Columbus North High School

October 16, 2022 - Columbus North cross country dominance continued on Saturday (October 15) at the Regional Championships. The boys team (24 points) easily won the team title over Austin (69) and Seymour (100). The girls team (15) cruised to the Regional title over Charlestown (93) and Austin (104). Individually for the boys, Will Russell was the Regional champion, finishing the 5 km course in 15:49. Mateo Mendez finished fourth, Neal White sixth, and Draven Martinez, Adler Larson, Sam Hobbeheydar, and Kellen Hottell claimed the eighth through eleventh positions, giving the Dogs seven of the top eleven spots. In the girls race, Julia Kiesler finished 18 seconds ahead of teammate Lily Baker to claim the Regional title. Baker’s runner up finish, combined with Brianna Newell (third), Ellen White (fourth), Julie Klaus (seventh), and Jessica Meza (eleventh) earned the Dogs six of the top eleven places. Head coach Rick Sluder was pleased with the girls' performance. "We ran really well on a tough course. They went 1-2-3-4 overall which is just amazing no matter what Regional you are in. Julia Kiesler ran amazingly to claim the individual title. She and Lily Baker both went sub-18:00 again this season. Brianna Newell ran a great race- mostly by herself as she left the chase group early in the race and ran strong for third place. Ellen White ran a great race, beating a few girls who beat her last week including an All-State runner from last season, for fourth place overall." Both teams will advance to the Brown County Semi-state meet on Saturday, October 22. The races will begin at 11:30 am. Sluder is excited about the Semi-state event. "The team ran just where we needed to prep for next's tough Brown County Semi-State. To win that race, we'll need to be in top form and they showed they are ready for that after today." Photo: The Columbus North boys and girls cross country teams celebrate Regional titles on Saturday, October 15, and will advance to Saturday’s Semi-state meet at Brown County.