By Mark Carpenter-
Bragging rights were on the line once again on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at West Union High School as the Dragons played host to the 2020 Adams County Cross-Country Meet, featuring only the runners from the four schools in the county.
Most of the bragging rights for 2020 are on their way to Seaman, as a very solid group of cross-country runners from top to bottom, led North Adams to three of the four team titles, winning both of the junior high crowns and then adding the high school girls to their trifecta. The only break in the North Adams stranglehold was the high school boys title. captured by the Peebles Indians.
“”I’m extremely proud of all of our runners,” said North Adams head coach Kelly Boerger. “They put in the work day in and day out and I’m glad their hard work is paying off.”
The day began with a pair of elementary races, a group of youngsters each with their own unique running style. The first group at the start line consisted of fourth grade and under and their top five finishers were J. R. Liston, Easton Raines, Tenslie Burns, Braxton Hesler, and Eathan Caldwell. The second elementary race was for fifth and sixth graders and their top five were Ian Raines, Gage Knox, Calen Vogler, Jayden Rechers, and Lydia Armstrong.
With their only being four schools involved, which limited the total number of runners, girls and boys ran together in all of the junior high and high school races. For the 2020 meet, the top seven runners in each race were awarded medals.
There were 18 runners in the junior high girls race and crossing the finish line first in that group was West Union eighth grader Sadie Armstrong, who turned in a time of 14:11 for the two-mile run. Second place went to North Adams seventh grader McKenna Shelton with a time of 14:26.
The remainder of the top seven medalists in the junior high girls race were: Katelynn Boerger, North Adams (14:27), Anna Armstrong, North Adams (14:33), Miley Smith, West Union (14:56), Tatum Grooms, North Adams (15:02), and Emma Crawford, West Union (15:27).
With four of the top seven runners, the Lady Devils took the junior high girls team title, with West Union second and Peebles third.
Twenty-two runners toed the start line for the junior high boys race and leading a pack of talented young runners to the finish line was Peebles seventh grader Grady Myers with a time of 11:55. Second place went to North Adams eighth grader Beau Hesler, who came down the chute with a time of 12:19.
Medalists three through seven in the junior high boys race were: Jayce Rothwell, North Adams (12:47), Jimmy Hickey, North Adams (13:30), Connor Young, North Adams (13:34), Ryan Butcher, Manchester (13:38), and James Smith, West Union (13:41).
In the junior high boys team standings, North Adams won handily, with Peebles second and Manchester third. West Union did not field enough runners for a team score.
Perhaps the most anticipated race of the day was the high school girls run, pitting North Adams’ Myla Toole and Peebles’ Katy Seas, two of the top girls runners in southeast Ohio. On Tuesday, it was a battle to the finish between those two junior runners, with Seas getting the best this time by the absolute slimmest of margins, finishing first with a time of 19:09, with Toole second at 19:10, nearly a photo finish.
Third place in the high school girls race (21 runners) went to Peebles’ Samantha Seas (20:26) and the remainder of the medalists were Lilly Gray, Peebles (20:27), Addie Shupert, West Union (21:15), Makenna Armstrong, West Union (21:57), and Sara Boldman, West Union (22:32).
After some corrections in the results were made post-race, the North Adams girls took the team title, again by the slimmest of margins, slipping by Peebles by one point with West Union just three behind.
There were 24 total runners in the high school boys competition, and pacing all of them across the finish line was the pre-race favorite, North Adams junior Cody Hesler, in a time of 18:14. Coming in a close second was another NAHS junior, Garrett Emerson, with a time of 18:41.
The remainder of the medalists in the high school boys race were Bryce Willoughby, Peebles (19:05), Landen Fulton, West Union (19:07), Hayden Crum, Peebles (19:28), Carter Vogler, Peebles (19:53), and Jai-Michael Knox, West Union (20:09).
It was Peebles taking the team title for the high school boys, with North Adams second, West Union third, and Manchester fourth.
All of the county’s cross-country squads will continue to prepare for both the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Meet and sectional action, with the SHAC Meet scheduled for Oct. 17 in Ripley.
2020 Adams County Meet
Final Team Standings
JH Girls: North Adams 24, West Union 48, Peebles 59
JH Boys: North Adams 22, Peebles 52, Manchester 53
HS Girls: North Adams North Adams 40, Peebles 41, West Union 43
HS Boys: Peebles 37, North Adams 36, West Union 56, Manchester 74