XC: Young Battles to Victory; Roach Takes Third

By Drema Johnson


            The Hancock County Hornet Cross Country Invitational took place on Saturday September 18. The varsity girls, though they didn’t have a team, did very well. Sydney Young led the race with a new personal best of 21:02, Drema Johnson placed 6^th with 22:12, and Kensey Estes placed 11^th with 22:47.

            When asked about her win, Sydney had this to say, “I was dying, but I was not about to let Olivia Cason pass me after I’d worked so hard.”

            It wasn’t the fact that Sydney won that impressed me,” Coach Wes Meserve stated, “it’s the fact that she led the race from start to finish. She ran a sub 5 minute mile which broke anyone and everyone that tried to stay with her on the first mile.”

            The varsity guys had a good race as well. Cody Roach got third with a time of 17:49, Cody Inman took twenty second with 20:48, Josh Daugherty twenty sixth with 21:53, Bert Kellems twenty seventh with 21:59, and Chris Bertke thirty third with 22:31.

            Cody Roach stated, “This was a hard race full of good runners, so I’m pretty happy with where I finished.”

“The guy’s team placed fourth overall,” Coach Wes Meserve stated, “and if my other varsity/middle school runners had not run in the middle school race, then I feel very confident that the guys would have gotten third.”

            In the boy’s middle school race, Cody Schroader took third with a time of 12:10, Dylan Johnson twenty fifth with 13:37, Wesley Nevvitt twenty eighth with 13:49, Bailey Terry thirty second with 14:25, and Bo Powers thirty eighth with 15:07. The girls were led by Kelsey Rodgers   who got fifth with a time of 14:21 and Selena Wethington placed twenty fifth with 16:34.

In the elementary race Kirsten Johnson took first out of the girls and fourth overall, and the elementary guys had a second place team finish.