By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Athletic Annex Flash Rock Cross Country Invitational took place last Saturday at Northview Church in Carmel, and as always, was full of fast running.
Hamilton County teams made their expected impact at the meet. The Carmel girls and the Hamilton Southeastern boys both finished as runners-up in the Varsity Championship division. Westfield’s boys and girls teams, plus the Hamilton Southeastern girls and Noblesville girls, all had strong performances as well.
Westfield’s Alivia Lozier placed seventh in the girls race. In the background is Hamilton Southeastern’s Elizabeth Butler, who placed 18th. (Mike Kepner)
Girls meet
The Greyhounds girls totaled 72 points, finishing behind only West Ottawa from Holland, Mich. The Panthers, ranked No. 2 in Michigan, scored 54 points and were led by Helen Sachs, who blitzed the course in a time of 16 minutes, 57.37 seconds, a new Northview record.
Carmel had two girls finish in the top 10. Sadie Foley took fifth in a time of 18:10.56, making her the highest county finisher. Greyhounds coach Scott Williams said that was Foley’s lifetime best 5K performance. Annabel Pollert placed 10th.
It was the first time this season that the Greyhounds finished second after winning their first five. But first-year coach Williams called the meet “a good experience for them when it comes to the state meet, because they’re going to have to be able to deal with that type of a start.”
Williams is a veteran cross country coach. He led the Ben Davis boys team to a 1995 state championship and also coached at IUPUI for nine seasons.
“We’re happy,” said Williams. “The girls are running well and we’re 99 percent healthy. That’s the main thing in cross country, is keeping people healthy.”
Concordia Lutheran finished third with 116 points, followed by Noblesville with 160 points. The Millers got consistent runs from their top four, all of whom finished in the top 24. Riley Flynn led the way by taking 16th place.
Westfield’s Ty Conner (left) placed 22nd in the boys race. At right is Hamilton Southeastern’s Zach Swedarsky, who finished 18th. (Mike Kepner)
Hamilton Southeastern totaled 189 points for sixth place; Elizabeth Butler paced the Royals by finishing 18th. Westfield took eighth place as a team with 193 points. Alivia Lozier finished seventh.
Boys meet
The Southeastern boys finished a close second to Homestead, with the Spartans scoring 47 points and the Royals totaling 52. Homestead had four runners finish in the top 12, and due to a pair of individuals, all four runners scored 10 or less points.
Southeastern had six runners place in the top 20, with the first five scoring between five and 15 points. Liam Powers was seventh individually while Nick Vega took ninth.
“We were hoping for a bounce-back race after the last couple weeks, and our goal today was to pack up and have a good, strong pack,” said HSE coach Joe Golden. The coach said his team was able to pack up and work together for most of the race.
Warsaw was third with 95 points, followed by Westfield in fourth with 122 points. Owen Mohler led the Shamrocks by placing 10th.
GIRLS MEET
Carmel runners: 5. Sadie Foley 18:10.56, 10. Annabel Pollert 18:24.22, 14. Margo Halle 18:40.98, 15. Larkin Taylor 18:41.24, 28. Katy Dascoli 19:16.96, 36. Kaitlyn Oshimura 19:34.65, 38. Ella Gaddis 19:48.27, 47. Lilliana Cate 20:02.14, 60. Kalinda Lee 20:27.06, 62. Charlotte Konow 20:31.61, 71. Ella Weaver 20:41.52, 79. Maija Gilhooly 20:56.08.
Westfield runners: 7. Alivia Lozier 18:16.11, 42. Gianna Ferreri 19:57.32, 48. Mackenna Condon 20:07.89, 54. Carly Davis 20:18.60, 55. Jordyn Landrum 20:19.44, 72. Ella Bozarth 20:45.71, 76. Sam Plummer 20:49.84, 81. Sam Foster 20:56.59, 88. Emily Loiselle 21:06.37, 102. Maggie Naas 21:21.74, 104. Lina Abriani 21:22.6, 115. Ena Durbin 21:32.55.
Noblesville runners: 16. Riley Flynn 18:47.59, 21. Ansley Applegate 19:06.20, 23. Brinkley Cooper 19:09.32, 24. Jayde Stamm 19:09.79, 89. Lexi Miller 21:06.62, 91. Addie Scott 21:07.23, 98. Norah Mathes 21:18.22, 129. Olivia Ozimek 22:00.93, 135. Katie Horbett 22:11.97, 139. Kenley Johnson 22:24.46, 141. Izzy Salinas 22:30.46, 143. Addi Struck 22:47.80.
Southeastern runners: 18. Elizabeth Butler 18:57.62, 20. Catey Campbell 19:03.76, 38. Ava Powers 19:50.05, 63. Raegan Hissong 20:33.34, 67. Anaya Lammie 20:35.19, 87. Ciara Kepner 21:05.83, 90. Danika Harris 21:06.83, 101. Olivia Allen 21:21.08, 103. Makenzie Blom 21:21.98, 109. Anna Irish 21:29.94, 122. Aubrey Berger 21:44.29, 174. Kate Lux 26:12.28.
Noblesville’s Riley Flynn finished 16th in the girls race. (Mike Kepner)
BOYS MEET
Southeastern runners: 7. Liam Powers 15:55.81, 9. Nick Vega 16:04.90, 13. Ben Tuckis 16:16.11, 17. Riley Schamp 16:21.38, 18. Zach Swedarsky 16:21.45, 19. Aidan Lawson 16:22.65, 35. Michael Chalfant 16:46.84, 45. Tate Watson 17:03.48, 53. Sam Elliott 17:11.19, 54. Monroe Cluff 17:12.31, 56. Isaac Ober 17:13.37, 92. Deagan Baker 18:01.44.
Westfield runners: 10. Owen Mohler 16:11.91, 16. Will Snedeker 16:20.75, 22. Ty Conner 16:27.92, 37. Luke Moulder 16:52.32, 59. Owen Dilley 17:13.98, 65. Nathan McKeenver 17:24.50, 69. Drew Neely 17:28.62, 77. Bryce Pittman 17:40.20, 79. Maxim Poirer 17:47.05, 84. Carson Ackley 17:51.03, 89. Chase Niccum 17:54.66, 119. Landon Jones 19:02.54.