CROSS-COUNTRY

Mills Lawn runners take field

The annual one-mile Mills Lawn Elementary Bulldog Chase took place Thursday, Sept. 16, with 51 Mills Lawn Elementary School students participating. Sixth-grader Violet Matteson ran to first place in the girls race, while third-grader Lloyd Grant placed first in the boys race.
Mills Lawn ‘fastest sprint’ set

Next up for elementary school runners is the annual Mills Lawn Fastest Bulldog Sprint contest, which is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30, beginning at 5 p.m., at the Yellow Springs High School track. The event is sponsored by the Southwest Ohio Track Club. For more information, contact John Gudgel at ­jgudgel@ysschools.org.

Bulldogs show grit

Running in hot and humid conditions with half the team absent, the Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle Schools boys and girls cross country teams put forth a determined and rewarding effort at the Graham Invitational this past Saturday, Sept. 18.

In the high school girls race, junior Cheyan Sundell-Turner sped to a first-place finish with a time of 20:29 against a field of 85 runners from 14 schools. Fellow junior Josie DeWine fought through the heat to a 59th-place finish.

Though the high school boys squad fielded only four runners, ninth-grader Isaac Lewis showed flashes of brilliance with a fine time of 22:55, finishing 68th. Sophomore Malik Booth ran a 25:02 race, finishing 93rd, with freshman Evan Galarza showing marked improvement in a time of 31:32. Junior Malcolm Blunt toed the starting line with an injury and was unable to navigate the entire course, but showed Bulldog grit.

The McKinney girls tandem of Rebecca DeWine and Sasi Drees-Johnson ran against a tough field of 55 runners, with Drees-Johnson earning a ribbon for her 15th-place finish in a season best time of 16:06, while DeWine ran under 20 minutes in a time of 19:46.

The McKinney boys team finished in eighth place out of 13 schools. Eighth-grader Kyle Johnston continued his ascension to brilliance as he was rewarded with a ribbon for his 15th-place effort in a time of 13:21. The seventh-grade boys brigade of Oskar Dennis (39th), Donovan Cooney (53rd), Charlie Carr (55th) and Jaden Douglas (58th) all ran great complementary races and showed the depth of the McKinney boys team.

Coach Isabelle Dierauer remarked that she was proud of the efforts that were put forth by the runners in the hot and humid conditions.

The Bulldogs hope to be at full strength this Saturday, Sept. 25, when they travel to the first ever Emmanuel Christian Academy Cross Country Invitational. The first race will take place at 10 a.m.

—John Gudgel, coach