JEFFERSON — A win over a rival is always a good thing, as the Panorama girls cross country team experienced Thursday after edging AC/GC for top honors in the Class A portion of the Greene County Invitational.
The Panthers nipped the Chargers, 39-45, to place first, with West Marshall a distant third at 70 points.
Roland-Story nicked South Hamilton, 50-52, for the top boys spot in the Class A race, with Ogden third at 86. Panorama had 167 points to finish sixth in a 10-team field.
“I challenged each team to bold and take some chances,” Panorama head coach Greg Thompson said. “Many of the post-race comments and conversations mentioned that they worked a little harder mentally and that their risks in trying something different than in previous races resulted in better races and performances.”
“I am proud of their development over the last three weeks and am excited to see how much the teams will improve as we begin to pick up the intensity and pace training of our practice schedule,” he added.
Kate Crawford and Emma Swanson of AC/GC were 1-2, in 19 minutes, 16 seconds and 20:01, respectively, with Charger teammate Lauryn Embleton sixth in 21:25 for only nine points through three of five places.
Panorama countered with Ella Waddle third, in 20:22, and Devyn Kemble fourth, in 20:48 while Brianna Hoffman crossed ninth in 22:18, setting the Panthers at 16 points.
Depth proved the difference maker, as Gwen Steffen placed 10th in 22:31 and Olivia Steffen 13th in 22:50. Those 23 points more than offset the 17-19 (36) of AC/GC, giving the Panthers a six-point victory.
Brooklyn Behrends (23rd, 23:58) and Lydia Knapp (24:29) also ran for the Panther varsity.
Bryn Steffen (24:31), Chloe Webster (24:38), Emily Smith (24:44), Jaelyn Waddle (24:49), Abby Cobb (25:30), Molly Simmons (25:59) and Taylor Rishel (26:45) also competed for Panorama.
Josh Carstens and Danny Nordquist finished 14-21, in 18:03 and 18:36, respectively, to lead the Panther boys. Kaleb Randel (38th, 19:26), Sam Webster (39th, 19:31) and Emry Colby (55th, 20:55) also scored, with varsity times also recorded by Colton Stogdill (57th, 21:15) and Erik Olsen (59th, 21:33).
Noah Kirtley (21:49), Lucas Wasson (22:40), Paul Hanson (24:38), Logan Christe (24:38), Drew Hafner (24:49) and Brady Howard (35:50) were also on the course for Panorama.
Kevin Cogil (14:04), Alec Mills (16:12), Jordan Wehmeyer (16:20) and Avery Norman (16:22) all ran for the Panthers in the boys two-mile junior high race. No report was received of a junior high girls race.
The Panthers will return to action Thursday when they host the Panorama Invitational.
