SHELBYVILLE — The battle for the team title at Saturday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference Boys Cross Country Championships at Blue River Memorial Park was not very close.
The battle for the individual crown couldn’t have been much closer.
On a soggy course from hard rains on Friday, and constant precipitation on Saturday, Mt. Vernon had all five of its scoring runners in the top seven and nearly one-half [seven] of the all-conference team [top 15].
The Marauders scored 24 points and won the program’s fifth HHC championship in the last six years.
The battle for first to cross the finish line was epic.
Pendleton Heights’ Benson Davis and Mt. Vernon’s Ahmed Saleh were stride for stride during the final yardage of the 5K race.
Davis was able to beat Saleh by .25 seconds.
“It was pretty sloppy,” Saleh said of the course. “We didn’t go out too fast, but I wanted to really push the pace because it was bad weather, but it was bad for everyone. We dropped the Yorktown kid [third-place finisher Wyatt Turner] but then Benson was staying strong with me.
“At 4K, I was going to make a move and I kind of slipped. There was a little gap, but I pushed forward and made up the gap. The last 500 meters we were battling. I kind of tripped again, it wasn’t too bad, and I kept going and he just got me. He’s really good, he’s a junior, he has time.”
Davis had a time of 16:01.48. Saleh finished in 16:01.73.
The Marauders had the fourth through seventh spots with Brayden Strantz [16:31.54], Landon Willis [16:38.71], Caden Cassada [16:38.92] and Cooper Hunzicker [16:55.72].
Austin Baugh [12th, 17:07.18] and Matthew Cousar [14th, 17:22.71] also earned All-HHC honors.
The team had this performance without one of its top runners, Xaiden Jenson, who had been the Marauders No. 2 or No. 3 runner most of the season.
“We didn’t have Xaiden but we still pulled through and got the victory,” Saleh said. “This team is crazy. We’re 10 deep. all 16:30 guys and that’s really going to help in the postseason, sectional, regional and state, where we’re looking for a top five podium.”
Mt. Vernon came into the meet ranked No. 8 in the state.
“It was a good day for us,” Mt. Vernon coach Bruce Kendall said. “We’re ranked eighth and I’m very happy about that. It’s the first time in the top 10 since 2016 when [Christian] Noble was here. We were ranked 10th then, before that it was back to 1985.
“When you get to the top 10 you’re an elite group, but it doesn’t make you run faster. You can’t carry it with you, we have to keep our eye on the prize. We don’t just want to go to state, we want to go to state and do something.”
Two other county runners picked up all-conference medals. New Palestine’s Jacob Cooper was ninth with a time of 16:56.93. Greenfield-Central’s Bryce Cotterman finished 11th in 17:00.55.
Yorktown was runner-up to the Marauders with 67 points. Greenfield-Central, who interrupted Mt. Vernon’s run of four straight championships last year, was fourth with 92 points. New Palestine was fifth with 117.
Three other county runners were just outside the all-conference cutoff but still placed in the top 20 in Saturday’s race that included 111 participants.
Mt. Vernon’s Tyler Tharp was 16th in 17:27.11. Greenfield-Central’s Peter Hummel [17:34.69] and John Wait [17:38.27] placed 18th and 19th, respectively.
All three county teams will compete this weekend at the Nike Twilight races in Terre Haute at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
–
2024 Hoosier Heritage Conference Boys Cross Country Championship
Location: Blue River Memorial Park
Team scores: Mt. Vernon 24, Yorktown 67, Pendleton Heights 87, Greenfield-Central 92, New Palestine 117, Delta 168, Shelbyville 179, New Castle 241
All-HHC (Top 15): Benson Davis, Pendleton Heights, 16:01.48; Ahmed Saleh, Mt. Vernon, 16:01.73; Wyatt Turner, Yorktown, 16:23.39; Brayden Strantz, Mt. Vernon, 16:31.54; Landon Willis, Mt. Vernon, 16:38.71; Caden Cassada, Mt. Vernon, 16:38.92; Cooper Hunzicker, Mt. Vernon, 16:55.72; Zack White, Pendleton Heights, 16:56.60; Jacob Cooper, New Palestine, 16:56.93; Thomas Loney, Yorktown, 16:59.83; Bryce Cotterman, Greenfield-Central, 17:00.55; Austin Baugh, Mt. Vernon, 17:07.18; Ashton Smith, Pendleton Heights, 17:21.09; Matthew Cousar, Mt. Vernon, 17:22.71; Isaiah Loney, Yorktown, 17:26.44.
