NASHVILLE — Mt. Vernon’s Morgan Tharp is now in the history books.
Tharp and the Marauders’ girls cross-country team traveled to the Eagle Classic in Brown County on Saturday and returned home champions.
Mt. Vernon won the Girls Class 2A race in Nashville with 86 points to topple the top-five, which consisted of East Central (100), Lawrence North (100), Pike (151) and Corydon Central (152).
Tharp not only won the race, but she set a new Mt. Vernon school record in the process by finishing in a time of 19:22.3. Her performance bested Kayley Walkey’s previous school record by 13 seconds.
Lebanon’s Abbi Coyle was second overall in 19:35.50. East Central’s Rachel Campbell took third in 19:40.60.
“I’m really proud of Morgan,” Mt. Vernon head coach Kean Coy commented. “She has worked her tail off over the last 10 months and everything is starting to fall into place for her. She ran the race perfectly given the competition she faced and essentially ran the last 1,200-1,300 meters of the race solo. I can’t wait to see her progress even more as the season rolls on.”
The Marauders had three runners finish in the top 15 and four in the top 30.
Lydia Carrell was seventh overall, Allie Jenson finished 12th and Emma Gale was 29th. Alex Overshiner was 37th, Melinda Cornelius was 38th and Tenley Benz placed 43rd.
“This week we talked quite a bit about how slow our starts have been this season and how they have to put themselves in position if they want to compete and not fade into complacency,” Coy commented. “They definitely responded.”
Dragons win Whiteland Invite
The New Palestine girls cross-country team won its fourth straight Whiteland Invitational title Saturday. The Dragons tallied 58 places to beat host Whiteland and 10 other teams.
Emma Mann finished third (19:58.67) and Courtney Study fifth (20:19.52) to give the Dragons two runners in the top five.
Caitlin Urrutia was 12th (21:18.26), Emily Adam 18th (21:49.67) and Jocelynn Flagle 20th (21:59.20). Lexi Baynes was 23rd and Anne Bauer 27th.
The Dragon boys finished fourth out of 12 teams. Cody Crawmer was 24th (18:38.34), Hayden Isaacs 25th (18:42.29), Connor Lapenta 28th (18:48.30), Will Hahn 34th (19:10.66) and Jesse Isaacs 36th (19:16.05). Gavin Smith was 37th and Charlie Rigsbee 43rd.
Cougars girls place second
The Greenfield-Central girls cross-country team finished second at the Jon Mitchell Invitational in Cascade on Saturday.
The Cougars tallied 69 points behind host Cascade (54) and ahead of third-place Mooresville (76).
The Cougars were led by the top-20 finishes of Reagan Crouch (4th), Emma Bogle (8th), and Lexie Copeland (11th).
Other finishers for the Cougars were: Alyssa Siegel (22nd), Shelby Hoffman (29th), Josie Joyner (34th), Emily Wright (40th), and Madelyn King (41st).
Lexie Copeland ran a personal-best time and Shelby Hoffman ran a season-best time.
Cougars boys finish fourth
The Greenfield-Central boys cross-country team finished fourth at the Ben Davis Invitational on Saturday.
The Cougars placed three runners in the top 20 led by senior Matt Wickham at 11th overall (16:45).
Greenfield-Central had 126 points behind Center Grove (24), Franklin Central (69) and Batesville (118).
Griffen Wheeler was 13th (16:38) and Liam Brinkruff was 20th (17:07).
Lucas Tutrow was 40th (18:00) and Carter Crouch placed 48th (18:14).
Royals take 12th in Marion
The Eastern Hancock boys cross-country team finished 12th out of 23 scoring teams during the Wildcat Classic held in Marion on Saturday.
Preston Markley was 20th overall out of 194 runners in a time of 18:10.9. Luke McCartney was 51st (18:58), Brandon Metz 52nd (18:59.2), Luken Edwards 81st (19:42.5), John Henry Gray 106th (20:32.2) and Brandon Cross 174th (23:47.4).
The Eastern Hancock girls were led by Olivia Evans in 22nd (22:45.6). Ashton Willis was 51st (24:40.3) and Mia Griesmeyer was 54th (24:59.3).
Volleyball
Dragons sweep Greenwood Invite
The New Palestine volleyball team finished a perfect 3-0 on Saturday to win the Greenwood Invitational in straight sets.
The Dragons opened the day with a 25-16, 25-13 win over Scecina Memorial and followed by beating Monrovia, 25-11, 25-17, before defeating host Greenwood, 25-14, 25-21, in the title match.
New Palestine is now 10-1 on the season.
“We played really well today and won as a cohesive unit,” Dragons head coach Kelli Gabehart said. “Every member of the team is valued and played a role in our wins today.
“We played with a lot of fire and grit. Defensively, we had some amazing plays digging up their outside. The girls were fired up today.”
Girls Golf
Marauders win three-way
The Mt. Vernon girls golf team kept its winning trend going on Monday, defeating both Greenfield-Central and Warren Central.
The Marauders shot a 169 to best the Cougars (186) and Warriors (240).
Mt. Vernon was led by Alaina Nugent, who fired a 37 to earn medalist honors. Meredith Johnson turned in a 39 to help the defending county and HHC champion Marauders prevail.
Boys Tennis
Marauders win on Senior Night
The Mt. Vernon boys tennis team celebrated its five seniors with a 3-2 victory over Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Shelbyville on Thursday.
Seniors Brock Barr and Isaac Damer clinched the win for Mt. Vernon at No. 2 doubles, 6-3, 6-2.
Adam Koon won at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-2. The Marauders other key point came at No. 1 doubles with Robbie Moore and Manny Downs winning 6-3, 6-0.
The Marauders improved to 7-5 on the season and 3-1 in the HHC.
“First, a huge thank you to our 5 seniors: Bryce Miller, Gaston McKeeman, Blake Augenstine, Isaac Damer and finally Brock Barr,” Mt. Vernon head coach Gabe Muterspaugh commented. “What a match to bounce back. Coach Graham (McMullen) came up with a slump-buster lineup and changing of courts to get the sabatour, bad juju mojo dead and buried.”
