GREENCASTLE – Bedford North Lawrence started the 2023 season with a second-place finish in the Keith Puckett Invitational during girls high school cross country action at South Putnam on Saturday.
The Stars totaled 50 points in the seven-team field. Edgewood won the event with 16 points. In the boys meet, BNL finished fourth with 82 points, settling behind Edgewood (51), Cascade (74) and Crawfordsville (76) in the field.
In the girls race, Jabrie Sullivan paced BNL, finishing seventh overall in 23:49.7. BNL’s pack was glued together as Elise Williams (12th in 24:47.7), Madison Chandler (13th in 25:08.2) and Francesca Orozco (14th in 25.21.8) crossed close together.
“We are really excited about the way the girls ran,” BNL co-coach Amy Spence said. “They were racing, not just running. They stayed aware of their proximity to each other and competed well.
“It’s so nice to have a meet under our belts to get an indication of everyone’s strengths and what we need to work on. The course was sloppy, but they all worked their hardest and it paid off well.”
Edgewood’s Hannah Crain won the race in 21:32.7.
In the boys race, BNL’s Jonah Bailey was fifth overall in 18:28.4.
“Jonah ran a solid race to start the season, given the conditions,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “He raced inside the top 10 all meet and never wavered.”
Other top finishers for the Stars included Nicholas Lindley (10th in 19:15.4) and Alex Nicholson (13th in 19:31.1).
“We had a late start this morning due to weather delays from a thunderstorm,” Boyd said. “While we were not able to move through our usual premeet routines, our runners did a nice job adapting to the conditions – a muddy, hilly course that produced some solid performances.
“It is difficult to gain many insights from the times due to the conditions, but perhaps more important is getting the first meet experience. This was the first high school cross country meet for many of our athletes. We had three in the top 20, and we will look to our next races to keep momentum going. There is a lot of optimism as we move forward and we will continue to build.”
Greencastle’s Landon Miller was the individual winner in 17:22.5
The Stars will return to action at Seymour on Thursday.
KEITH PUCKETT INVITATIONAL
