By Justin Sokeland – Bnlathletics.com
(TERRE HAUTE) – Bedford North Lawrence’s boys cross country team finished 11th in the strong field during the Valley Kick-off meet at Terre Haute’s challenging LaVern Gibson Course on Saturday morning.
The Stars totaled 303 points. Brebeuf won the title in the 21-team event with 87 points.
In the girls meet, the Stars finished 15th among 21 teams with 486 points. West Lafayette won that crown with 58 points.
Cooper Holmes paced the BNL boys, finishing 25th among the 358 runners in the field in 17:13.4 (almost a two-minute drop in time from last year’s race). Isaak Gilbert was 56th in 17:51.5, and Ethan Vaughn was 88th in 18:20.9.
Colton Sons (18:21.4) and Brayden Lanham (18:54.2) completed the scoring for the Stars.
“My overall feel of the meet is ecstatic because where we were at the beginning of the year, to now, we are miles and miles ahead in the right direction,” BNL coach Jon Calhoun said. “It truly shows the hard work we put into the summer and the dedication of getting better each and every day.
“It was a great first race. In the past I felt it took us a while to start learning how to race. The successes we had today, the team knows this is only the beginning.”
Brebeuf’s Jack Kovach was the individual winner in 16:05.2.
Grace Tanksley led the charge for the BNL girls, finishing 87th in 22:59.7. Myra Roberts was 113th (among a field of 294) in 23:38.5, and Lindley Steele made an impressive debut while crossing in 163rd in 25:06.7.
“Most of our returnees ran similar times to what they did last year at this meet,” BNL coach Jill Vance said. “We are struggling through injuries right now, which definitely hurt us. We definitely have some work to do. I want to see some meaningful time drops at the next meet.”
Lynnae Greene (25:19.0) and Anna Butler (28:09.5) completed the BNL scoring.
Lowell’s Karina James was the individual champion in 18:29.6.
BNL will compete in the prestigious Tiger Run in Louisville on Aug. 24.
VALLEY KICK-OFF
BNL results
Boys: 25. Cooper Holmes 17:13,4; 56. Isaak Gilbert 17:51.5; 88. Ethan Vaughn 18:20.9; 89. Colton Sons 18:21.4; 121. Brayden Lanham 18:54.2; 155. Cole Baker 19:35.0; 162. Isaac Williams 19:43.0; 190. Ryan Wright 20:06.2; 194. Jacob Morris 20:10.1; 216. Andrew Rohloff 20:26.0; 225. Jet Melvin 20:33.6; 251. Zane Thompson 21:03.7; 284. Zane Zollman 21:43.5; 285. Chase Turner 21:44.8; 290. Austin Roach 21:54.9; 302. Noah Bailey 22;13.5; 314. Avery Roach 22:51.3; 316. Jacob Simmerman 22:56.5; 324. Max Klein 23:21.5
Girls: 87. Grace Tanksley 22:59.7; 113. Myra Roberts 23:38.5; 163. Lindley Steele 25:06.7; 167. Lynnae Greene 25:19.0; 233. Anna Butler 28:09.5; 240. Emily Bartlett 28:29.1; 257. Adalyn Banks 30:00.3; 286. Katelyn Moody 34:53.3
