COLUMBUS – Bedford North Lawrence finished second in the boys and girls Hoosier Hills Conference races during high school cross country action on Saturday.
The Stars scored 62 points in a tight battle during the boys meet. Floyd Central won with 51 points, while Jennings County was third with 66 in the seven-team field.
Jonah Bailey paced BNL, which had four runners in the top 10. He crossed the line fifth overall in 16:56.39, while freshman Tucker Inman was sixth in 16:58.56. Other top finishers for the Stars included Nick Lindley (8th in 17:07.11) and Alex Nicholson (10th in 17:29.99). Eli McFarland capped the team scoring as he finished 33rd in 18:18.90.
“Two all-conference runners, two honorable mention runners, and a second-place finish,” BNL c leach Nick Boyd said. “That is a lot of the number two. Hopefully we can use this as motivation and inspiration not only for the IHSAA sectional next week, but also for our future in the HHC.
“I am super proud of how our boys ran. Everyone had a job to do this morning, and the second place result means we accomplished the task. Ultimately, everyone ran hard and it was exciting to see four BNL runners in the top 10.”
Jennings County’s Kraedyn Young was the individual winner in 15:43.65.
In the girls race, the Stars totaled 58 points. Floyd Central swept the top three spots and had all five scorers in the top seven while winning the title with 19 points.
Paige Voigtschild set the pace for BNL, finishing fourth in 20:24.64, while Elise Williams was 10th in 21:53.71.
Other top finishers for the Stars included Claire Voigtschild (12th in 21:56.10), Abby Kleihege (16th in 22:31.15) and Francesca Orozco (18th in 22:34.39).
“We’ve been looking forward to this meet all season and are so happy with today’s results,” BNL co-coach Amy Greenan said. “Second place in HHC, and having three of our girls in the top 14, is something to be really proud of. We’ve been training hard and fine-tuning our racing strategy, and it’s coming together.”
Floyd Central’s Noel Nifong won the race in 19:53.28.
BNL will host the IHSAA sectional on Oct. 19.
HOOSIER HILLS CONFERENCE
