LINDEN — Paced by a pair of Crawfordsville runners, area teams had a strong showing against a tough field at the 54th Annual Charger Classic on Thursday.
Crawfordsville junior Katherine Novak raced to a third-place finish with a personal best time of 21:08. On the boys’ side, sophomore Josh Inskeep was the top finisher for the Athenians with a personal best time of 17:21.
North Montgomery’s top boy was Jack Rogers with a top-10 finish in 17:48. On the girls’ side, Katelyn Woolwine placed 26th in 24:09.
Southmont’s Ethan Keck paced the Mountie boys with a 23rd place finish in 18:36. Darby Cottrell paced the girls with a 31st place finish in 24:40.
Hamilton Heights swept both races. Crawfordsville had the top local finishes — placing sixth in the girls race with a total of 169, while the boys were fourth with a total of 108.
Nolan Yarger was the second finisher for North’s boys in a personal best 18:58. Drew Dark ran the course in 19:16, Blake Welch in 19:55, and Kale Mitchell rounded out the Chargers’ top-5 with a time of 20:22. On the girls’ side, Sarah Hopper finished in 24:14, Zoey McFarland in 26:18, Kendra McClamroch a personal best of 26:59, and Avery Gayler in 28:01.
“I was pleased with both our teams this year as we faced some great competition at the Charger Classic,” North Montgomery coach Tim Lueking said. “The boys team was led by Jack Rogers, who had a season PR and broke the 18-minute barrier, A goal he’s been chasing since his freshman year.”
Crawfordsville’s Hutton Haas placed ninth with a time of 17:38, while Jantzen Thayer ran a time of 18:49, Cole Capper 19:11, and Alex Sanchez rounded out the Athenian boys’ top-5 with a time of 19:29. On the girls’ side, Remy Swinford finished in 23:47, Melanie Dowd 26:07, Li Li Yeung a 28:41, and Paige Johnson 28:56.
“We didn’t run our best times of the season, but we had our most competitive race of the year,” Crawfordsville coach Jared McMurry said. “This is a crucial point of the season for improving, but also staying healthy, and I’m optimistic that we are on pace for both.”
Jaysa Crull was the second finisher for Southmont’s girls in a time of 25:13, while Amarah Shannon ran a 26:23, Lennon Woods a 28:09, and Kendyll Bullerdick a 39:54. On the boys’ side, Sam Crum finished in a time of 19:29, Trent Reeves in 19:30, Jackson Fruits in 20:03, and Liam Trautwein rounded out the top-5 with a time of 20:13.
“I was very happy with the way that both teams ran tonight,” Southmont coach Shelley Allen said. “Several of the athletes on both teams ran their best race tonight. I can’t wait to see how they continue to progress.”
Lucas Kirkpatrick was Fountain Central’s top finisher with a time of 20:38 on the boys’ side, while Brailey Hoagland ran a 24:03 for the girls.
