HILLIARD — The Northmor Golden Knights’ cross country teams made the trip to Hilliard Darby on Saturday to compete in the Division III, Central District Meet.
In the boys race, the top-three finishing teams and the top-12 finishing individuals advanced to the regional meet.
Mount Gilead’s Liam Dennis would win the individual title, crossing the finish line in a championship time of 16:09.9 as the Indians also claimed the team championship, scoring just 22 points to advance. Northmor would claim the runner-up spot and move on to regionals as a team, tallying 87 points on the day. The final team qualifier would also come from the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference as the Centerburg Trojans finished third with 104 points.
Gavvin Keen led the way for the Golden Knights, claiming the only spot in the top-five for a team other than Mount Gilead. Keen clocked in with a time of 16:46.2, good for fourth overall. Kooper Keen finished 14th in 17:49.1 and Austin Amens rounded out the top-25 finishers in the race for Northmor, earning 15th in 17:49.2.
Connor Radojcsics finished just outside the top-25 in the 74-runner field, coming in 26th with his time of 18:23.3. Lucas Weaver (28th, 18:27.9), TJ Diehl (31st, 18:40.8) and Jack Sears (48th, 19:45.1) were also in action for the runner-up Knights in district action over the weekend.
The formatting for the girls race was slightly different as it wasn’t separated into two different races. For the girls, the top-six teams and top-24 individuals moved in their season.
The Northmor Lady Golden Knights would manage just that as they claimed fourth in the girls field with 102 points. Mount Gilead (56) also won the girls race while Centerburg finished as the runner-ups with 73 points. Also advancing were: 3. Fairbanks- 97; 5. Liberty Union- 126 and 6. Grandview Heights- 139.
Baylee Hack won the individual title for the Mount Gilead Lady Indians, outlasting the field of 119 runners with her time of 18:42.8.
Northmor would have three girls finish within the top-25 on the day and five total finish within the top-40.
Julianna DiTullio was the top-finisher for the Lady Knights, crossing the finish line in 20:14.6, good for 14th overall. Three spots behind here was Lauren Johnson, earning 17th in 20:20.2. Riley Johnson wrapped the top-25 finishers for the black and gold, running her way to 22nd in a time of 20:50.5. Olivia Goodson crossed the finish line in 31st with her time of 21:35.8 while Julia Kanagy claimed 32nd in 21:43.1.
Sabrina Kelley (55th, 22:57.1) and Emilee Jordan (62nd, 23:04.3) will be joining their teammates on Saturday in Pickerington with hopes of moving on to a state chamionship meet berth.
