TERRE HAUTE â It wasnât a story book ending for the Zionsville cross country teams on Saturday at the IHSAA State Cross Country Finals.
Both the girls and boys teams didnât quite run as well as they hoped, but the lessons and journeys from the season were ones they could grow on.
For the Lady Eagles, they placed 14th with 348 points, only about 30 points away from the top-10.
In a post-season filled with adversity for the Eagles, some more struck the team ahead of the race, with illness working its way through the squad late in the week.
Head coach Chelsea Patterson was proud of the way the girls gave everything they had on Saturday.
âI am happy with the way they ran their race together and with heart,â Patterson said. âThey put their best foot forward today. We had some challenges toward the end of the season, with injury and illness, so the cards werenât in our favor but the girls handled it well and stayed mentally strong.â
Megan Race led the Eagles in 109th in a time of 19:31.8.
Cailyn Murphy was 113th in 19:36.1, with Katy Green (115th, 19:38.4) and Jane Porzel (116th, 19:39.6) close behind.
Letty Banwart was 121st in 19:43.1, Katherine Bowen was 124th in 19:44.3 and Madeline Bruns was 210th in 20:44.2
Bowen graduates, but the rest of the squad is back next year.
While the ending wasnât quite what they hoped, Patterson said this was a special group.
âThis group has the most team chemistry in any group that I have coached,â Patterson said. âThey have a lot of good things coming for them. I know it didnât shake out how they wanted the last couple of weeks, but that doesnât derail their spirits and their togetherness. I am looking forward to experiencing that with them in track.â
The boys team came into the meet with some momentum following strong showings at the sectional and regional, but it just wasnât their day on Saturday.
The Eagles placed 20th with 437 points.
âAs we reflect on the whole season, we did make big improvements throughout the whole year,â Zionsville head coach Gabe Porras said. âI am really proud of this group. Itâs the largest team we have had and the guys we kept on the tournament roster really supported each other and pulled for each other on each opportunity.â
Jack Turnbull led the Eagles, placing 28th in 15:41.6.
Jackson Meneely was 158th in 16:41.3, Noah Berg was 163rd in 16:45.1, Soren Jackson was 172nd in 16:47.7 and Camden Stockwell was 181st in 16:52.1.
Owen Haan came in 183rd in 16:52.5 and Nolan White was 215th in 17:12.8.
âOverall this was a group that always believed and they put in that extra effort to make sure they found success,â Porras said.
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.