The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
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South Gibson Star-Times Fall Sports Preview Tuesday, August 16, 2022 C-7 Lady Titans field nine returning runners By James Capozella Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.net This year's Lady Titan var- sity Cross Country team fea- tures one senior in Keelyn Wilkerson, three juniors, five sophomores and one fresh- man. Gone from last year due to graduation are Taylor Hart, Olivia Pennington and Helen Kiesel. Hart was seventh in the Alan Hopewell Class In- vitational and Keelyn Wilker- son was 17th with Helen Kie- sel in 19th. In the freshman/sopho- more race Courtney Heldt was third with the best time for the Lady Titans. Elizabeth Steckler, Aleah Rexing, Pay- ton Stocker, Kennedy Ping and Emilee Bullock rounded out the top six Titan finishes in the Alan Hopewell fresh- man/sophomore class race. Back for the Lady Titans is senior Keelyn Wilkerson, ju- niors Courtney Heldt, Aleks Parmer and Kennedy Ping, Sophomores include Payton Stocker, Elizabeth Steckler, Aleah Rexing, Madalyn Davis and Bailey Baker. Lilly Spin- dler and Hadassah Hutchin- son are the two freshmen. At season's end, Court- ney Heldt finished sixth at the South Knox Sectional fol- lowed by teammates Eliza- beth Steckler in 17th, Olivia Pennington 26th, Aleah Rex- ing 29th, Aleksandra Parmer 37th and Helen Kiesel 41st. The girls finished sixth at the regional with Heldt turn- ing in a 20 :44 for 17th. Steck- ler was 32nd, Hart 41st, Pen- nington 44th, Rexing 57th, Parmer 70th and Kiesel 78th. Heldt went on to take 77th at the semi-state clocking 20 :34. Heldt and Olivia Penning- ton teamed for a ninth place in the Hokum Karem Relay during early competition last year. Taylor Hart and Eliz- abeth Steckler placed 19th and Keelyn Wilkerson and Aleah Rexing were 26th. The Harrison Invitational at An- gel Mounds came up next and then the Titans contested the Dennis Bays Warrior Invita- tional where Courtney Hel- dt placed third in the 27 team event. She clocked 21:33 with Olivia Pennington 22nd, Eliz- abeth Steckler 25th, and Tay- lor Hart 32nd. Lady Titan cross country coach Jeremy Aydt is in his 22nd year as a cross country coach and 19th year with both the titans and Lady Titans of Gibson Southern. His start in cross country for two years was with the St. James Cou- gars. Aydt continued his work for more than a decade while working with Alan Hopewell until his passing. Leadership for this year falls to senior Keelyn Wilker- son and juniors Courtney Hel- dt, Aleks Parmer and Kenne- dy Ping. Also joining the team as managers are seniors Lily Evetts and Ruthie Mercer. Junior Courtney Heldt has turned in the fastest times and best finishes for the girls in- cluding a 20 :44 at regional and a 20 :38 at semi-state. Senior Keelyn Wilkerson ran 17th at the Alan Hopewell Class followed by Helen Kiesel in 19th place in the upper class division. Heldt ran a 20 :53.6 to third place in the fresh- man/sophomore division and Elizabeth Steckler was 13th in 22:13.5. Aleah Rex- ing took 22nd in 23:27.6 fol- lowed by Payton Stockton in 32nd clocking 26:21.1. Ken- nedy Ping was 33rd in 27:01.5 with Emilee Bullock 34th in 27:18.0. The girls join the boys in the BC Harrier Class at Re- itz on Saturday, August 20 at 8:15am. September 1 the two teams host the Alan Hopewell Class Invitational beginning at 4:45pm. Lady Titan cross country coach Jeremy Aydt comment- ed, "We are looking forward to kicking off the new season. We host our second annual Hokum Karem relay meet on August 13. We set our goals for both groups. We want to compete for a Pocket Athlet- ic Conference and sectional championship knowing that in order to achieve these goals we have to get better each and every day." "The boys and girls have been working hard during our first few weeks of practice. The successes we had during track and the summer train- ing should roll us into a suc- cessful fall season." Titan boys Cross Country returns strong By James Capozella Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com Hayden Pennington, Coo- per Maurer, Alex Spindler, Isaac Pohl, Lucas Kissel, Johnathan Spindler and Eli Maikranz made their pres- ence known early last year as sophomores and Ethan Spin- dler became a top three run- ner for the team as a junior. Sophomores Luke Snyder, Neil Long, Aiden Loveless and freshman Noah Wagener were also a part of those who finished strong in last year's Alan Hopewell Class Invita- tional. Gone from last year's squad due to graduation are John Burnor, Griffin Mercer and Riley Clark. Pennington won the Alan Hopewell freshman/sopho- more class race with the best time of the day for either class and Maurer and Spindler were second and third in that fresh- man/sophomore race. Pen- nington went on to grab the second place medal at the South Knox Sectional, clock- ing 18:00.5. Alex Spindler was right there at third over- all in 18:04.6 and Ethan Spin- dler claimed sixth overall in 18:27.4. He also was the top Titan runner in the junior/se- nior class race. Alex Spindler placed 16th in the regional clocking 17:10 and Penning- ton was 19th in 17:14. Ethan Spindler broke 18 minutes with a 17:57 and 34th place. Isaac Pohl, Lucas Kissel, Eli Maikranz and Cooper Maurer were the other Titan finishers. The Titans finished third in last year's first-ever Ho- kum Karem Relays at Gib- son Southern with fourth, 10th, 16th and 30th relays. Hayden Pennington and Coo- per Maurer teamed for a 27:09 for fourth and Alex Spindler and Ethan Spindler ran tenth, clocking 28:36. Johnathan Spindler and Lucas Kissel placed sixteenth in 29:18 and Isaac Pohl and Lucian Wicker were 30th. Noah Wagener and Luke Snyder placed 42nd and John Burnor and Griffin Mer- cer were 43rd. The boys finished seventh out of 19 teams in the Den- nis Bays Warrior Invitation- al last year. Hayden Penning- ton turned in a time of 17:22 for ninth place in the 19 team event. Cooper Maurer was 18th in 18:05 and Alex Spin- dler scored 24th in 18:23. Ethan Spindler was 5th in 19:26 and Isaac Pohl was 76th with a time of 20 :09. This year's Titan cross country team is composed of one senior in Ethan Spindler, nine juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Returning juniors include Lucas Kissel, Aiden Loveless, Eli Maikranz, Maurer Cooper, Pennington, Isaac Pohl, Alex Spindler, Johnathon Spindler and Lucian Wicker. These nine juniors make up the bulk of the 14 Gibson Southern run- ners. Taylor Brundage and Noah Wagener are sophomores and Giles Maddox and Owen Mer- cer are freshmen. Back from last year are senior managers Lily Evetts and Ruthie Mercer. Hayden Pennington, Coo- per Maurer and Alex Spin- dler finished together in Sat- urday's Watermelon Run fol- lowed closely by former Titan standout Travis Hart. Titans Isaac Pohl, Jonathon Spindler, Eli Maikranz, Lucian Wicker, Taylor Brundage, Aiden Love- less and Noah Wagener par- ticipated and had finishes in the top 50 percent. Ethan Spin- dler is the only senior on this year's squad. A fter hosting the Hokum Karem this past Saturday, they will compete at the Re- itz BC Harrier Classic on Sat- urday, August 20 starting at 8:15 a.m. They host the Al- an Hopewell Class Invitation- al on September 1 beginning at 4:45pm. Titan cross country coach Jeremy Aydt commented, "We are looking forward to kicking off the new season. We host our second annual Hokum Karem relay meet on August 13. We set our goals for both groups. We want to compete for a Pocket Athletic Confer- ence and sectional champion- ship knowing that in order to achieve these goals we have to get better each and every day. "The boys and girls have been working hard during our first few weeks of practice. The successes we had during track and the summer train- ing should roll us into a suc- cessful fall season." The Gibson Southern 2022 girls cross country team members are, front row (l to r): Kennedy Ping, Elizabeth Steckler, Aleks Parmer, Bailey Baker and Payton Stock- er; back row: Courtney Heldt, Aleah Rexing, Madalyn Davis, Lilly Spindler, Hadassah Hutchinson and Keelyn Wilkerson. The Gibson Southern 2022 boys cross country team members are, front row (l to r): Aiden Loveless, Lucian Wicker, Isaac Pohl, Johnathon Spindler, Noah Wagener, Taylor Brundage and Maddox Giles; back row: Owen Mercer, , Alex Spindler, Hayden Pennington, Lucas Kissel, Cooper Maurer and Eli Maikranz. COED CROSS COUNTRY ❚ Saturday, Aug. 20 — BC Harrier Classic — 8:15 a.m. at Brown County ❚ Thursday, Sept. 1 — Alan Hopewell Class Invitational — 5 p.m. at Gibson Southern ❚ Saturday, Sept. 10 — Heritage Hills Invite — 9 a.m. at Heritage Hills ❚ Saturday, Sept. 17 — South Knox Invitational — 9:30 a.m. at South Knox ❚ Tuesday, Sept. 20 — Triangular (North Posey/ Signature) — 4:45 p.m. at Gibson Southern ❚ Saturday, Sept. 24 — Pike Central Invitational — 9:30 a.m. at Pike Central ❚ Saturday, Oct. 1 — PAC Meet — 10:30 a.m. at Gibson Southern Ethan Spindler WE SHIP VIA 756 E. STATE RD. 68, HAUBSTADT • 812-768-6104 M-F 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat. 7 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Great low prices. By combining the buying strength of thousands of Do It Best stores, you get great low prices on quality top-name brands. 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