PHS girls win Bowling Green cross country meet
by Mark Cheffey
The PHS cross country teams prepared for this Saturday’s district meet by competing at the same venue in Bowling Green.
Running on the Pike County Fair Grounds course, the Palmyra girls took first place out of 10 teams.
Aly Noland
“We did well,” said Coach Nicholas Koetters, whose team scored 93 points to edge Russellville (95), Monroe City (98) and Clark County (99) for the top spot.
“We sat a couple kids trying to stay healthy for districts,” Koetters said. “But even without having one of our top runners the girls were still able to pull off the victory.
Aly Noland led the Lady Panthers with a time of 22:35.71, good enough for 10th place just ahead of teammate Lauren Sheputis, 11th place, at 22:38.65.
Also competing were Lydia Szarka, 22nd, 23:40.19; Bella Perkins, 23rd, 23:43.40; and Emily Malone, 47th, 25:06.20.
“Between all the races we ended up having six kids set personal records and six more kids run their fastest times of the year, so it was a great way for our JV kids to end their season, and it was a good way to lead into the postseason,” Koetters said.
On the boys side, Caleb Juette was the top finisher, coming in at 46th with a time of 20:49.05.
The boys and girls teams will compete in the Class 2, District 3 meet in Bowling Green Saturday along with Christian High School, Clark County, Elsberry, Highland, Mark Twain, Monroe City, Van-Far and Westran.
“We are excited about Saturday, and we hope to accomplish some big goals,” Koetters said.
Marion County’s Delaney Straus won the girls meet at Bowling Green with a time of 19:52.16.
