Saturday morning the Greensburg Cross-Country teams traveled to Moores Hill Elementary for the IHSAA Sectional 23 hosted by South Dearborn. The Batesville Bulldogs took three of the top 4 spots and claimed the boys’ team title. Batesville’s Benjamin Moster won his second consecutive sectional race in a time of 16:33. The Pirates placed 3rd out of the 12 teams competing and qualified for the Franklin Regional next weekend. This is the seventh year in a row that Greensburg has qualified for the regional as a team.
Jake Hawkins was the top finishers for the Pirates. Hawkins earned all-sectional honors for the second year in a row. He was 6th place in 17:39. Sawyer Sanders also finished in the top 20 and received all-sectional recognition for the fourth consecutive season. Sanders finished 17th overall in 18:27. Sophomore Cameron Schwartz had his best race of the season. He broke the 19:00 barrier for the first time in 2021 running 18:55 for 24th place.
Nate Murray was 25th in 19:07. Freshman Paxton Harris continued his steady improvement throughout the 2021 season. He lowered his personal best to 19:11 as he crossed the finish line in 28th. TJ Gorman also ran a personal record Saturday morning at sectional. Gorman earned 29th in 19:12. Junior Bryant Merritt placed 42nd in 20:18. The boys improved their record on the season to 34-23.
In the girls’ competition, the Batesville Bulldogs defended their sectional title with five runners in the top 10. East Central’s Rachel Campbell was the individual champion in 19:33. The Lady Pirates finished 3rd overall in the team standings and improved their season record to 43-14. Greensburg qualified for the regional round for the 10th season in a row. Senior Emily Mangels was the top runner for Greensburg. Mangels placed 8th overall in 21:00 earning all-sectional recognition for the 4th time in her career.
Tiffani Gramman placed 12th in the race in 21:40 and received all-sectional honors. Sophomore Hannah Crowell used a strong finish to lower her personal best. Crowell broke the 22:00 mark for the first time. She was 15th place overall in 21:49. That performance also earned Crowell all-sectional. Tori Gauck came in 21st overall in a time of 22:35. Sophomore Malana Kramer was 39th in 24:56 while teammate Ally Foster ran 25:10 for 42nd place. The Pirates will race in the Franklin Regional next Saturday morning. The boys’ race is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am.
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Troy Davis