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(HANOVER, Ind.) -- The Lady Pacer Cross Country team competed in the Ohio River Valley Conference Championship race on Saturday at Hanover College and ran away with the 2023 team championship.
Led by Freshman Ellie Keith, the Lady Pacers placed four runners on the ORVC All-Conference team (top 12) en route to the program’s tenth conference championship in school history.
“I told the girls before the race that there are four team sports at Switzerland County with nine ORVC team titles, including the Lady Pacer cross country team,” says coach Tye Sullivan.
“Capturing a tenth team title today really speaks volumes for the rich history of this program and I am very excited for these kids.”
Keith covered the 3.1 mile course in 22:06, finishing in 3rd place overall out of 35 competitors, earning individual All-Conference honors.
Fellow soccer teammates, Claire Rogers and Lainie McAlister will join Keith on the All-Conference team, finishing in 22:14 (4th) and 23:20(8th), respectively.
All three Lady Pacers will take the field Saturday night as they compete for a third straight sectional championship in girls soccer.
Junior Ashlyn Covington secured her first All-Conference honors by finishing in 11th place in a time of 24:10.
“I am proud of Ashlyn today and her fight to get into the top 12,” says Sullivan. “Ashlyn has just missed the All-Conference in previous years and she was determined to put in the work to make it happen today.”
Amber Detmer rounded out the team scoring for the Lady Pacers, finishing in 24:42 (14th), just narrowly missing the top 12.
Carlee Boggs finished in 25:46 (17th), Jazmyn Blevins ran a personal best time of 25:58 (18th) and Icia Calvo finished in 29:18 (31st).
The Lady Pacers captured the team championship with 29 points over conference runner-up Southwestern with 42 points.
The Lady Pacers now shift their focus to next weekend’s IHSAA Sectional Championship at Hanover College where the Lady Pacers are considered one of the top teams competing.
“Right now the girls’ race is wide open and there are 3-4 teams that have a strong chance of bringing home the title,” says Sullivan. “I am just proud of the girls for putting in the work to even be in contention for a sectional championship.”
The top 5 teams and top 15 individuals (not on an advancing team) will move on to the IHSAA Regional at Southwestern (Shelbyville) on October 21.
