Staff report
With wins over Scecina, Chatard, and host Greenwood in the championship match, New Palestine’s volleyball team won the Greenwood Invitational Saturday.
The Dragons are 13-2 overall and play at Delta Tuesday in a Hoosier Heritage Conference match.
On Saturday, New Palestine opened with a 2-0 victory over Scecina. The Dragons won by set scores of 25-15, 27-25.
Rachel Burke led the attack with 10 kills. Josie Corbett added five. Setter Sam Gooding had 21 assists. Kyndra Monteith had five service aces and Azure Flagle had nine digs.
In the second match of the day, the Dragons beat Chatard 2-0 by set scores of 28-26, 25-11.
Bella Brownfield had eight kills. Nyla Lewis and Burke had six apiece. Gooding had 22 assists and seven digs. Flagle had 11 digs.
It was another 2-0 victory in the title match. The Dragons beat Greenwood 27-25, 25-16.
Brownfield had 16 kills and Corbett added five. Gooding contributed 25 assists.
“Three great, competitor wins,” New Palestine head coach Kelli Gabehart said. “(I’m) proud of our fight and winning some close matches.”
Marauders go 2-1 at Zionsville
Mt. Vernon’s volleyball team won two of three matches at the Zionsville Round Robin Saturday.
The Marauders lost 2-0 to Zionsville and responded with a pair of 2-0 victories over Cardinal Ritter and West Lafayette.
Against Zionsville, Mt. Vernon lost by set scores of 25-20, 25-15.
Sophia Damer had six kills and two service aces. Aubry Dowling had 12 digs and two service aces. Jaycee Jones added five kills. Amelia Anderson had 10 assists.
Mt. Vernon won the match over Ritter by set scores of 24-14, 24-17.
Easton Wampler had six kills. Emma Rappe had two service aces. Olivia Johnson and Damer each had two blocks. Dowling had four digs and Anderson recorded 13 assists.
Against West Lafayette, a 25-16, 25-14 win, Alivia Morgan and Damer each had seven kills. Damer also had two blocks. Sierra Holverson tallied five. Ava Whitmore had three service aces. Dowling led in digs with 11. Anderson had 12 assists and Whitmore had 11.
Mt. Vernon hosts Greenfield-Central Tuesday.
Boys cross country
Eastern Hancock wins Blackford Invitational
Eastern Hancock’s boys cross country team won the seven-team Blackford Invitational Saturday.
The Royals had three of the top five finishers, including individual champion Preston Markley and runner-up Brandon Metz.
Markley won the 5K race in 16:33.3. Metz was second in 16:53.5. John Henry Gray placed fifth with a time of 17:23.
Markley’s time was a season-best. Metz and Gray each had career-best times. Metz’ time ranks second on the all-time EH 5K list, trailing only times set by Markley, who owns the record of 16:25. Gray’s time was just one second off being a school top 10 time.
The Royals had a team score of 33. Madison-Grant had 49 and Centerville scored 78. A Greenfield-Central JV team placed fifth with 115, led by a sixth-place finish from Luke Haffner (17:25.7).
Eastern Hancock added season-best times from Andrew Metz, who placed 14th at 18:59 and Caden Powers, who placed 16th in 19:14.
The Royals will compete in the New Castle Invitational Tuesday.
Cassada wins F/S race at Brown County
Mt. Vernon’s boys cross country team split its team in the Freshman/Sophomore race and the Boys Elite race at the Brown County Eagle Invitational Saturday.
Caden Cassada, a sophomore, won the F/S race with a 5K time of 16:24.4. The time was a new meet record. The old record of 16:27.2 was set in 2006 by Brad Fortuna of South Dearborn.
Soph Cooper Huntziker was fourth in 16:45.1.
Austin Baugh, another sophomore, was 10th in 17:09.2. Sophomore Tyler Tharp was 31st in 17:50.5 and frosh Colin DeArmond was 56th in 18:21.2.
There were 256 runners in the race and 16 teams. Mt. Vernon finished second with 97 points. Columbus North won with 72.
In the Elite race, running without Cassada, Huntziker and Baugh, as well as junior Ahmed Saleh, Mt. Vernon’s varsity team finished 15th of 18 teams in a field filled with state-ranked teams, including the No. 23 Marauders. No. 1 Carmel won the race with 91 points. No. 4 Zionsville had 92. Mt. Vernon scored 357.
Colin Strachman’s 47th place finish in 16:26 led the Marauders. Xaiden Jenson was 58th in 16:37. Isaiah Njau broke the 17-minute mark for the first time, finishing 85th in 16:53. Brayden Strantz finished 100th with a time of 17:09.09 and Matthew Cousar was 141st in 17:53.7.
Brebeuf’s Cameron Todd won the race in 15:00.8
Mt. Vernon will compete in the Shelbyville Golden Bear Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Dragons are third at Whiteland
Jake Cooper placed fourth overall and New Palestine’s boys cross country team finished third at the Whiteland Invitational Saturday.
Greenwood won the 12-team meet with 40 points. Whiteland had 65 and the Dragons scored 97.
Cooper ran his 5K in 17:17.5. Gavin Smith was 13th in 18:05.3 and Jacob Collins was 14th with a time of 18:10.2.
Others scorers for the Dragons were Sam Ragsdale (31st, 18:57.9) and Charlie Rigsbee (39th, 19:15.6).
New Palestine will compete in the Shelbyville Golden Bear Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Brinkruff 2nd, G-C 3rd at Wildcat
Greenfield-Central, led by three runners in the top 10, placed third at the Wildcat Classic Invitational at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion Saturday.
No. 8 Hamilton Southeastern won with 96 points. No. 19 Penn was second with 107. G-C, ranked No. 21, scored 141.
Greenfield-Central’s Liam Brinkruff was second with a 5K time of 15:33.50. Teammate Chris Ross was third in 15:35.1. Carter Crouch placed 10th with a time of 15:55.3.
Noah Bontrager of Westview won with a time of 15:27.5.
For G-C Braylon Mumaugh was 63rd in 16:55.4. Henry Rahe was 76th with a time of 17:04.6.
The Cougars are next in action Saturday at the Athletic Annex FlashRock Invitational at Northview Christian Church in Carmel.
Girls cross country
Hauser sets school record in Brown County
Sophomore Hannah Hauser set a new 5K school record for Mt. Vernon’s girls cross country and the Marauders placed seventh in the Elite division race at the Brown County Eagle Invitational Saturday.
Hauser placed 13th with a time of 18:51.8
Makenna Laffey was 46th in 20:00.4. She was followed by Emma Gale (55th, 20:12.7), Chesnie Willis (59th, 20:16.1), and Tenley Benz (80th, 20:32.2).
No. 7 North Central won the team event with 77 points. Mt. Vernon scored 229.
Mt. Vernon will compete in the Shelbyville Golden Bear Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.
Cougars win Jon Mitchell Invitational
Josie Kinnaman and Lexie Copeland ran 1-2 to lead the Greenfield-Central girls cross country team to victory at the Cascade Jon Mitchell Invitational Saturday.
Kinnaman ran her personal-best time and third-best in school history with a 5K run in 19:44.1. Copeland ran a personal-best of 20:33.9, seventh in school history.
Adalyn Cole was fourth with a time of 21:28.1, also a personal best, and No. 14 on the school’s all-time list.
Kendall Barrett placed sixth (22:29.4) and Emma Capen was seventh (23:14.6).
Greenfield-Central had a team score of 15. Southmont was second with 6o.
The Cougars are next in action Saturday at the Athletic Annex FlashRock Invitational at Northview Christian Church in Carmel.
New Pal places 3rd
The New Palestine girls cross country team earned a third-place finish at Saturday’s Whiteland Invitational.
Whiteland won with 45 points. Greenwood was second with 64 and New Palestine scored 105.
Courtney Study was the top runner for the Dragons. She placed seventh with a 5K time of 20:57.9. Cami Massari was 17th in 22:03.5. Close behind were Addison Uhl (21st, 22:34.3) and Amelia Stone (22nd, 22:38.5). Heidi Bloomer was the fifth scoring runner with a 41st place finish in 23:36.6.
New Palestine will compete in the Shelbyville Golden Bear Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16
Johnson, Swan have career-best times
Eastern Hancock’s Sydney Johnson and Kaylee Swan had their top 5K times at Saturday’s Blackford Invitational.
In a field of 39 runners, Johnson, a freshman, finished the race in 21:41. Swan was 22nd in 24:00.
The Royals did not have enough runners for a team score. Centerville won the team event with 34 points, finishing ahead of Blackford, Frankton and Shenandoah.
Centerville’s Kendra Shipman won the race in 20:59.5.
The Royals will compete in the New Castle Invitational Tuesday.
Girls soccer
Marauders bounce back
After suffering a Hoosier Heritage Conference loss for the first time since 2020 last week, Mt. Vernon’s girls soccer team bounced back with a 4-0 HHC victory over visiting Yorktown Saturday.
The Marauders are 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in the conference.
Mt. Vernon travels to Fishers Monday.
Cougars lose late
Columbus North broke a scoreless tie with just 13 seconds remaining in the contest to defeat Greenfield-Central’s girls soccer team 1-0 Saturday in Columbus.
Jessica Merritt had 11 saves.
Greenfield-Central (2-5) welcomes Greenwood Monday.
Boys soccer
Dragons drop close decision
New Palestine’s boys soccer team fell to 5-5 on the year with a 1-0 loss to visiting Lawrence North (5-3-2) Saturday.
The match’s lone goal came in the first half.
New Palestine is back in action Tuesday at Greenwood.
