Shelbyville cross country closed out its regular-season schedule Saturday morning with a pair of strong performances at the Dragon Invitational in New Palestine.

With a pair of top-10 finishes, Shelbyville finished runner-up in the girls standings behind New Palestine, 27-59. Beech Grove was third (69) and Cascade placed fourth (73). Also competing in the invitational but not fielding enough runners for a team score were Bethesda Christian and Indianapolis Lutheran.

Shelbyville’s Hannah Wright (main photo) completed the course in 21 minutes, 56 seconds to secure a fourth-place finish. Aerin Garcia Santiago placed ninth in 23:03.

Also scoring points for the Golden Bears were Kathryn Seal (16^th, 24:35), Courtney Gross (22^nd, 26:32) and Sydney Dudgeon (24^th, 27:38).

New Palestine’s Courtney Study won the race in 21:01.

Shelbyville finished third in the boys team standings with 63 points. New Palestine won the team title with 36 points. Cascade was runner-up at 40. Beech Grove finished fourth (100) with Bethesda Christian and Lutheran not fielding full teams.

Three Golden Bears placed in the top 15. Blake Hughes (photo) was seventh overall in 18:42. Shia Veach finished 13^th (19:16) and Logan Reinhart was 14^th (19:24). Also scoring for Shelbyville were Gavin Harker (18^th, 20:01) and Ben Hinojosa (22^nd, 20:33).

New Palestine’s Jake Cooper won the boys individual title with a time of 17:23.

Shelbyville will host a 16-team sectional Saturday at Blue River Memorial Park’s cross country course. The top 15 individuals from non-advancing teams and the first five qualifying teams from the sectional advance to the regional race.

Competing at the Shelbyville Sectional will be Center Grove, Decatur Central, Edinburgh, Franklin, Greenwood Christian, Greenwood, Indian Creek, Mooresville, Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Southport, Southwestern, Triton Central, Waldron and Whiteland.

Morristown is assigned to the Mt. Vernon Sectional this season.

Shelbyville also will host the regional races at Blue River Memorial Park on Oct. 21. There are no semistate races in 2023. The top 15 individuals from non-advancing teams and the first five qualifying teams at each regional advance to this year’s state finals.

In other prep events Saturday:

Cross Country

Mid-Hoosier Conference Championships

Waldron had four of the top-10 finishers on its home course Saturday to secure the MHC girls cross country championship.

The Mohawks’ 32 points held off North Decatur (40) and South Decatur (53) – the only other schools to field complete teams.

Waldron’s Riley Price (photo, below) won the MHC title after crossing the finish line in 22:10. She was followed by teammates Sophie Hudnall (4^th in 24:03), Avery Haehl (6^th in 24:05), Audrey Hogg (9^th in 24:58) and Grace Fischer (23^rd in 29:05).

Morristown’s Grace McLaughlin and Audrey Van Dyke finished second and third, respectively, in 23:17 and 23:30.

Southwestern’s Maxine Higdon placed 14^th in 26:34. Fellow Spartan Kyndra King placed 24^th in 30:27.

Waldron’s Will Larrison (photo, above) won the boys race in 16:43 but Hauser had five runners finish in the top 12 to secure the MHC boys championship.

The Jets’ 30 points held off Waldron by eight points. South Decatur (88), Morristown (93) and North Decatur (103) rounded out the team standings.

Following Larrison across the finish line for Waldron were Jared Crosby (4^th in 17:35), Nathaniel Evans (6^th in 18:30), Teegan Ervine (9^th in 18:40) and Sam Jones (22^nd in 19:58).

Competing for Morristown were Ryan Crisman (11^th in 19:02), Thane Cole (19^th in 19:39), Bradley Theobald (21^st in 19:53), Max Compton (28^th in 20:28) and Lexi Singh (29^th in 20:29).

For Southwestern, Jackson Bentz placed eighth in 18:40. Dakota Claiborne finished 18^th in 19:27. Chris Claiborne was 26^th in 20:26.

Morristown won the Junior High girls MHC championship with 23 points. Hauser (36), Waldron (84). Southwestern (93) and North Decatur (105) completed the team standings.

Morristown’s top five performers were Jo Kuhn (1^st in 12:37), Brooke Kuhn (4^th in 13:14), Gracie Theobald (5^th in 13:24), Sawyer Rogers (8^th in 13:49) and Bailey Willard (9^th in 13:50).

Waldron was led by Kassidy Meulen’s 14^th-place performance (14:14).

Harper McInerny led Southwestern with a 10^th-place finish (13:52).

Waldron and Southwestern finished third and fourth, respectively, in the Junior High boys team standings. Hauser won the title with 16 points. North Decatur was runner-up at 67, ahead of the Mohawks (74) and Spartans (80).

Jacob Kuhn finished 5^th for Waldron in 12:08.

Southwestern’s Brynson Harrison was 16^th in 13:37.

Morristown’s Carter Bell placed 13^th in 13:13.

Hauser’s Jace Wright won the boys race in 11:10.

Volleyball

Lawrence North Invitational

Shelbyville finished 0-3 at the invitational to close out its regular-season record at 2-27.

The Golden Bears lost to Lawrence North (25-12, 25-16). Jasmine Glenn led the Wildcats (19-12) with seven kills.

Mt. Vernon defeated Shelbyville, 25-22, 25-17. The Wildcats, located in Mt. Vernon, Indiana, are 12-14 this season.

In its final match, the Golden Bears were bested by New Albany, 25-15, 25-11. Callie Loesch led the Bulldogs (19-12) with six kills.

Shelbyville will face Columbus North  (15-12) Thursday in the second quarterfinal match of the Franklin Sectional.

Steve Bush photos of Shelbyville cross country

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