Cross Country Ends Regular Season

Members of the Nashville High School Cross Country team that earned medals during the Southern Illinois River to River Conference Meet: Brittnie Bartling,Ryan Kell, Jackson Pierce, Ray Bailey, Brandon Schnitker, and Grace Maschhoff.

By Brent Huelsmann

The Nashville High School cross country team finished up the regular season this past week, as they took part in the Hamilton County Invitational, the Southern Illinois River to River Conference Meet, and the Benton Invitational.

The Hamilton County Invitational took place Tuesday, October 13 at Dolan Lake, a 2.9 mile course. The boys team finished 1st in the meet with a score of 24. The girls team also came away with 1st place as they finished with a score of 34.

In the boys race, Brandon Schnitker placed 1st overall with a time of 15:57. The Hornets finished with another two runners in the top five overall as Jackson Pierce crossed the line in 4th with a time of 17:43, and Ryan Kell crossed the line in 5th with a time of 17:50. Coming across the line 6th overall was Caleb Zgonina, who also had a time of 17:50. Ray Bailey finished 8th overall with a time of 17:53 as the Hornets finished with 5 of the top 10 overall finishers in the race. The Hornets finished with all their runners in the top 25 as Jacob Showmaker was 19th with a time of 19:06, and John Schroeder was 21st with a time of 19:44.

The girls also came away with 1st place in the event. Freshman Grace Maschhoff was the first finisher across the line for the Hornettes, finishing 2nd overall with a time of 19:49. Maschhoff was closely followed by teammate Brittnie Bartling who finished 4th overall with a time of 20:45. The Hornettes placed four runners in the top 10 as Jaylyn Bower finished 7th with a time of 21:37 and Tianna Kozuszek finished 10th with a time of 22:19. The fifth finisher for the Hornettes was Taylor Cook, finishing 11th overall with a time of 22:27. Avery Meade came across the line in 16th place with a time of 24:04. The final finisher for Nashville was Lexi Zgonina, with a time of 27:06, in 30th place.

In the Freshman/Sophomore boys race Landon Davis was the top finisher for Nashville with a time of 17:58, which was good for 3rd overall. Day Bailey was the second finisher for Nashville coming across the line in 6th place with a time of 18:33. Rounding out the finishers for Nashville, was Nicholas Orr in 17th place with a time of 21:14, Daymeon Baugh in 21st place with a time of 22:39, and Stephen Hardy in 25th place with a time of 23:55.

The team then took on a 2.9 mile course at West Frankfort City Park for the Southern Illinois River To River Conference meet, which was held on Thursday October 15. The boys team finished in second with a score of 43. The girls team finished 3rd.

The boys team had four all conference finishers, as Schnitker finished 2nd overall, Bailey finished 8th overall, Pierce finished 9th overall, and Kell finished 10th overall. Zgonina finished 14th for the Hornets floowed by Davis in 20th and Bailey in 22nd. All seven of the runners for the Hornets finished in the the top 25 for the second consecutive meet.

The girls team had two all conference finishers as Bartling finished 6th overall, and Maschhoff finished 9th overall. Jaylyn Bower just missed all conference, by finishing 11th overall. Kozuszek was the fourth finisher for the Hornettes, coming across the line in 16th. Rounding out the finishers for Nashville was Meade in 27th, Johnna Bergmann in 29th, and Zgonina in 31st position.

The Nashville High School cross country team ended their regular season at the Benton Invitational on Monday October 19, a 3 mile course at Benton Community Park.

The boys team placed first overall in the event with a score of 77. Schnitker finished 4th overall with a time of 16:34. Pierce finished 13th overall with a time of 17:24, followed closely by Bailey who finished 14th with a time of 17:32. Zgonina was 22nd overall in the race with a time of 18:09. Kell was the next finisher for the Hornets with a time of 18:20 in 24th place. Davis was right behind Kell finishing in 25th place with a time 18:28. The last finisher for the Hornets was Showmaker in 49th place with a time of 19:20.

The girls team finished fifth in the meet with a time of 187. Bartling was the first finisher for the Hornettes coming across th e line in 16th place with a time of 20:38.Bartling was followed by Maschhoff who finished in 20th pace with a time of 21:09. The third finisher for Nashville was Bower coming across the line in 26th place with a time of 21:43. Rounding out the top five for the Hornettes was Kozuszek, in 41st place with a time of 23:14. and Meade in 84th place with a time of 26:34.

In the Freshman/Sophomore race Bailey placed 17th with a time of 19:20, and Orr placed 39th with a time of 21:39.

The cross country teams will be back in action at the IHSA Regional Meet on Saturday, October 24 at the Randolph County Conservation Area.