On Thursday afternoon in the Division 2 Region Cross Country Championships at Shelby Farms, the wind blew, the rain fell and it was cold and muddy, but for the runners racing 5 kilometers in a race to qualify for state — it was worth it.

In the girls D2-AA race St. Agnes’ Kacey Nobert (left) ran an 18:33.5 time to win the individual championship and lead
the Stars to the region title. Teammates Kyle Weaver (3rd), Ryan Weaver (4th) and Aidan Shea (5th) also finished in the top 5 for Coach Jay Mathis. Only St. Benedict’s Elizabeth Altizer was able to breakup the sweep by the Stars. Altizer’s finish helped SBA place second while ECS edged St. Mary’s to earn the third and final qualifying spot for the state. ECS was led by Emily Griesbeck (15th), eighth-grader Carley Lane (18th) and Devin Scruggs (19th). The girls D2-A race was dominated by Harding. The Lions’ Leah Raich finished sixth overall (21:23.2). Lausanne and FACS also qualified for the state.

The boys D2-AA race as expected was won by Coach Nick Dwyer’s CBHS squad. Five of the top 11 finishers were Purple Wave runners, led by race winner Zack Turner (left). He ran a 17:13.3. Mat Kenwright from SBA was second with a time of 17:29.9. Kenwright helped the Eagles qualify for state by finishing second. The third and final state team qualifier was ECS. The Eagles tied MUS with 63 points after you counted the top five runners on each team. But, the tie-breaker is whose sixth runner did the best, and the Eagles edged the Owls to earn the spot at state.

In the D2-A race, Harding and St. George’s also tied with 35 points with the Lions winning the tiebreaker. Both teams advance to state along with Lausanne, FACS and Tipton-Rosemark. Ben Jenkins was the top runner for Harding, while Stephen Williams paced the Gryphons.

To qualify for state in Division 2-AA a team had to finish in the top three in Thursday’s meet, while individually only the top 10 finishers qualify for the state championships to be held in Nashville next Saturday, Nov. 3. In Division 2-A, all teams and the top 10 finishers qualify.

Top 30 Girls

Place AA Place A Place Runner School Score Time

1 1 Kacey Nobert St. Agnes 1 18:33.5
2 2 Elizabeth Altizer St. Benedict 2 19:41.1
3 3 Kyle Weaver St. Agnes 3 20:42.3
4 4 Ryan Weaver St. Agnes 4 20:46.2
5 5 Aidan Shea St. Agnes 5 21:12.8
6 1 Leah Raich Harding Academy 6 21:23.2
7 6 Victoria Darling St. Benedict 7 21:26.2
8 7 Hunter Mitchell St. Mary’s 8 21:29.3
9 8 Ashley Hall Briarcrest 9 21:33.2
10 9 Emily LaForce St. Benedict 10 21:41.4
11 10 Mary Elisabeth Tipton Hutchison 11 21:50.1
12 2 Kalena Baskin Harding Academy 12 21:54.0
13 11 Loren Bruce Briarcrest 13 22:00.3
14 12 Allison Connell St. Mary’s 14 22:06.5
15 13 Emily Griesbeck ECS 15 22:10.2
16 14 Rachel Atkins Hutchison 16 22:25.9
17 3 Chelsea Essary Harding Academy 17 22:36.9
18 15 Carley Lane ECS 18 22:44.5
19 16 Devin Scruggs ECS 19 22:48.5
20 17 Kaitlyn Stoddard St. Benedict 20 22:55.6
21 18 Lydia Hyatt St. Benedict 21 23:01.7
22 19 Colleen Scheurz St. Mary’s 22 23:11.9
23 20 Caroline Seward ECS 23 23:18.7
24 21 Julia Gates St. Agnes 24 23:21.0
25 22 Sarah Beasley ECS 25 23:27.4
26 23 Connor Robinson Hutchison 26 23:29.2
27 24 Megan Marchant Hutchison 27 23:31.9
28 25 Kendall Person ECS 28 23:36.8
29 4 Mallory Sharp Harding Academy 29 23:38.8
30 26 Courtney Seward ECS 30 23:41.9

Top 30 Boys

Place AA Place A Place Runner School Score Time

1 1 Zack Turner CBHS 1 17:13.3
2 2 Mat Kenwright St. Benedict 2 17:29.9
3 3 Joseph Welsh ECS 3 17:36.7
4 4 Matt Rider CBHS 4 17:41.6
5 5 Matt Grisham MUS 5 17:43.6
6 6 Josh Vieira MUS 6 17:44.5
7 7 Tyler Catterton CBHS 7 17:50.6
8 8 Jonathon Mace ECS 8 17:51.8
9 1 Stephen Williams St. George’s 9 17:54.5
10 9 Charles Christiansen St. Benedict 10 17:59.6
11 10 Morgan Prince CBHS 11 18:00.8
12 11 Jack McNelis CBHS 12 18:06.9
13 12 Brad Pitawankwat St. Benedict 13 18:09.2
14 13 Jared Elmer St. Benedict 14 18:10.9
15 14 Shea Gabrielleschi MUS 15 18:14.6
16 15 Jordan Griesbeck ECS 16 18:15.7
17 2 Ben Jenkins Harding Academy 17 18:17.3
18 16 Bryan Glazer CBHS 18 18:21.5
19 17 Matthew Murphy MUS 19 18:29.2
20 18 Ben Chandler ECS 20 18:29.5
21 19 Bradley Roelofs ECS 21 18:32.9
22 20 Alex Firehammer St. Benedict 22 18:34.9
23 21 Alan Blount MUS 23 18:38.5
24 22 Adrew Murphy CBHS 24 18:43.5
25 23 Jordan Cole ECS 25 18:45.9
26 3 Oliver Lange St. George’s 26 18:49.4
27 4 Andrew Garner Harding Academy 27 18:52.6
28 24 Mark Miller ECS 28 19:03.6
29 5 John Williams St. George’s 29 19:08.7
30 25 Kyle Treece St. Benedict 30 19:13.2