The Greensburg cross-country teams traveled to Evansville over the weekend to compete in the IHSAA regional meet at the Angel Mounds Cross-County course.
Senior T.J. Gorman finished 16th and freshman Alaina Bedel finished 17th, earning both runners a spot in the IHSAA State Championships next weekend.
The regional races featured 25 teams from central and southern Indiana as well as 75 individual qualifiers.
In the boys’ competition, Floyd Central’s Will Conway led the race from start to finish and set a new course record running 15:23 for 5000m. Bloomington North edged the FC Highlanders 88-94 for the Regional team title. Both of those schools qualified for the state meet next week in Terre Haute along with Columbus North, Evansville Reitz, and Bloomington South.
The Pirates claimed tenth place in the team standings, finishing their 2023 with a record of 104-42. Gorman established a new personal best of 16:02.1. His time ranks ninth in Greensburg history. Gorman is the first male runner from Greensburg to compete in the state meet since Josh Hawkins was All-State in 1992.
Joe Hawkins was the next runner from Greenburg to cross the finish line. He placed 33rd out of 245 runners in 16:20.0. Jake Hawkins ran his last cross-country race for Greensburg on Saturday taking 56th in 16:54.3. Fellow senior Cameron Schwartz took 105th in 17:42.7. Freshman Quinton Walker was 135th at the regional in a time of 18:11.8. Dante Hess lowered his personal best to 18:44.1 on Saturday for 167th overall while Zack Blodgett was 185th in 19:04.8.
“TJ had an outstanding day this morning at regional,” Coach Troy Davis said. “He ran a smart race early that allowed him to close the last 2 kilometers really well and pass several individuals,”
In the girls’ competition, Floyd Central’s Kaitlyn Stewart led the entire race as she ran a course record 18:28.5 for the individual Regional title.
Bloomington South was the Regional team champion scoring only 70 pts. Columbus North, Jasper, Corydon, and Edgewood also qualified for the IHSAA State Meet next Saturday.
The Pirates placed 15th in the team standings among the 25 schools competing. Bedel’s 17th-place finish was a new personal best of 19:49.4. Saturday’s race was the first time that Bedel broke the 20:00 barrier. She now ranks 6th all-time for 5 kilometers in school history. Bedel also became the third Pirate ever to qualify for the IHSAA State Championships, joining Shelby Pake and Brenner Hanna.
“Alaina’s development over the last month has been outstanding,” Davis said. “She’s a very talented young lady that competes at a high level.”
Junior Tori Gauck ran her best race of the season Saturday, finishing in 21:59.9, good for 85th place. The next two finishers for Greensburg were seniors Ally Foster, in 113th in 22:35.9, and Hannah Crowell took 138th in 23:10.0. Tiffani Gramman ran 24:36.3 for 202nd with Brook Welsh 205th in 24:47.4. Freshman Allison Duncan was 227th in 26:46.5.
The Lady Pirates conclude 2023 with a record of 76-61.
“I’m really proud of our seniors,” Davis said. “That group of guys and girls has been the foundation of our success of the last couple of years. Their leadership, dedication, and enthusiasm will all be greatly missed.”
Gorman and Bedel will participate in the IHSAA State Championships on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Terre Haute. The event will be held at the Wabash Valley Sports Center. The boys’ race will be run at noon. The girls’ race starts at 2:30 p.m.
(Information provided by Greensburg High School Athletics)