Hornettes Win Conference
The Nashville Hornettes cross country team won the SIRR Mississippi Division Conference title on October 12: Back Row: Havalen Pierce, Kiley Heidel, Brittnie Bartling, Destyn Hausner-Mills, Jaylyn Bower, Sabrina Kollbaum, and Avery Meade. Front Row: Micah Arnold, Grace Maschhoff, Kylie Kozuszek, and Jadah Heidel
By Brent Huelsmann
The NCHS Cross Country teams finished out the regular season this past week as they competed in the Southern Illinois River to River Conference Meet, as well as the Benton Invitational. Nashville will have just a few days off before the postseason begins, as they will compete in the Carterville Regional on Saturday October 21. The girls race will take place at 10 a.m., and the boys race will begin at 11 a.m.
Nashville had a strong showing by both the boys and girls teams this past week at the SIRR Conference Meet, held in Benton on October 12. The girls came away with their second straight Mississippi Division title, and fourth title overall. The boys just missed their fourth title as they finished in the runner-up position behind Pinckneyville.
The girls finished with a score of 38 to win the SIRR Mississippi Division Conference Title. All of the Hornettes runners finished in the top 15 overall. Pinckneyville came home second with a score of 46. Carterville was third, DuQuoin finished in fourth, and Sparta in fifth. Anna-Jonesboro did not record a team score.
The Hornettes also had the Individual Champion in the Mississippi Division as Jaylyn Bower finished first with a time of 18:56. Overall the Hornettes finished with four runners in the top ten. Grace Maschhoff finished in seventh place with a time of 19:35, followed by Destyn Hausner-Mills in ninth place with a time of 19:44, and Sabrina Kollbaum rounded out the four finishers for Nashville in the top ten in tenth place with a time of 19:46. Brittnie Bartling finished in 11th place with a time of 19:47, followed by teammate Havalen Pierce in 12th place with a time of 19:54. Kiley Heidel finished in 15th place with a time of 20:28.
On the boys side, the top two spots were flip-flopped with Pinckneyville taking the Conference title with a score of 36, while Nashville finished second with a score of 48. Carterville finished third, DuQuoin finished fourth, Sparta finished fifth, and Anna-Jonesboro came home sixth.
The Hornets finished with three runners in the top ten as Brandon Schnitker led the way with a second place finish. Schnitker finished with a time of 15:16. Caleb Zgonina finished sixth overall with a time of 15:56. Gavin Love finished tenth overall with a time of 16:17. Landon Davis finished in 12th place with a time of 16:32. Evan Anderson finished in 18th place with a time of 17:28. Nicholas Orr finished 30th overall with a time of 18:48, and Derek Baugh finished in 31st overall with a time of 19:35.
The NCHS Cross Country teams were back in action on October 16 as they competed in the Benton Invitational. The girls team came away with first place, while the boys team finished in sixth place.
The Hornettes finished with 44 points to win the meet. DuQuoin finished second, followed by Chester in third, and Olney in fourth. Nashville was led by Bower who finished third overall with a time of 19:11. Kollbaum finished seventh, Hausner-Mills finished ninth, Bartling finished 11th, and Pierce finished 14th for Nashville.
On the boys side, the Hornets finished in sixth place. Schnitker was the top finisher for Nashville as he won the race with a time of 15:24. Love finished 16th overall for Nashville. Davis finished 31st, and Anderson finished 49th for Nashville.
Three boys runners were named All-Conference this year as Brandon Schnitker, Caleb Zgonina, and Gavin Love all finished in the top 10 at the conference meet.
