
Senior staff writer
Three high school cross-country teams from the Southside captured sectional championships Saturday at two different courses.
Franklin Central’s girls took the top four spots at New Palestine for the title. Sophomore champion Shayla Traas finished in 19 minutes, 40 seconds and was followed by classmates Jada Reedus and Kathryn Matties and senior Kayla Hoover. Junior Morgan Ashman was 11th.
Southport senior Erin Sullivan (18:33) led the Cardinals to the Franklin Sectional title by dominating the field. Teammate Lexie Green was second, trailing by 37 seconds, and freshman Bella Green was third. Center Grove was second behind Valerie Clark’s third-place finish.
Roncalli, led by sixth-place Katie Minton, was third at New Palestine. Greenwood Christian’s Allie Dalton was sixth.
At Franklin, Perry Meridian was sixth, 10 points behind fifth-place Mooresville. Senior Olivia LeMasters was seventh.
Center Grove’s boys team won the Franklin Sectional, 40 points ahead of runner-up Southport, as Trojans runners John Hodges (16:18) and teammate Adam Russell (16:25) were first and second, respectively. Southport junior Michael Crook (16:30) was third.
Perry Meridian was fourth and was paced by fourth-place Christopher Switzer (16:32). Greenwood was fifth behind the 12th-place finish of Ethan Pine.
At New Palestine, runner-up Franklin Central and third-place Roncalli also qualified for regional competition.
Franklin Central runners Elijah Basile, Trey Perry and Mitchell Parish finished seventh through ninth. Roncalli sophomore Nicholas Perkins (16:42) was fourth.
Junior Conner Kelly, 14th place, led Beech Grove to a seventh-place finish.
The top five teams and top 10 individual finishers qualified for regional action Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Qualifiers from the New Palestine Sectional will compete in Rushville, Franklin Sectional qualifiers in Shelbyville.