The Cardington girls’ cross country team claimed first place in the KMAC championships on Saturday.

In the meet, which took place at Kokosing Dam, the Pirates finished with 75 points to top Fredericktown’s total of 84. Highland scored 92, Mount Gilead finished with 93, Northmor tallied 95, East Knox had 110 and Centerburg had 111. Danville didn’t field any runners in the race.

Loey Hallabrin paced Cardington by running third with a time of 19:07.89. Morgan White finished ninth in 20:20.32, while Gracie Meade placed 13th in 21:03.5. Hazel Jolliff ran 16th in 21:24.76, Mikayla Linkous took 36th in 24:11.47, Madison Brehm claimed 43rd in 24:11.47 and Marlo Young took 52nd in 26:02.48.

For Highland, Camberly Schade led the way by placing sixth in 19:44.5, while Mia White placed 10th in 20:29.38. Jade Disbennett ran 19th in 21:35.5, Lauren Garber finished 21st in 21:42.46 and Hannah Wagner took 39th in 24:37.46. Madison Howard ran 48th in 25:39.6 and Greer Orr claimed 50thi n 25:54.91.

Also, Kelsea Whisman was 55th and Shelby Conley was 65th.

Mount Gilead was able to boast the top two runners in the race. Allison Johnson claimed her second KMAC title by running first in 18:35.46, while Emily Hanft followed with a time of 18:47.8. Selia Shipman placed 22nd in 21:46.84 and Karley Wallace was 32nd in 23:32.87. Also, Rebeka Clark was 42nd in 25:07.67 and Adriana Tinch placed 67th in 29:29.69.

For Northmor, Julia Kanagy took 15th place in 21:09.22 to lead the team. Riley Johnson finished 17th in 21:24.89 and Lauren Johnson was 18th in 21:25.12. Kristie Wright took 20th in 21:42.36, Emilee Jordan ran 25th in 22:46.98, Maddison Yaussy placed 28th in 22:59.8 and Olivia Goodson claimed 29th in 23:07.54.

Also, Sydney Kelley was 30th, Hannah Kanagy was 46th, Haley Dille was 58th and Kelbie McDonald was 62nd.

In the boys’ race, Fredericktown finished first with 38 points. Both Centerburg and Highland had 91, but the Trojans took second based on the placement of their sixth runner. Northmor finished fourth with 93 points, while Cardington was fifth with 120, Mount Gilead took sixth with 131 and East Knox finished seventh with 133. Once again, Danville did not have any runners.

Joel Roberts finished fourth in 16:26.38 and Hunter Bolton was fifth in 16:28.14 to lead Highland’s effort. Caleb Wetzel placed 15th in 17:37.77, Grath Garee took 36th in 18:39.63 and Tucker Tague ran 37th in 18:42.71. Corban Benedict finished 38th in 18:53.69, while Andrew Ward ran 48th in 19:28.08.

Also, Daniel Grandstaff was 50th, Russell Martin was 55th, Matthew Gaylord was 63rd and Zakye Mallow was 77th.

For Northmor, Lucas Weaver finished 13th in 17:28.52, Connor Radojcsics placed 18th in 17:47.4 and Kooper Keen took 19th in 17:50.09. Ryan Lehman placed 21st in 17:53.39, while Bryce Cooper took 22nd in 17:53.85. T.J. Diehl was 33rd in 18:32.53 and Griffin Healea took 35th in 18:34.49.

Also, Jed Adams was 53rd, Grant Bentley was 66th and Tyler Parsons was 86th.

Cardington was led by Mason White, who finished second in the race with a time of 16:02.98. Mike Rose finished 20th in 17:52.43, Kaleb Meade took 28th in 18:17.71 and Austin Henthorn took 34th in 18:32.82. Devin Gheen ran 45th in 19:15.63 and James Hallabrin finished 62nd in 21:21.45, while Ryan Clinger was 67th in 21:54.5.

Also, Bryce Moodispaugh was 79th and Sam West was 85th.

Mount Gilead’s Brett Shipman took third place with a time of 16:19.39 and Parker Bartlett finished ninth in 17:26.52. Ethan Honzo finished 41st in 19:08.73, while Philip Emberg took 44th in 19:14.48 and Seamus Walsh finished 46th in 19:19.61. Bradley Butcher finished 47th in 19:25.99 and Nathan Smith placed 51st in 19:58.09.

Also, Tyler Knight was 54th, Luke Fraizer was 56th, Colt Hedrick was 57th, Quade Harris was 59th, Joshua Davis was 73rd and Mason Kidwell was 80th.

In the race, athletes finishing in the top 10 of their races were named first-team KMAC runners, while those placing between 11th and 20th earned second-team recognition.

Mount Gilead Indians

While Mount Gilead ran with smaller teams than usual at the league meet due to COVID-19 cases in the district, head coach Jake Hayes expects to have everyone back in time for this week’s Division III district meet.

“We were missing five of our top seven boys and three of our top seven girls,” he said. “I thought they did great. We coach every kid like they’re our fifth runner — the last one that’s going to score.”

Hayes noted that none of his athletes were sick, but were held out due to precautions due to contact proximity. However, those precautions will be lifted later this week, allowing the Indians to compete with full teams at districts this week.

“We’ll have everyone back by districts as of now,” he said. “We joked as a coaching staff that if this happens any week, conference is better than districts.”

Allison Johnson won her second KMAC championship for Mount Gilead on Saturday.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2020/10/web1_mgg1.jpgAllison Johnson won her second KMAC championship for Mount Gilead on Saturday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Helping Cardington win the KMAC team title in girls’ cross country Saturday was Morgan White, who finished ninth in the race.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2020/10/web1_cardg2.jpgHelping Cardington win the KMAC team title in girls’ cross country Saturday was Morgan White, who finished ninth in the race. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Leading the way for the Highland boys’ cross country team on Saturday were Joel Roberts (r) and Hunter Bolton.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2020/10/web1_high1and2.jpgLeading the way for the Highland boys’ cross country team on Saturday were Joel Roberts (r) and Hunter Bolton. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Connor Radojcsics competes for Northmor at Saturday’s league cross country meet.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2020/10/web1_north2.jpgConnor Radojcsics competes for Northmor at Saturday’s league cross country meet. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

By Rob Hamilton

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Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS