Tidbits from the SWIAC cross country meet

JASONVILLE - Saturday's Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference boys and girls cross country meet here at Shakamak High School gave us a few noteworthy items worth mentioning.

First of all, congratulations to the SWIAC cross country champions. The Shakamak boys and girls captured the team championships.

Bloomfield's Alli Workman was the girls' individual winner while Billy Creech of Shakamak was the boys' SWIAC champion.

What can you say about Alli Workman that hasn't already been said? Truly a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

It was noted here that the Shakamak boys finished fourth as a team in the Greene County Invitational at Switz City on Aug. 28.

What I failed to mention was that the Shakamak boys did not have Billy Creech available for that meet. Billy was out due to an unspecified injury.

Certainly not having the individual conference champion could make a difference in the team standings (yes, I am the master of the understatement).

It's not often that coaches are satisfied with a second-place finish. We hear over and over, "There are no moral victories" and "That's a loser's mentality."

Such was not the case for Eastern Greene's cross country coaches - girls coach Adam Nonte and boys coach Ray Hausler.

Coach Nonte said, "Our girls ran really well - it was probably the most complete race we've run this season.

"More or less I was ecstatic."

Nonte has reason to be pleased. Lynnly Kirkman moved up seven spots and Tabby Tatum moved up eight spots from their respective finishes in the GCI. Their performances enabled the Lady T-Birds to edge past Bloomfield for second place in the team standings.

As Bloomfield coach Caleb Dunkerly said, "Shakamak and Eastern put it together today and they just outran us."

Hausler said, "We've got some great kids and some great coaches in this conference. We could race four weeks in a row and it could be a different outcome each time.

"And that's fun. That's what cross country's all about."

Coaches Nonte and Hausler have been unfailingly diligent all season in communicating their individual and team results to the staff here at the Daily World. So too has WRV girls coach Sara McIntosh.

Ray has said more than once, "It's all about the kids and getting their names in the paper."

I agree, Ray. I've said before, these kids deserve recognition for their efforts - especially in a demanding sport like cross country.

There were a couple of individual efforts from last Saturday that really impressed me. And no, they weren't from the winners.

Shakamak Lady Laker Shayley Gould ran hard at the finish to edge out Bloomfield's Shayley Gould for seventh place. Lady Laker coach "Mark Messmer said, "Shayley really wanted that Bloomfield girl and she got her."

Linton-Stockton freshman runner Cameron Parola "gutted it out" and sprinted to the finish line to nip Shakamak's Landry Rylee by six tenths of a second for 25th place.

Some might think a 25th place is no big deal. If you saw the effort and determination Cameron put into that finish you might change your opinion.

Here's hoping Cameron sticks with cross country and continues to improve.

The SWIAC junior high meet was also run at Shakamak and the future looks bright for the Bloomfield boy's cross country program.

The Bloomfield boys took six of the top ten spots, led by individual winner Dylan Richardson.

Fifth grader Lance McIntosh finished fourth. Think about that - a fifth grader finishing fourth against a field of seventh and eighth graders.

Keep your eye on Lance.

Another potential budding star to keep on your radar is Linton-Stockton seventh grader Aurek Deischer. Yes, football fans, Aurek is former Miner kicker Dyllanne Deischer's younger brother.

Aurek finished second to Bloomfield's Richardson Saturday.

Best of luck to all the area teams in this Saturday's sectional meets. Linton-Stockton and Shakamak will be running at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute. Bloomfield and Eastern Greene will be running in the Bedford North Lawrence sectional while White River Valley travels to Brown County.

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.