The Switzerland County Pacer boys cross country team placed first in the pre-conference meet held on Tuesday, September 5th at Baylor Park in Milan.
The Pacers finished with a score of 49 to win the event. Top Pacer finishers included: Clay Meyer, sixth place in a time of 17:25; Corey McFarland, seventh place in a time of 17:34; and Jim Abbott, ninth place with a time of 17:39.
Josh Hon earned 10th place with a time of 17:45; Tray Meyer 17th place with a time of 19:22; Matt Johnson, 26th place with a time of 19:24, Bradlee Burk, 34th place with a time of 19:30; Cliff Meyer, 39th place with a time of 20:21 and Mark Sharp, 43rd place with a time of 21:25.
“I am very proud of everyone’s effort. Each boy realizes how tough this conference is. We need solid performances each time out,” coach Mark Boggs said. We have several young and inexperienced runners; however they are maturing with every meet.”
The Lady Pacer cross country team earned third in a close meet – only one point away from second place – with a score of 64.
The Lady Pacers also welcomed back senior Amanda Hon. Amanda has been sidelined with a stress fracture in her foot, and is one of the top runners in the area.
Lady Pacer finishers included: Amanda Hon, seventh place with a time of 17:31; Beth Abbott, eighth place with a time of 18:00; Amber Meli, ninth place with a time of 18:09.
Shana Todd earned 19th place with a time of 19:03; Courtney Ellegood, 25th place with a score of 20:23; Emilee Waldron, 26th place with a time of 20:47; Casey Sharp, 28th place with a time of 20:58 and Amber Parham with a time of 22:18.
“It was great to see Amanda out there competing again after injury. Beth and Amber were very solid last night as well,” coach Mark Boggs said. “We still need to get our pack tightened up. With the experience and time, I can see this happening.”
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The Switzerland County Lady Pacers earned a third place at the East Central Invitational on Thursday, September 7th with 63 points.
Amanda Hon finished sixth in a time of 17:58 and Beth Abbott finished ninth in a time of 18:41.
Courtney Ellegood finished 16th in a time of 19:25; Chelsea Peters, 20th in a time of 19:45; Shana Todd, 26th in a time of 20:41; Casey Sharp, 29th in a time of 22:08 and Emilee Waldron 35th with a time of 23:40.
Coach Boggs wanted to note that Amber Meli one of the top runners for the Lady Pacers was out due to sickness.
“I am very excited to see Chelsea and Courtney run well in the meet, the two are still learning to run at the varsity level,” Coach Boggs said. “Each day, this team is making huge strides.”
The boys earned a fourth place finish with a score of 78.
Top finishers for the Pacers included: Josh Hon, 10th in a time of 18:42; Jim Abbott, 11th with a time of 18:47; Corey McFarland, 15th in a time of 19:10; Tray Meyer, 17th with a time of 19:35; Clay Meyer, 25th with a time of 20:25; Tanner Ross, with a time of 21:15 and Bradlee Burk, 35th with a time of 21:22.
“As a team, the boys seemed a little tired,” Coach Boggs said. “They have had a tough week, however.”
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The boys bounced back to finish fourth out of 11 teams Saturday at the Jac-Cen-Del Invitational.
Brownstown Central was the overall winner of the meet and Derick Clark of Southwestern was the individual winner.
Top finishers for the Pacers included: Corey McFarland, 11th with a time of 16:55; Josh Hon, 14th with a time of 17:11; Clay Meyer, 17th with a time of 17:18; Jim Abbott, 22nd with a time of 17:56; Tray Meyer, 27th with a time of 18:26; Matt Johnson, 35th with a time of 18:47 and Tanner Ross, 45th with a time of 19:18.
The Lady Pacers earned fifth place out of nine teams. They were without Amber Meli and April Thieman who have been hampered with minor injuries.
Top finishers for the Lady Pacers included: Amanda Hon, seventh with a time of 17:05. Beth Abbott, 17th with a time of 18:01; Courtney Ellegood, 28th with a time of 19:11; Shana Todd, 37th with a time of 19:52; Chelsea Peters, 39th with a time of 20:14; Casey Sharp, 41st with a time of 20:26 and Emilee Waldron, 42nd with a time of 20:45.
“I feel good about Amanda’s performance. She kept getting stronger throughout the race,” coach Mark Boggs said. “She continues to show her physical and mental toughness. she is improving every day.”
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The Pacer team battled through the pouring rain and standing water to win the 12 team Christian Academy Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday evening, September 12th.
Switzerland County Pacers scored 49 points to outdistance the Borden team, who had 60.
Clay Meyer finished third with a time of 19:16; Corey McFarland finished sixth with a time of 19:54 and Josh Hon finished seventh with a time of 19:55.
Jim Abbott, 12th with a time of 20:06; Matt Johnson, 21st with a time of 20:41; Tray Meyer, 26th with a time of 21:09; Tanner Ross, 40th with a time of 22:02; Bradlee Burk, 41st with a time of 22:12 and Mark Sharp, 55th with a time of 24:10.
“Obviously, the times were going to be very slow in the rain; however, I am proud of the discipline and dedication each boy put forth. Clay ran a great race today. He was within five seconds of two very solid Borden runners. He has been a little under the weather, so it was great to get him healthy again,” coach Mark Boggs said. “Matt Johnson also left everything out there today. He is running much stronger now.”
The girls team placed third in the invitational.
Pekin Eastern won the team title, followed by Henryville.
Amanda Hon earned sixth place with a time of 20:55 and Amber Meli placed eighth with a time of 22:01.
Beth Abbott placed 12th with a time of 22:44; Shana Todd, 23rd with a time of 24:05; Chelsea Peters, 24th with a time of 24:12; Courtney Ellegood, 25th with a time of 24:16; Emilee Waldron, 32nd with a time of 25:54; Casey Sharp, 42nd with a time of 26:00 and Amber Parham, 43rd with a time of 26:08.
“The girls showed a lot of heart on the course. It’s definitely hard getting yourself motivated in weather like this. They did a great job of being very competitive,” coach Mark Boggs said. “It was nice to get Amber Meli back who had been out a few races due to sickness. She and the rest of the team showed a lot of guts.”
The Switzerland County cross country team will have a meet this Saturday at Milan in the Baylor Invitational.