FAIRMONT — Last week, a contingent of East Fairmont, Fairmont Senior, and North Marion cross country runners took the course at Preston High to compete in the Big Ten Championship meet.
The East Fairmont Bees led the county on the boys side of the action, taking home a fourth-place team finish. Individually, they were led by junior Bryler Wilson, who took home a fourth-place individual finish with a mark of 17:07.
Michael Gibson was the team’s second highest-finisher in 19th place with a mark of 18:25, and Ben Barnes took 21st overall with a mark of 18:26.
“We matched our pre-meet prediction, despite losing one of our top-end athletes for the season, Armani Islam, to injury,” Ford said. “The course conditions were challenging due to the wet terrain, which made racing more difficult. I think several of my runners were a little extra cautious.”
“However, we did have some exciting highlights from Bryler Wilson’s 4th-place finish First-Team All-Conference honors,” East Farmont head coach Jamie Ford said. “Michael Gibson and Ben Barnes and also earned Second-Team All-Conference honors.”
Meanwhile, on the girls side, Fairmont Senior was the top team among the Marion County contingent, taking home a fifth-place finish. Individually, they were led by a Top 10 finisher in Sadie Kirkland, who took seventh-place overall with a mark of 20:12.
Kirkland was joined among the team’s top finishers by sophomore Sienna Zuchelli, who took home 12th-place overall with a mark of 20:40, and freshman Anna Underwood, who finished 24th overall with a mark of 22:02.
“Vibes are great right now in our camper, and we have a healthy and motivated group of athletes who are locked in and ready for the regional championship,” said Fairmont Senior head coach Dayton McVicker.
The Bees were joined on the boys side by the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears, who took home a fifth-place finish as a team. They were led individually by sophomore Mason Curry, who took home 25th overall with a mark of 18:57.
Fairmont Senior also had junior Quinn McVicker finish 28th with a mark of 19:07 and sophomore Thomas Ranson finish 29th with a mark of 19:13. Meanwhile, North Marion finished seventh-overall as a team, and were led by sophomore Gage Rye with a 22nd-place individual finish with a mark of 18:41. Freshman Leo Wright finished 26th with a mark of 18:56.
“We executed our pack mentality perfectly, only having a 25-second spread from our No. 1 runner and No. 5 runner,” McVicker said about Fairmont Senior’s performance. “To take fifth-place as a team in both races in something I’m proud of with this group.”
The East Fairmont Bees took home eighth-place as a team, with sophomore Lily Stuck leading the way individually with a 29th-place finish, finishing with a mark of 22:48. The North Marion Huskies finished in 10th-place as a team, and were led by junior Brooklyn Talkington with a 62nd-place individual finish, posting a mark of 26:30.