Fairfield wins boys, girls Highland County Invitational

LEESBURG — For the Fairfield Lions, the 2016 Highland County Invitational held on their home course in Leesburg was about having fun and winning. The team not only became the champions in both the boys and girls divisions, but did so with complete domination.

In the boys race, the Lions scored 15 points, the lowest number of points a team can score, to gain the championship, earning all 10 spots in the Top 10. The Lions had a total of 12 spots covered in the Top 16.

“(Tuesday) we were really competing each other,” FHS head coach Raymond Friend said. “This is a new course because we had to make it new because the track’s kind of torn up some things. We really didn’t know how well everyone would do. It’s hard to compare the times. We have not run a race yet that we compare to last year. Lancaster will be our first test, and next week is kind of nice because we’re running against all Division III teams.

“I love the atmosphere here. This is the only time that some people in the community will get to see us run, so we love this race for that aspect.”

In all, there were a total of 47 boys racing in the event, as it was won by FHS junior Noah Richmond with a time of 17:12. In second place was senior Wyatt Evans at 17:40, and junior Matthew Mangus was third with a time of 17:48. The rest of the Top 5 was sophomore Bennett Hodson at 17:52 with a fourth-place finish and in fifth place was senior Trent Swisher at 17:57.

Sixth through 10th places were all from Fairfield, and they included: sophomore Austin Setty (17:59), sophomore Brandtson Duffie (18:19), senior Dillon Burley (18:19), freshman Ethan Davis (18:33) and junior Andrew Davis (18:39).

The 13th-place spot for the Lions was sophomore Sam Buddelmeyer (19:25), and the 16th-place finisher was junior Nick Price (19:38). Rounding out the rest of the FHS times were freshmen Tristan Victor (21:21), Gavin Campbell (21:28) and Derek Cooper (26:38) and sophomore Riley Friend (31:19).

“As for my top boys, you can tell Noah ran a really strong race. He just looked strong the whole race, and that’s where his training’s coming in really well,” Friend said. “I really look to Matthew Mangus to get better in the next couple weeks as we start doing speed work.

“Bennett Hodson ran an excellent race again. At the beginning of the year, he might not have been in the top seven, but he’s working his way right in there, and it’s nice to see. Wyatt responded with a good run, and we’re going to need Wyatt this season. He’s experienced, he’s been to state for three years now. We need that experience.”

With so much competition between each other, the Lions are battling to get into their own Top 7 to have the chance to compete in the postseason.

“That is the best motivator,” Friend said of the Top 7 on the team. “Nothing I can say, nothing I can yell at them in practice, is going to motivate them better than having 10 to 11 guys pushing for the top seven spots.

“That’s what we’ve got right now, that’s what’s going to drive us and that’s what’s going to make us show how well we’re going to do at the state level.”

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Following the Lions in the final standings were Hillsboro (68), Lynchburg-Clay (83), Whiteoak (91) and McClain (118).

Final scores for the Indians included junior Justin Scott in 14th place at 19:31. In 15th place was senior Micah Pinney (19:31), sophomore Zane Adams (20:17) was 18th and in 19th was sophomore Bailey Lucarello (20:42).

Also running for the Indians were freshmen Titus Heiser (22:59) and Ryan Harless (26:42).

McClain’s top runner was freshman Cannon Woolridge with a time of 19:18. The rest of McClain’s times included: junior Seth Cross (23:54), freshman Miles McMurry (24:55), junior Noah Scott (27:34), sophomore Kaleb Harper (30:29) and sophomore Maximus Lawson (33:51).

The Mustangs were led by senior Brandon McCammon in 11th place at 19:06. In 17th place was senior Bobby Merry (20:14), and in 23rd place was senior Hunter Underwood (21:20).

Others running for the Mustangs were: sophomore Caleb Strunk (24:02), junior Ben Bales (24:35), junior Bryant Constable (27:11), senior Daniel Toller (27:14), freshman Jeremy Bingaman (27:27), sophomore Casey Barger (30:05), senior A.J. Stroop (36:19) and senior Trevor Lindsey (39:06).

Whiteoak’s top finisher was 20th overall, as sophomore Hunter Morgan finished with a time of 20:43. He was followed by sophomore Atlee Carr at 20:56 and sophomore Zach DeAtley at 21:03 for 21st and 22nd places, respectively.

Other WHS times included: sophomore Logan Cummings (22:05), freshman Cody Everhart (24:49), sophomore Chase Butler (25:51), freshman Gavin Tebo (27:20) and freshman Kyler Emery (28:24).

In the girls portion of the race, the Lady Lions won with a score of 20, while Hillsboro was second with a score of 39. McClain, Lynchburg-Clay and Whiteoak didn’t field a full team.

FHS freshman Ciara Colwell was first of 23 girls with a time of 21:46. The rest of the Top 5 for the girls included Hillsboro senior Caitlin Ahrmann at 23:30 in second place and FHS sophomore Megan Gragg at 23:49 for a third-place finish. In fourth place was FHS freshman Chloe Barber at 24:10, and the fifth-place spot went to LC junior Angela McLaughlin at 24:56.

“Ciara once again had an outstanding race today, and my next three — Megan Gragg, Chloe Barber and Alexis Swisher also raced well,” Friend said.

Other times in the girls race included:

FHS — Alexis Swisher, sophomore, 25:09; Hayleigh Lowe, 28:22; Meadow Cunningham, sophomore, 28:41; Sarah Wuellner, freshman, 28:52; Sarah Young, freshman, 29:16; and Haleigh Bates, senior, 34:44.

HHS — Emily Young, junior, 27:00; Keeley Schurman, freshman, 28:27; Liahna Brown, junior, 30:14; and Alora Brown, freshman, 31:22.

LC — Lexi Waits, senior, 27:23; Emily Pinkerton, junior, 27:50; and Maelynn Quigley, sophomore, 31:05.

MHS — Jamie Discher, junior, 34:19.

WHS — Taylor Tackett, senior, 24:56; Kattie Taylor, senior, 26:01; Maggie Carr, senior, 20:03; and Katie Ames, sophomore, 29:41.

“I was telling another coach today, I really hope that we [the girls] can finish up and win the league at the end of this year,” Friend said. “It’s been our goal all year. These girls are putting a lot of work into it, and they’re getting better and better each race. That is fun for a coach to see, to see them work hard and get better.

“Thanks so much for all the help we’ve gotten for this community race. Everybody, the whole community, comes out here. We appreciate everything. I don’t do this myself. A lot of people put a lot of work into this. I appreciate everything.”

In the middle school races, Fairfield also won both the boys and girls events. Fairfield eighth-grader Cohen Frost won the boys event with a time of 12:18, while the girls event was won by Hillsboro eighth-grader Magarah Bloom.