Brother Matt, MHS Boys, Shupert, and Tucker also headed to regionals –
By Mark Carpenter –
Adams County will again be well represented in the regional cross-country races in 2016 as one full team and four individual runners will be vying for the coveted spots in the state tournament. Last Saturday, Rio Grande University hosted the Division III District races and when all was said and done, Adams County had produced a district champion runner, as Peebles sophomore Jenny Seas continued her dominant fall season with a district title.
Just as she had done earlier in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference meet, Seas literally blew away the competition, again crossing the finish line over a minute earlier than the second place runner. Her time of 18:54.31 will send her breezing into next week’s regional race, looking for a return trip to the state meet in Columbus.
Seas will not be the only girl from Adams County to make the trip to Pickerington on Saturday for regional competition. The top six teams and individuals not on those teams but in the top 24 advance on to regionals and this year that will include West Union freshman Anna Shupert and Manchester senior Shyanne Tucker, who grabbed the last two available spots. Shupert was 23rd with a time of 21:54.56, with Tucker right behind in 24th in a time of 22:05.95.
Two teams from the Southern Hills Athletic Conference will be making the trip to Pickerington, as both the Fairfield Lady Lions and Eastern Lady Warriors qualified for regionals, placing fourth and sixth respectively in the team standings.
On the boys side, it will be Coach Vic Bowman taking his Manchester squad back to the regional competition as the Greyhounds finished sixth in the team standings, good enough to book the trip north on Saturday.
The Hounds were paced by junior Ethan Pennywitt, who finished eighth in a race of 196 runners with a time of 17:25.47. When tabulating team scores, the top five runners from a school are the ones that count and after Pennywitt, the Hounds had junior Jamie Combs 30th in a time of 18:18.98, senior Brendon Kessler 55th at 19:36.86, freshman Dalton Williams 60th at 19:43.94, and freshman Josh Zamora 65th at 19:49.13. The combination of those five was good enough for the “Dog Pack” to book a trip to the regional.
The SHAC will have two more teams in the regional boys race in Division III, including district champion Fairfield and Eastern Brown, who finished third.
In Division III boys, the top seven teams and the individuals not on those teams placing in the top 28 advance, and that meant that Peebles junior Matt Seas will be joining his younger sister in Pickerington on Saturday, also making a return trip to the regionals. Matt Seas placed fifth in the Division III race with a time of 16:58.5, earning the right to move on.
Looking for the coveted spot in the state cross-country met, all of the Adams County regional qualifiers will travel on Saturday, Oct. 29 to Pickerington North High School. The Division III Boys race begins at 11 a.m., with the girls set to leave the start line at 1:30 p.m.
