SHELBYVILLE — There’s a new coach, some new runners, but some things stayed the same.
Mt. Vernon’s girls cross country team, under new head coach Lydgia Palmer, placed all seven varsity runners, which included two freshmen and a rookie sophomore, in the top 15 to lead the Marauders to their third straight Hoosier Heritage Conference title Saturday at the Blue River Cross Country Course.
Mt. Vernon totaled 37 points. Pendleton Heights had 57 and Greenfield-Central was third with 108. New Palestine earned a sixth-place finish with 136.
Delta’s Nicki Southerland won the 5K race with a time of 17:06.3.
Mt. Vernon was led by sophomore Hannah Hauser, who finished the race in 19:04.6. Freshmen Makenna Laffey and Chesnie Willis were fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 19:39.92 and 20:04.03. Veteran junior Emma Gale was 10th in 20:08.74 and sophomore Lillian Quinn, a first-year cross country runner, rounded out Mt. Vernon’s scoring runners with a 13th-place finish in 20:32.52.
“I think it’s really cool (to win three in a row) because I’ve been able to do it with my team,” Gale, who had a personal-best time, said. “We’ve had a lot of coaching changes, but we’ve been able to stick together. I like being able to be out on the course and support all of them.”
Palmer, a former head coach at Muncie Central and teacher at one the school district’s elementary schools, took over for previous coach Madison Roeder — who was in his first season — two and one-half weeks ago. The coach prior to Roeder, Brian Williams, was also with the program for one season. In between Roeder and Palmer, MV veteran boys coach Bruce Kendall added girls’ team duties, too.
“They raced great. We had a hard week (of practice),” Palmer said. “We have great leadership. I can’t take any credit, they’re just resilient and have worked hard. They know what they need to each do and they’re a fun group.
“I know from coaching before that mental health is so important. We took these last two weeks and have had a lot of fun, too. We had a lot of team building, dinners, made team bracelets. I know with girls, especially with the transition, we had some hard days but we’ve had a lot of fun.”
“I think we’re in a really good place now,” Gale added.
To round out the seven-member varsity group, sophomore Kenydi Russell was 14th in 20:38.47 and junior Julia Iserloth was 15th in 20:43.8.
With top 15 runners earning All-HHC honors, the Marauders made up nearly one-half of the all-conference group.
“I was expecting for several of them to get in the top 15, but what an accomplishment,” Palmer added. “It’s really a testament to how hard they have worked. They’ve been through a lot of transition and to come out that strong, even mentally, I’m just impressed by them.”
Three other Hancock County runners earned all-conference honors.
Greenfield-Central freshman Josie Kinnaman placed fourth in 19:15.11. New Palestine senior Courtney Study was 11th in 20:27.75 and Greenfield-Central junior Lexie Copeland finished 12th in 20:32.48.
Other scoring runners for the Cougars included, freshman Adalyn Cole (17th, 20:52.99), senior Isabelle Hunt (43rd, 23:02.77) and senior Emaline Capen (44th, 23:04.55).
For the Dragons, Camille Massari, a senior, finished 21st in 21:11.36. She was followed by freshman Addison Uhl (29th, 21:49.11), senior Amelia Stone (47th, 23:16.42) and sophomore Heidi Bloomer (48th, 23:17.28).
All three of the Hancock County teams will reunite next Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Nike Twilight race (6 p.m.) in Terre Haute.
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2023 Hoosier Heritage Conference Girls Cross Country Championship
Team scores: Mt. Vernon 37, Pendleton Heights 57, Greenfield-Central 108, Yorktown 124, New Castle 134, New Palestine 136, Delta 165, Shelbyville 195.
Top 15 (All-HHC): Nicki Southerland, Delta, 17:06.21; Ava Jarrell, Pendleton Heights, 17:11.28; Hannah Hauser, Mt. Vernon, 19:04.6; Josie Kinnaman, Greenfield-Central, 19:15.11; Makenna Laffey, Mt. Vernon, 19:39.92; Chesnie Willis, Mt. Vernon, 20:04.03; Maddie Marsh, Pendleton Heights, 20:05.27; Hadley Walker, Pendleton Heights, 20:06.66; Anyah Amman, New Castle, 20:07.37; Emma Gale, Mt, Vernon, 20:08.74; Courtney Study, New Palestine. 20:27.75; Lexie Copeland, Greenfield-Central, 20:32.48; Lillian Quinn, Mt. Vernon, 20:32.52; Kenydi Russell, Mt. Vernon, 20:38.47; Julia Iserloth, Mt. Vernon, 20:43.58.
