Cross Country makes the leap to the Regional Championships

Nov 2

On Saturday, October 19, the boys and girls cross country teams competed at Cedarville University in the Division 2 District Championships race. They walked away with one girl, Aubree Bates, who qualified individually, and the entire boys team advanced to the Regional Championship in Troy. Regionals is the last stop before the State Championships.

Bates, a freshman, was challenged to compete on a course she never seen before. Since having an impressive first high school season, she had to work hard to ensure it didn’t end at Districts, and she did just that. Finishing in 18th place with a time of 20:46.9, she led for the Bulldogs and found herself moving on for one more week.

The rest of the girls season ended Saturday. However, this team can walk away knowing that many of them ran season and personal best times, became TRC Champions, and will be returning again next season. Having no senior girls gives this team more opportunity to improve as one. This team had an outstanding season.

As for the boys, they aren’t done yet. They finished in sixth place overall and the top eight qualify. This will be the second year in a row that the team has qualified for Regionals. But the excitement doesn’t stop there. Sophomore Colin Hinkelman finished in seventh place overall with a time of 16:33.3. This means that even if the team had not qualified, Hinkelman would have done so individually.

The team that competed at Troy last weekend consists of Hinkelman (freshman), Zak Klepinger (sophomore), Andrew Oaks (junior), Jacob Grube (senior), Riley Kent (freshman), Tyler Shoemaker (junior), and Chase Parsons (junior).

Congratulations to the girls team on a great season, and an even bigger congratulations to Bates and the boys team.
For all things running-related, the cross country teams were both named back-to-back Three Rivers Conference Champions! At the conference meet's closing ceremony, Freshman Colin Hinkelman was awarded “Runner of the Year.”

Along with his award, the All-Conference honors were also given out. On the boys side, Hinkelman and Zak Klepinger were named First-Team All TRC, Andrew Oaks and Jacob Grube as Second-Team All TRC, and Riley Kent and Tyler Shoemaker as Honorable Mention. On the girls side, Aubree Bates and Madalyn Korte were named First-Team All TRC, Amelia Iddings and Sydnie Bartlett Second-Team All TRC, and Alaina Manning and Jessa Lightner Honorable Mention. Head coaches Mike Meredith and Amanda Higgins were awarded “Coach of the Year” honors.

Ty Parsons

Ty Parsons writes for the Gazette, specializing in sports and school coverage in West Milton. She is on the cross-country and track and field teams at the school, and is involved in many clubs, including Class President, National Honor Society President, Freshman Mentor, Hope Squad, Interact Club, and Student Council.