Cross-country
The McKinney Middle and YS High School boys and girls cross-country teams competed last Saturday, Sept. 7, at the 60th Annual Brookville Invitational. Running in ideal weather and against top-flight competition was a plus for the Bulldogs, as the majority of the runners ran lifetime or season-best times.
Junior Kyle Johnston once again ran well as he placed 15th in a field of 214 runners. His time of 17:23 was nearly three minutes faster than what he ran last year at this same meet. Fellow junior Arthur DeVore ran an exceptional race in a time of 20:38, while ninth grader Matteo Chaiten (20:25) ran a gutsy race. The Bulldog duo of Trevor Roberts and Oskar Dennis were neck and neck at the finish, while ninth graders Adrian Benedict, Brodan Chafee and Graham Turnmire rounded out the scoring for the Bulldogs, who finished in 11th place out of 19 teams.
The high school girls are overcoming early season illnesses and injuries as they are rounding into form. Junior Sasi Drees earned a medal with a 35th-place finish in a time of 23:57 as she, along with teammate Abebu Barnett (53rd), are becoming a solid duo. Junior Lauren Finney, along with the trio of Sierra Sundell-Turner (72nd), Rebecca DeWine (81st) and Hannah Finney (82nd), ran as a tight pack. Ninth grader Sha’Mya Roebuck also performed admirably in a field of 111 runners. The girls finished in 10th place out of 17 squads.
The McKinney girls team ran a strong race, with a ninth place finish out of 17 teams and 132 runners. Seventh grader Lilly Brown navigated the two-mile course in a season best time of 15:03 (30th) while garnering a medal. Fellow seventh graders Winona Dean, Samantha Highlander and Leela Cooksey improved their times from last week and ran very competitively. Eighth grader Ella Reardon sprinted at the conclusion of her race and had a season-best time.
Having the best team finish of the day were the McKinney boys, who ran to an eighth place finish among 17 teams and a large field of 207 runners. Leading the charge were Jeremiah Washington (45th) and Henry Babb (48th). The depth of the McKinney squad was in full effect with four Bulldogs cracking the 15-minute barrier: Luke Levier, William DeWine, Emil Lazar and Luc Amend. Theo Collins and Cody McClure performed admirably and newcomer Cameron Richeson showed flashes of excellence in his first ever race.
Coach Isabelle Dierauer spoke of how the Bulldogs are getting healthy and that recent practices contributed to season-best performances as the Bulldogs ready themselves for highly challenging meets over the next few weeks. This Saturday, Sept. 14, the Bulldogs will run under the lights at the Troy Twilight Invitational.
—Coach John Gudgel
Girls soccer
The Bulldogs added another win to their record last week, prevailing 8–1 over Belmont on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Freshman Olivia Washington led the team for goals, scoring three; she was followed by two each from senior Lili Herzog and sophomore Alannah Calfee. Senior Gema Brizuela rounded out the team’s winning score with one goal.
In defensive play, freshman goalie Brooklyn Walker Hapgood racked up three saves, keeping the opposing team at only one goal, and provided one goal assist.
The team’s current season record is 3–1, and the girls head into conference play later this week, facing off against Miami Valley School.
Boys soccer
The YSHS boys team defeated conference rivals Emmanuel Christian 2–1 Thursday, Sept. 5, bringing the squad to an early-season third-place slot in the division.
Seniors Sami Gilley and Landon Harris were responsible for the team’s winning goals, while sophomore goalie Wyatt Fagan kept the opposing Lions at a single scoring goal with two saves and one goal assist.
The team’s current conference record is 1–0–0, with a season record of 1–1–1.