Batesville cross country traveled to Westport and won both ends of a tri-meet against South Decatur and North Decatur on Thursday.
The Bulldog girls team recorded a perfect score of 15, with seven runners the first to cross the finish line. North Decatur came in second with 50; South Decatur had an incomplete squad.
Batesville’s top three runners were incredibly close, finishing within one second of each other. Caitlin Raver outdueled teammate Francesca Myers at the finish, crossing in 22:56.3 and 22:56.9, respectively, with Paige Allgeier right behind them in 22:57.2.
After a short break, four more Bulldogs crossed the finish line in another tight pack. Aubrey Weberding led the group in 24:12, followed closely by Audrey Dieckmann in 24:13, Sydney Gilland in 24:16, and Reille Adams in 25:08, giving Batesville runners the top seven spots.
Also finishing in the top 15 and earning ribbons were Addison McGuire and Zoe Martin. The two teammates battled it out down the final stretch, with Addison out-sprinting Zoe to finish 13th in 27:40.3, while Zoe finished 14th in 27:40.7.
Individual finishes and times for Charger runners were:
8th place-Rileigh Hash-25:46
9th place-Emily Baldwin-25:56
10th place-Norah Amberberger-26:12
11th place-LaShay Dwiggins-26:23
15th place-Makayla Tebbe-29:05
16th place-Emerson Gunn-29:51
19th place-Jessie Biltz-31:22
The Batesville boys also put together an impressive team performance, placing 10 runners in the top 15, including spots 2nd through 4th and 6th through 12th.
The Bulldogs finished with a team score of 22 points; the Chargers were second with 41, and the host Cougars checked in at 81.
The individual meet winner was North Decatur’s Harper Gunn, who finished with a time of 18:49.
Leading the way for Batesville were Levi Essick and Cael Luhman, who battled all the way to the finish line. Essick edged out Luhman in the final kick, finishing in 19:02.2, just ahead of Cael’s 19:02.5. Ryan Benz followed closely behind in 4th place with a time of 19:23.
Batesville then took seven consecutive spots from 6th through 12th, led by Duncan Fish in 20:53.6. Just behind him were Brody Gibson in 20:54.1, Luke Raver in 20:55, Timothy Quillan in 21:09, Varshath Rajeh in 21:20, and Rhett Gibson in 21:25. Lucas Gadberry rounded out the Bulldogs’ top 12 with a time of 21:44.
Other individual finishes and times for the ND boys were:
5th place-Fletcher Hash-20:22
13th place-Jayden Lawrence-22:50
15th place-Clayton Ruf-23:07
16th place-Logan Summey-23:57
17th place-Declan Kellems-24:35
19th place-Elliott Barber-26:09
Overall, five Batesville runners broke personal records and one tied. Setting new PRs were Sydney Gilland, Addison McGuire, Zoe Martin, Cael Luhman, and Timothy Quillan, while Henry Jelinek matched his personal best.
The Bulldogs have the week off before competing next Saturday, August 27 at the Rushville Invitational.
Results from South Decatur individual runners were not provided.