Led by an impressive run by junior Leah Anders, the Switzerland County girls cross country team earned the win in a five-team event that Switzerland County hosted last Wednesday night.
In the girls race, Switzerland County won with a team total of 23, while Rising Sun finished with a team total of 37. Carroll County, Shawe Memorial, and Southwestern all had runners in the race, but did not have enough to record a team score.
Anders dominated the race from the outset, cruising to the lead early and never really being challenged. She finished the 3.1 mile course in a time of 21:42, outdistancing second place Kasey Baker of Rising Sun (22:21) by nearly 40 seconds.
The Lady Pacers got a strong team effort, with Kiersten Oeffinger finishing fourth overall in a time of 24:55; Zoe Cole was sixth in a time of 26:08; Aleiah Thomas was seventh in 26:36; Allison Detmer was ninth in 28:20.
Brianna Vinup was 10th in a time of 28:37; and Josie Meyer finished 12th in a time of 29:45.
Oeffinger, Cole, Detmer, and Vinup all ran season-best times in the race.
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In the boys race, Switzerland County fielded only two runners on the night, with Garrett Demaree leading the way with a ninth place finish in a time of 20:41; and Nathan Scudder finished 20th overall with a season-best time of 24:21.