The Chillicothe cross country teams turned in an outstanding performance at the 39th annual MSSU Southern Stampede, competing on the Tom Rutledge course against a massive field of schools from across the region.
With 41 teams and more than 250 runners in the boys race and 215 in the girls race, the meet featured fast times on a college-caliber course.
Leading the way was Luke Thompson, who nearly claimed the individual title in the boys race, finishing 2nd overall in 16:04, just 1.6 seconds behind first. Thompson sat in the top 5 for much of the race before making a late surge in the final quarter mile to secure the runner-up spot.
The Hornet boys placed 12th as a team, with nearly every runner setting a personal or season best:
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Spencer Johansen — 65th, 18:30 (career PR)
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Brody Norris — 79th, 18:49 (career PR)
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Trace Akers — 98th, 19:10 (season PR)
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Ben Cady — 146th, 20:13 (career PR)
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Zain Wahid — 166th, 20:49 (career PR)
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Alexander England — 167th, 20:51 (season PR)
On the girls side, Chillicothe placed 19th as a team, also seeing a wave of best times:
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Sophie Hurtgen — 66th, 22:41 (career PR)
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Payton McGee — 100th, 23:46 (career PR)
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Myli Johansen — 132nd, 24:52 (career PR)
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Abby Longo — 147th, 25:31 (career PR)
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Adrian Caselman — 190th, 29:01 (season PR)
The meet provided valuable experience as the Hornets continue to build toward the championship phase of the season, now just five weeks out from districts.
Next up, Chillicothe will host their home meet Thursday, Sept. 25, at Simpson Park, where hundreds of runners will compete on the Hornets’ home course.