The Greensburg Cross-Country teams returned to action Saturday morning when they travelled to Moores Hill for the 22nd Annual South Dearborn Invitational. Greenfield Central won the Division I competition and had 4 runners in the top ten. The Pirate boys placed 4th out of the nine teams in Division I that featured teams from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The boys have a record of 13-16 after 3 meets.
After not racing for 3 weeks, the Pirates had a number of strong performances. Sophomore Jake Hawkins broke 18:00 for the first time this season and set a new personal best. Hawkins earned 5th place in a time of 17:47. Sawyer Sanders ran 18:37, his fastest time of the year, to place 20th. Kole Stephens lowered his season best to 19:11 for 28th place. Cameron Schwartz recorded a season best performance of 19:27 for 32nd while freshman Paxton Harris ran under 20:00 for the first time ever. Harris finished in 19:29 for 33rd. Other varsity runners included Nate Murray (20:01) and Chase Tekulve. Tekulve had the best race of his freshman year running a personal best of 20:20.
TJ Gorman was top runner for Greensburg in the Reserve Race. He placed 12th overall in a time of 20:22. Other finishers for the Pirates were Brayden Emery 16th (20:32), Carson McCord 18th (21:11), Bryant Merritt 20th (21:24), Vaughn Verzo 23rd (22:19), Wyatt Clifford 27th (22:59), Caleb Berkemeier 29th (24:18), and Robert Browning 31st (26:27).
In the girls’ competition, the Lady Pirates finished 3rd in the Division I Race and improved their record for 2021 to 22-8. Emily Mangels was the top runner for Greensburg. The senior placed 7th in a time of 22:07. Freshman Tori Gauck ran her best time ever for 5k. She crossed the finish line in 11th overall with a time of 22:17. Sophomore Hannah Crowell also established a new personal best as she ran 22:30 for 14th place. Tiffani Gramman was 15th in 22:33. Malana Kramer finished 38th with a time of 25:35. Ally Foster had her fastest race of 2021 running 26:36 for 43rd. Sophie Nobbe was 45th in 26:39. Freshman Allison Kunze placed 10th in the reserve race in 29:08. Both teams will compete in the EIAC Championships next Saturday morning at Batesville.
Coach Troy Davis