Indian runners take top spots at Central Tiger Invitational

~ Jackson girls, Notre Dame boys win team titles

From the start of the race right down to the very last leg, the Jackson girls cross country team stuck to its usual plan of running as a group.

The Indians grabbed the top four spots and took first place as a team with 11 points at the 50th running of the Central Tiger Invitational on Saturday. Central cross country coach Mark Hahn said 20 teams participated, the largest amount to ever compete in the annual race.

"It's come a long way in my 24 years," Hahn said. "I remember when it was down at Cape County Park and we could only get about a dozen, then it dropped down to nine. We've now capped it at 20 and I expect to see it grow from there."

Jackson junior Chelsea Drum paced the Indians, crossing the finish line first in 20 minutes, 50 seconds. Five seconds behind her was junior Karli Knott, while senior Tayler Winick (21:07.71) placed third. Sophomore Ana Compton (21:20.38) rounded out Jackson's top four finishers.

"That was our main focus to just come out here and push each other as a group so that we could win," Drum said. "It's usually that way in practice, too. It's not really about who wins, but instead if we all finish and where we finish as a team."

Jackson cross country coach Andrea Talley said she wasn't surprised with how well her girls ran.

Jackson’s Ean Buffington crosses the finish line in second place in the varsity boys race of the Central Tiger Invitational cross country meet.

"This is probably one of our lighter meets of the year as far as competition goes," Talley said. "There are still a lot of good runners though, and we thought this would be a good training run for us in preparation for districts and some of our bigger races later this season, but I'm very impressed with how well they ran today."

The Notre Dame girls took second with 52 points. Jordan Meadors (21:29.44) led the Bulldogs with a sixth-place finish.

"It's a young squad. I'm very excited about the young ladies, but there were some things they could've done differently" Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "We talked about packing a little bit more and running a more even race, but we did have a new leader today which was nice to see. I told the girls after the race, you learn from the things that you didn't do as well."

Saxony Lutheran took fifth with 132 points.

Potosi's Austin King dominated the boys race, winning in 16:52.55. King, a junior, started pulling away from the pack after the first 100 yards and did not look back.

"I like to build up a good enough lead so that I can kind of relax and run an even pace throughout the rest of the race," King said. "It's not always effective, but today I pulled away just enough to hold on down the stretch."

Jackson freshman Ean Buffington wasn't far behind, finishing second in 17:04.87.

Buffington said he never imagined finishing so high in the standings in just his second high school race.

"I was thinking third, fourth, fifth would be great, but really kind of out of reach," Buffington said. "But to finish like I did, that was awesome."

Buffington said he ran a conservative race until the last 200 yards, finding a burst of speed that separated him from a group.

"I was never ahead of fourth place until that point," Buffington said. "I just kind of kicked it on because I felt it was the right time, and it was."

Notre Dame's Rudy McClellan (17:21.47) was third. The sophomore said he wasn't pleased with his time, but he was happy to finish as highly as he did after dealing with a leg injury since the beginning of the season.

"I've been coming back from an injury so I'm just trying to get out there and compete as best I can even if it's not the usual pace I'm used to running at," McClellan said. "For me it's about rehabbing the leg so I'm ready to go for districts when the time comes."

The Notre Dame boys team took first with 43 points, fighting off Potosi which finished with 57 points.

Woodland took fourth with 82 points and Central finished fifth with 117 points.

"This team has been lacking some leadership," Davis said. "But they're all really good runners as you can see. Even with the injuries we've had it seems like it doesn't phase those guys, they run to their strengths and get wins."

Cape Central Tiger Invitational

Girls

Team Scores -- 1. Jackson 21; 2. Notre Dame 52; 3. Potosi 64; 4. Marion 107; 5. Saxony Lutheran 132; 6. Metro-East Lutheran 160; 7. Dexter 176.

Individuals -- 1. Chelsea Drum (J) 20:50.34; 2. Carli Knott (J) 20:55.37; 3. Tayler Winick (J) 21:07.71; 4. Ana Compton 21:20.38; 5. Madison DeClue (P) 21:23.53; 6. Jordan Meadors (ND) 21:29.44; 7. Shelby Kallem (M) 21:33.97; 8. Maddyerae Kelly (P) 21:41.22; 9. Katie Hanners (ND) 21:45.60; 10. Alaina Baumgart (ND) 21:50.70; 11. Leah Hecht (J) 22:20.05; 12. Alleigh Emmendorfer (ND) 22:31.28; 13. Courtney Hahs (J) 22:37.08; 14. Clarice Casner (P) 22:38.56; 15. Adilyn Mueller (ND) 22:45.81.

Local finishers

Jackson -- 1. Chelsea Drum 20.50.34; 2. Carli Knott 20:55.37; 3. Talyer Winick 21:07.71; 4. Ana Compton 21:20.38; 11. Leah Hecht 22:20.05; 13. Courtney Hahs 22:37.08.

Notre Dame -- 6. Jordan Meadors 21:29.44; 9. Katie Hanners 21:45.60; 10. Alaina Baumgart 21:50.70; 12. Alleigh Emmendorfer 22:31.28; 30. Allie Pujol 25:30.98.

Saxony Lutheran -- 28. Katie Richmond 25:06.69; 29. Rachel Koehler 25:08.12; 33. Grace Hanebrink 26:03.97; 36. Kristen Gruenwald 26:21.00; 39. Abby Breite 27:55.91.

Boys

Team Scores -- 1. Notre Dame 43; 2. Potosi 57; 3. Marion 75; 4. Woodland 82; 5. Central 117; 6. Oak Ridge 138; 7. Saxony Lutheran 222; 8. Dexter 230; 9. Metro-East Lutheran 241; 10. Greenville 242.

Individuals -- 1. Austin King (P) 16:52.55; 2. Ean Buffington (J) 17:04.87; 3. Rudy Mcclellan (ND) 17:21.47; 4. Caleb Gaylord (P) 17:40.01; 5. Riley Duncan (C) 17:40.40; 6. Isaiah Williams (PB) 17:58.43; 7. Zach Young (M) 17:58.80; 8. Alex Philips (J) 17:59.02; 9. Caleb Bess (J) 18:03.47; 10. Brock Kasten (ND) 18:11.99; 11. Jeremy Allen (P) 18:14.34; 12. Landon Thomsen (W) 18:19.23; 13. Aaron East (P) 18:20.00; 14. Tyler Pech (ND) 18:22.61; 15. Garret Reynolds (W) 18:30.15.

Local finishers

Jackson -- 2. Ean Buffington 17:04.87; 8. Alex Philipps 17:59.02; 9 Caleb Bess 18:03.47.

Notre Dame -- 3. Rudy Mcclellan 17:21.47; 10. Brock Kasten 18:11.99; 14. Tyler Pech 18:22.61; 16. Michael Peters 18:47.05; 17. Matt Gibbs 18:49.84.

Woodland -- 12. Landon Thomsen 18:19.23; 15. Garret Reynolds 18:30.15; 23. Brandon Sitzes 19:33.66; 26. Kyle Davis 19:54.45; 28. Cole Schlief 20:00.62.

Central -- 5. Riley Duncan 17:40.40; 27. Logan Wright 18:57.90; 32. Matt Stearns 20:25.61; 36. Brendan Wilkens 20:44.76; 38. Jay Richardson 20:56.40.

Oak Ridge -- 20. Nathan Bolin 19:07.65; 22. Zackry Moore 19:25.22; 34. Jacob Seabaugh 20:32.24; 37. Zack Whitener 20:51.48; 53. Jarrett Seabaugh 22:38.84.

Saxony Lutheran -- 40. Drew Zieba 21:00.16; 45. Gavin Brown 21:28.54; 54. Jacob Yantis 22:45.56; 55. Joshua Vogel 22:54.06; 72. Zach Woodney 26:26.00.