Flashes win sectional. NP/EH girls, G-C/NP boys advance

Franklin Central swept the titles at the New Palestine cross country sectional Tuesday afternoon, as the FC boys and girls won the event.

FC sophomore Christina Matthies (19:57) and New Palestine junior Seth Eagleson (16:44) were the individual champions.

In the girls race, the Flashes were buoyed by placing four runners in the top five, led by sectional champion Matthies, who finished in 19:57. FC had 21 points. New Palestine was second with 61, with Eastern Hancock placing third with 91. NP had all five runners in the top 15, while EH had two in the top 10.

For FC, Matthies, Natalie Nolting (20:03), Haley Welch (20:21) and Crysta Wall (20:31) placed first, second, fourth and fifth -- with Warren Central's Hope Jones (20:07) the only non-Flashes runner in the top five. FC's Jenna Woodley placed ninth.

Eastern Hancock's Kiersten Schrope finished sixth in 20:41, four seconds ahead of New Palestine freshman Sarah Schwartz, who was seventh.

NP's next four runners behind Schwartz came in as a pack -- Bailey Wallace, Natalie Shields, Kayla Medaris and Marissa Crosby were 12th-to-15th, all within four seconds of each other.

For EH, Schrope was followed by 10th-place Shelby Wyatt (20:59), 20th-place Cara Johnson, 26th-place Hope Spaulding and 29th-place Karlee Gray.

Warren Central (100) and Roncalli (107) took the final two spots to advance to regional. WC's lone top-15 runner was Jones, but the Warriors had Sarah Hoppes finish 17th and Mailika States 22nd. Roncalli was led by eighth-place Abby Pongracz and 11th-place Emily Barron.

Greenfield-Central was sixth with 141. The Cougars were led by 23rd-place Nicole Stephenson, 24th-place Emily Dupnick, 27th-place Kara Purvis and 31st-place Rebecca Flora.

In the boys race, Eagleson jumped out to a sizeable lead and added to his resume that already included the Hancock County and Hoosier Heritage Conference titles. He finished 14 seconds ahead of the field to win the individual championship.

But FC's depth gave the Flashes the title, as they had four runners in the top nine -- second-place Shane Wright (16:58), third-place Austin Presnell (17:00), sixth-place Zach McCauley (17:12) and ninth-place Evan Schuck (17:20). Rjvir Atwal was 17th to round out the Flashes' top-five, as FC tallied 37 points.

Roncalli nosed out Warren Central for second place by one position -- 63 to 64. Roncalli had its five scoring runners within 10 places of each other, led by eighth-place James Perry (17:17). Austin O'Gara, Daniel Buergler and Walter Daring were 12th-to-14th. Nathan Schoettle was 16th for Roncalli. WC had three top-10 runners -- fourth-place Lee Justice (17:02), seventh-place Damon Horn (17:13) and 10th-place Matthew Egan (17:21). Jonathan Wert was 15th.

Greenfield-Central (113) and New Palestine (120) took the final two spots to advance to the Rushville regional.

While NP had two top-of-the-docket runners -- Eagleson and fifth-place Austin Dodd (17:08), who was 10th at the first mile and worked his way up through the pack later in the race -- G-C had its five runners close together. The Cougars were led by 19th-place Garrett Benedict (17:58). Syrus Fletcher was 21st, Taylor Wright 23rd, Zach Bishop 24th and Scott Prewitt 26th. NP was led by Eagleson and Dodd, its top-five finishers. Riley Wilson placed 36th, Dominic Basciano 38th and Sam Jones 40th for NP.

Eastern Hancock fielded an incomplete team. Nathan Kell (53rd) led the Royals. Parker West was 60th and Mitchell Scott 67th.

The teams from the New Palestine sectional advance to Saturday's Rushville regional.

Boys cross country
IHSAA sectional at New Palestine
Team results (top 5 advance to regional): Franklin Central 37, Roncalli 63, Warren Central 64, Greenfield-Central 113, New Palestine 120, Beech Grove 140, Scecina 200, Triton Central 253, Morristown 256, Eastern Hancock inc., Lutheran inc., Marshall inc.
Top 15 individuals (advance to regional): 1. Seth Eagleson (NP) 16:44; 2. Shane Wright (FC) 16:58; 3. Austin Presnell (FC) 17:00; 4. Lee Justice (WC) 17:02; 5. Austin Dodd (NP) 17:08; 6. Zach McCauley (FC) 17:12; 7. Damon Horn (WC) 17:13; 8. James Perry (Ron) 17:17; 9. Evan Shuck (FC) 17:20; 10. Matthew Egan (WC) 17:21); 11. Michael Michaud (Sce) 17:26; 12. Austin O'Gara (Ron) 17:33; 13. Daniel Buergler (Ron) 17:34; 14. Walter Dearing (Ron) 17:40; 15. Jonathan Wert (WC) 17:41

Girls cross country
IHSAA sectional at New Palestine
Team results (top 5 advance to regional): Franklin Central 21, New Palestine 61, Eastern Hancock 91, Warren Central 100, Roncalli 107, Greenfield-Central 141, Beech Grove 207, Scecina 231, Marshall inc., Morristown inc., Triton Central inc.
Top 15 individuals (advance to regional): 1. Christina Matthies (FC) 19:57; 2. Natalie Nolting (FC) 20:03; 3. Hope Jones (WC) 20:07; 4. Haley Welch (FC) 20:21; 5. Crysta Wall (FC) 20:31; 6. Kiersten Schrope (EH) 20:41; 7. Sarah Schwartz (NP) 20:45; 8. Abby Pongracz (Ron) 20:57; 9. Jenna Woodley (FC) 20:57; 10. Shelby Wyatt (EH) 20:59; 11. Emily Barron (Ron) 21:00; 12. Bailey Wallace (NP) 21:09; 13. Natalie Shields (NP) 21:10); 14. Kayla Medaris (NP) 21:12; 15. Marissa Crosby (NP) 21:13.