The Switzerland County girls and boys cross country teams participated in the ORVC conference meet on Saturday evening at the Hanover College course hosted by Southwestern High School; and both squads posted outstanding efforts.
In the girls race, Lady Pacer senior Leah Anders ran to a second place overall finish in a time of 20:52.8; just behind conference champion Megan Cole of South Ripley, who posted a time of 19:56.4.
The second place finish earned Anders All Conference honors, and she was joined on the All ORVC team by three teammates: Alisha Detmer, who finished eighth overall with a time of 22:59.6; Keirstan Oeffinger, who ran to a ninth place overall finish in a time of 23:03.6; and Matty Anderson, who finished in 11th place overall with a time of 23:06.6. Other Lady Pacer runners included Allison Detmer, who finished 25th in a time of 27:02.9; and Zoe Cole, who finished 31st in a time of 29:10.4.
As a team, Switzerland County finished in second place with a score of 51. South Ripley won the conference with a team score of 35. Jac-Cen-Del was third with 68 points; followed by Milan with 81 and Southwestern with 103. Rising Sun and Shawe Memorial had individual runners, but did not have enough participants to record a team score. In the boys meet, Switzerland County finished third overall in the conference with a team score of 101. The score tied Rising Sun, but the Pacers were awarded the higher finish based on Switzerland County’s sixth place runner, Peyton Gammons, having a higher overall placing than Rising Sun’s sixth runner.
The senior members of the Switzerland County varsity girls and boys cross country teams were honored at halftime of Friday night’s varsity football game between Switzerland County and South Decatur. Shown here are, from left: Kayman McElhany, Garrett Demaree, Zoe Cole, and Leah Anders.
Garrett Demaree led the Pacers with a 10th place overall finish in a time of 19:05.6 to earn All Conference honors; while Coby Manbeck was 18th in a time of 20:17.8; Ben Hicks was 25th in a time of 21:39.6; Jaydon Day was 33rd in a time of 24:57.8; and Levi Baker was 34th in a time of 25:24.0.
Overall, Southwestern won the conference title with a score of 24 points; while Jac-Cen-Del was second with 45. AFter Switzerland County and Rising Sun, South Ripley was fifth with a score of 104. Milan and Shawe Memorial did not have enough runners to record a team score.
The Pacer runners will return to Hanover this Saturday to participate in the Sectional, with the race getting underway at 10 a.m.