cross country
Facing heat, humidity, tough competition and a hilly course, the Yellow Springs High School and McKinney Middle School cross country teams showed exceptional tenacity at the Fairborn Skyhawk Invitational Meet on Wednesday, Aug. 28. With temperatures reaching over 90 degrees, the Bulldogs proved they were up to the challenge, even against the larger schools that made up the majority of the teams in the meet.
The middle school boys finished sixth out of 17 teams that competed. Seventh grader Jeremiah Washington finished 17th (13:11) out of 176 runners. Eighth graders Henry Babb (28th), Luke Revere (54th), Emil Lazar (67th) and Theo Collins (129th) along with seventh graders William DeWine (55th), Luc Amend (61st) and Cody McClure (162nd) rounded out the scoring for the young Bulldogs.
The middle school girls finished 10th out of 17 teams in a crowded field of 119 runners. Seventh grader Lily Brown finished 31st in a time of 16 minutes, 3 seconds. Fellow seventh graders Winona Dean (76th), Samantha Highlander (80th) and Lela Cooksey (93rd) all ran strong races, as did eighth graders Ella Reardon (105th) and Leah Cameron (116th).
The high school boys were led by junior Kyle Johnston who finished in 5th place (18:33) in a tough competition with 169 runners. Ninth grader Matteo Chaiten (46th) and freshmen Trevor Roberts (90th), Brodan Chaffee (111th), Graham Turnmeyer (116th) and Adrian Benedict (155th) showed they were not intimidated by the tough competition. The boys team finished 9th out of 16 teams.
The under-manned high school girls team was missing several runners but still performed well, even though they were not included in the final team score. Sophomore Abebe Barnett continued to perform well, finishing 18th out of 86 runners (26:38). Juniors Lauren Finney (38th) and Hannah Finney (48th) showed great determination and grit, along with ninth-grader Sierra Sandell-Turner (57th).
Head coach Isabelle Dierauer said she was impressed with how all the runners gave their all, despite the weather and the tough course, especially in a field crowded with Division I schools.
The Bulldogs’ next game is Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Brookville Invitational.
—Coach John Guggel
Women’s Soccer
The Bulldogs started the season strong with a 7-0 win over Stivers High School in a non-conference game on Monday, August 19th.
Senior Lili Herzog and sophomore Elaina Gilley led the team’s attack with two goals each, while the remaining goals were scored by sophomore Gabriella Kibblewhite and ninth-graders Violet Mattson and Olivia Washington.
After that first win, the Bulldogs fell to Southeastern University on Saturday, August 24th, losing 10-1. Although Hertzog had the only goal for the Bulldogs, the team’s defense worked hard to keep Southeastern’s opponents off the goal line, with ninth-grader Brooklyn Walker Hapgood recording 10 saves and senior Ira Current making eight saves. Hapgood also recorded eight goal assists and Current had two assists.
The girls team followed up that loss with another win right away, defeating Dixie 2-1 on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Gilley and junior Ainsley Johnson each scored one goal for the Bulldogs in the winning match, while senior goalkeeper Gemma Brizuela recorded 14 saves and one goal assist.
The team’s current regular season record is 2-1.