Courtesy photo
NASHVILLE – Bedford North Lawrence senior Autumn Spence finished fourth overall in the Class AA girls cross country race during the Eagle Classic at Brown County on Saturday.
Spence crossed the line in 19:47.0, helping the Stars finish 11th in the 20-team field with 296 points.
In the boys race, the Stars finished 13th among the 20 teams with 336.
Spence, competing on the course that hosts the IHSAA semistate, broke the 20-minute barrier. Pike’s Jessica Velez was the individual winner in 19:23.8.
“Autumn had an incredible race,” BNL coach Jill Vance said. “She dropped over a minute off her time last week, and she was strong the entire way. She’s always been capable of sub-20, and it was great to see her do it today. She was outstanding from start to finish.”
Grace Tanksley, who raced in last year’s semistate, also had a strong finish, crossing 30th overall in 21:05.0, and Myra Roberts was 79th in 22:45.6.
“This was one of those days with a lot to smile about,” Vance said. “It was great.”
Pike won the girls team title with 51 points, followed by Corydon (133) and Avon (134).
In the boys race, Colton Sons paced the Stars, finishing 32nd in 17:44.1, while Cameron Haste was 51st in 18:10.9.
“It was another step in the right direction,” BNL coach Jonathan Calhoun said. “We had some great races today. The push that we are having is heading toward our success of making it out of the regional. This was a day of what is going well and what points we need to improve.
“We had some great finishes, but we have to create some damage in the middle. This is where places are made up and can create a huge difference in the final score. Our top three fought hard.”
Avon won the team crown with 60 points, and Southridge’s Dylan Brand was the individual champion in 16:16.2.
BNL will host Martinsville in a dual meet on Tuesday.
EAGLE CLASSIC
Class AA races
Boys results
Team scores – Avon 60, Perry Meridian 70, Lawrence North 110, Pike 155, Tell City 177, Franklin 201, Lawrence Central 203, TH South 217, East Central 223, Evansville Central 280, Evansville North 281, Corydon 298, BNL 336, Greensburg 353, Edgewood 385, Martinsville 397, Silver Creek 441, Evansville Harrison 517, Madison 532, Scottsburg 598
Top performances – 1. Dylan Brand, Southridge 16:16.2; 2. Andrew Haggerty, PM 16:22.4; 3. Griffin O’Neill, Avon 16:25.0; 4. Alex Hooten, Ev. Central 16:39.2; 5. Malachi Gornik, Pike 16:47.2
BNL – 32. Colton Sons 17:44.1; 51. Cameron Haste 18:10.9; 77. Cole Baker 18:36.6; 91. Isaac Williams 19:02.7; 111. Zane Thompson 19:29.2; 114. Brayden Lanham 19:35.3; 147. Ryan Wright 20:31.4
Girls results
Team scores – Pike 51, Corydon 133, Avon 134, Lawrence North 135, TH South 139, Lebanon 183, Madison 214, Perry Meridian 215, Seymour 216, East Central 286, BNL 296, Greensburg 303, TH North 305, Jennings County 322, Martinsville 347, Silver Creek 400, South Dearborn 451, Evansville North 459, Scottsburg 545, Evansville Central 602
Top performances – 1. Jessica Velez, Pike 19:23.8; 2. Rachel Campbell, EC 19:30.7; 3. Brielle Vail, LN 19:39.4; 4. Autumn Spence, BNL 19:47.0; 5. Jessica Hegedus, Avon 19:51.8
BNL – 30. Grace Tanksley 21:05.0; 79. Myra Roberts 22:45.6; 85. Kaitlyn Phillips 23:08.6; 125. Ella Peek 25:14.5; 136. Emily Bartlett 26:47.4; 141. Julian Webb 27:20.9; 142. Emma Baumgart 27:31.0
