22 schools.
“Tyler Wright continued to run well with a 13th place this week,” complimented Faber. “Isabella’s top-ten finish was an impressive finish for this meet. The junior high girls’ team had an excellent finish with their fifth-place team finish against a lot of schools that are bigger than we are. I think it was a meet that we will grow a lot from, and it will help us to do well for the final few meets of the season.”
Twin Valley South will join National Trail, Preble Shawnee, and Tri-County North to compete next Saturday, Oct. 8, at Eaton in the Ed Leas Fall Classic.
