SEYMOUR – Bedford North Lawrence’s Jonah Bailey finished third overall as the Stars settled into third place during the Seymour Invitational boys cross country meet on Thursday.
The Stars scored 55 points in the six-team field. Seymour won the event with 41 points while Brownstown was second with 47. In the girls meet, BNL was third with 60 points, following Seymour (31) and Jennings County (44).
Bailey toured the 5K course in 17:54.41. Other top BNL finishers included Alex Nicholson (fifth in 18:29.24) and freshman Nicholas Lindley (sixth in 18:41.39).
“This week we practiced racing smarter and more controlled,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “Our goal was to run our own race instead of getting swept up in the excitement of the start, in order to better compete for the whole race. Everyone did a nice job of this tonight and I’m pleased with our progress.
“Jonah and Alex had a solid race overall, and Nick Lindley has had a nice start to his freshman year. The remainder of the spots have several runners competing, which is exactly what we are looking for.”
Brownstown’s Shane Ratliff was the individual champion in 17:02.71.
In the girls race, freshman Elise Williams set the tone for the Stars, crossing seventh in 22:42.03. Veteran runner Francesca Orozco was 11th in 22:48.11, and Jabrie Sullivan was 12th in 22:53.77.
“I think our team really did a great job of pushing each other to run faster,” Williams said. And Sullivan worked to stay in Orozco’s draft. “I felt a lot more confident and felt the drive to compete,” she added. “I was working to stay right with Frannie”
Seymour’s Vivienne Siefker was the individual winner in 20:44.59.
“I am proud of all the performances we saw this evening,” BNL co-coach Danielle Garrison said. “The girls’ energy really changed during the last mile, they started chasing shirts, and fighting to be in the top 15. Having four of our scorers place up there really made a difference.”
The Stars will host the Scott Hiles Invitational on Monday.
SEYMOUR INVITATIONAL
