SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 - WEST MILTON
The Cross Country teams ran at the Miami County Invitational this Saturday, with the boys claiming fourth and the girls fifth.

"Overall, the day went outstanding," said girls coach Libby Long. "We competed well both individually and as a team. It’s nice to run the same course twice to compare the two races. They are all making improvements somewhere in the race, whether its going out at a smart pace, or surging in the middle of the race to get with a pack of runners."

The Bucc girls placed 5th. Leading the way was Carrie Spurgeon 21st 21:40, next was Kayla Fissel 35th 22:54, followed closely by Erin Watrfall 36th 22:59, Emily Fields 37th 23:00, Julianna Simon 51st 24:26, and Alyssa Reck 62nd 27:26.

"The girls had a great day," Long continued. "Even though we finished fifth, this was the lowest our team time has been all year. Carrie ran a very tactical race. She has really been working on her running form and it’s helping her tremendously. Our pack of Kayla, Erin and Emily came in very close together. Kayla has been running very smart races. She keeps improving each race whether its placing higher or running a faster time. Erin also had a great race. She ran a very strong last mile. Emily gave it her all today. This is her third race back and she keeps steadily improving. Julianna also had a nice race. She cramped up during the race, but still gave it her all. Alyssa did a great job of keeping the same pace throughout the race."

The Bucc boys placed 4th overall. Willy Hoffert led the way with a 10th place finish with a time of 17:34. Andy Hittle came in next with a 14th place finish and a time of 17:52. Brandon Flora was next at 18th 18:18, followed by Darrell Thobe 34th 18:56, Zach Shilt 51st 19:30, Michael Rosengarten 62nd 20:20, Tyler Moody 64th 20:27, Harry Hicks 74th 21:24, Tyler Tebbe 85th 22:39, and Zac Plessinger 87th 24:12.

"All the boys ran exceptionally well today," explained boys coach Josh Long. "We had three boys in the top 20, which is outstanding. Hoffert led the way with another top 10 finish. Hittle and Flora both ran great races running personal bests. Our 4th and 5th guys ( Thobe and Shilt) are continuing to close the gap. Thobe reached the 18’s for the first time this year. Rosengarten, Moody and Hicks all had season personal bests today. Tebbe and Plessinger also had good finishes.

The Junior High teams also had a fantastic day. Both the boys and girls teams placed 2nd.

Tara Snipes won the Junior High girls race with a time of 13:01. Jessie Shilt was 4th with a time of 13:31, Brittany Diltz was 5th with a time of 13:36, followed by Connor Schaffer 31st 16:22, and Jamie Crowell 33rd 16:27.

Dustin Fickert placed 4th overall with a personal best of 11:18. Lane White was 9th with a time of 12:13, Samuel Slusher was 13th with a time of 12:37, followed closely by Bryant Hicks 17th 13:03, John Karayannis 19th 13:12, Dale Brant 23rd 13:21, Justin Millhouse 27th 13:25, and Nick Tobias 54th 14:58.

"We want to say thanks to all the parents who brought out the young runners today to participate in the youth fun run," Libby Long said. "We represented Covington well!!! Congratulations to all today."

The teams will compete at the Anna Rocket Invitational this upcoming Saturday.