Eddie Mowen Jr. | The Register-Herald
EATON — Eaton’s boys had four runners place in the top 20, while the girls had four in the top 21 as each earned third place finishes at the 54th annual Eaton Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Fort St. Clair Park.
National Trail’s boys were seventh and Preble Shawnee was eighth in the Gold Race.
In addition, Eaton’s boys JV team placed 5th overall, the boys junior high team placed 4th and the girls junior high team placed 8th.
“Our athletes and coaches understand that we are a work in progress. Overall, not a bad showing for our athletes in all six races against some strong competition,” Eaton coach Randy McKinney said.
National Trail’s Tucker Denlinger was the top individual placer among Preble County runners, placing seventh in 17 minutes, 41 seconds.
For Eaton, Jack Richardson was ninth, Tanner Davis was 14th, Skyler Derksen was 19, Wes Kitchin was 20th, Michael Fomin was 25th, Reed Daniels was 26th and Dylan Staley was 32nd.
For Trail, Brayden Lee was 30th, Jackson Johnson was 47th, Bryce Couvutsakis was 58th and Merek Mumm was 104th.
For Preble Shawnee, Dennis Hall was 27th, Kyle Bruno was 40th, Evan Shields was 41st, Alex Myers was 43rd and Bryce Osborne was 92nd.
For Eaton’s girls, Emily Haynes led the way with a 10th place finish, Avery Bleil was 13th, Josie Eilerman was 15th, Brynlee Hamilton was 21st, Elise Simmons was 26th, Ali Davis was 34th and Vivian Weadick-Hoober was 39th.
For National Trail, Sydney Whalen was 28th and Kira Rutan was 48th.
For Preble Shawnee, Madison Moore was 37th, Bella Adkins was 49th and Fiath Jessie was 52nd.
“We had a great day to race,” McKinney said. “However the course ran a little on the slow side for most of the races due to the lack of rain we have had over the last two months. Our athletes are continuing to bring down their times, develop their racing, adjusting to being a high school runner or a rookie runner overall, while a couple are recovering from early season injuries. Once again, our goal is to be the best we can be in the championship portion of our season. Each race out I can see each of them becoming a little more confident in their individual and team abilities. As a coach that’s all you can really ask of your athletes at this point in the season.”
All three teams are scheduled to compete at the National Trail Invitational on Saturday.
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on X @emowenjr.
