Columbus North High School

October 8, 2022 - Both the boys and girls Columbus North cross country teams cruised to victories in the Brown County Sectionals to advance to the Regionals on Saturday (October 14). The girls scored 15 team points to easily outscore runners up Seymour (57) and Columbus East (72). The Dogs finished 1-2-3 with the trio of Brianna Newell, Julia Kiesler, and Lily Baker. In addition, Ellen White finished fifth, Julie Klaus seventh, Sydney Morlock ninth, and Ainsley Sherlock tenth individually. Head coach Rick Sluder was very pleased with his team’s performance. "Our girls ran really well today with our mind on winning the Sectional. It's really special to be one of only 32 teams to win Saturday. According to the IHSAA website, we are now tied for the most Sectional wins all-time in Indiana with 36 and have the current best streak in girls cross country with 26 in a row. That really speaks to the culture that has been created here at North and the hard-work and dedication of the runners over the decades. These 40 girls are just amazing." Sluder highlighted a few individuals specifically. "Brianna Newell ran a great race to win the individual title. She ran even splits and worked well with her teammates- Julia Kiesler and Lily Baker- to run her best race of the season. The three girls ran amazing races to finish 1-2-3 overall. Ellen White ran yet another great Sectional race- running 41 seconds faster than last year in a personal record of 19:01 to finish 5th. Julie Klaus ran her third great race in a row to get 7th overall. Sydney Morlok ran strong, basically by herself for the last two miles which is really hard to do, for a 9th place overall. Ainsley Sherlock ran very evenly the entire and worked well pacing off of Sydney to finish in 10th overall to establish another personal record." He is excited to compete at Saturday’s Regional at Shelbyville. "Getting all seven girls in the Top 10 is an amazing accomplishment. These girls have worked very hard all season and their hard work is paying off with great finishes. We will put our sites on winning the Regional and representing Columbus North really well again." In the boys’ division, the Bull Dogs literally ran away with the competition as well, finishing with seven of the top ten positions. The Bull Dogs scored 19 team points, outscoring Seymour (72) and Brown County (73), who finished second and third, respectively. Clayton Guthrie won the boys’ division, with Will Russell taking second, Mateo Mendez third, and Neal White fifth. Draven Martinez, Kellen Hottell, and Adler Larson finished eighth, ninth, and tenth to complete the Bull Dog domination. Complete results can be found at https://www.directathletics.com/results/xc/20885.html#135680 Photo: Bull Dog Brianna Newell led the Bull Dogs to the girls cross country Sectional championship at Brown County on October 8. The Bull Dog boys also finished first as both teams will look to defend their Regional titles Saturday, October 14 at Shelbyville.