Ansonia Cross County on the move

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COVINGTON – The Ansonia High School and Junior High Cross Country teams competed at the Cross County Conference Championships this past Saturday.

“We were blessed with a great day today,” said Ansonia coach, Jason Wright. “I have watched our kids all season commit to working hard every day in practice. Days like today prove that all of the work that is put in actually produces results. I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”

The high school boys cross country team had a solid performance to cap off the 2020 regular season. The Tigers were led by senior, Chad Millikin with an 18:58 finish. Andrew Thornhill [Jr], Matt Barga [Fr], Kyle Thornhill [Sr], and Cody Williams [Sr] polished off the top five finishers for Ansonia. The boys team finished in 7th place, besting their CCC placing from last season.

Ansonia High School Boys:

Chad Millikin 18:58 PR

Andrew Thornhill 19:18 PR

Matt Barga 19:31 PR

Kyle Thornhill 19:51 PR

Cody Williams 19:59

Ian Brown 20:52

Matt Lee 22:08

Scott Ritchie 25:56

The Ansonia Lady Tigers finished in 4th place behind the charge of Peyton Billenstein’s 21:30 all conference performance. Six personal records helped rocket the Tigers to a strong conference finish.

Ansonia High School Lady Tigers:

Peyton Billenstein 21:30 [6th place overall / 1st team all CCC]

Kierra Reichert 22:58 PR

Lydia Snyder 24:29 PR

Meghan Brown 24:45 PR

Annie Bubeck 24:58 PR

Alliyah Hall 25:06

Mariah Troutwine 25:15

Ellie Pierre 25:41 PR

Emily Wright 26:04

Deanna Moody 26:41 PR

Emily Kelly 26:49

Ansonia Junior High Boys:

Ethan Sparks 12:36 PR and new school record

Luken Longenecker 13:35 PR

Gavin Stachler 14:27 PR

Gavin Moody 14:48 PR

“It was great to see all of our junior high boys compete so well today,” said Ansonia coach Jason Wright. “They have worked tremendously hard this season, and to go out with a PR is a great capstone.”

“Ethan has flirted with the school record in the past,” Wright added. “He was close last season a few times, but was really hungry to come out and give it one more run. I was so happy for him to break the record on his final junior high race.”

The Junior High Lady Tigers ended their season with a bang as they brought home the CCC Championship title. The ladies were led by Ava Barnett with a personal best time of 13:14. Olivia Schmitmeyer, Rose Barga, Lydia Hahn, and Kiera Spencer crossed the tape close behind, propelling the Tigers to their first cross country conference title since 2008.

Lady Tigers Junior High Girls:

Ava Barnett 13:14 PR

Olivia Schmitmeyer 13:19 PR

Rose Barga 13:38 PR

Lydia Hahn 13:50

Kiera Spencer 14:23 PR

Team finished in 1st place

“This was a special group of girls we were blessed with this season,” stated Coach Wright. “They have an insatiable work ethic and love to compete. It showed every day in practice and translated over to the course today.”

“Our goal for this team, for this program, is to simply get better. Improve,” Wright said of the 2020 Ansonia Cross Country program. “Each race. Each season. Ultimately, that should be our goal for everything that we pursue in life. Work hard, learn, and be a better version tomorrow than what you were today. Sometimes it is not a fun process, but in the end when you look back and see how far you have come, you realize the growth and development that has taken place.”

“In terms of our program, I think we are seeing signs of movement in the right direction,” Coach Wright condluded. “Both our high school boys and high school girls teams finished in higher standings in the conference than what they did last year. And our junior high programs that feed in to our high school teams are displaying all the right attributes for success. I think that there is a lot to look forward to here at Ansonia in years to come.”

Ansonia will compete at the District competition this coming Saturday at Cedarville.

Ansonia cross country runner, Melanie Kutter.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_web1_thumbnail_Melanie_Kutter-1.jpgAnsonia cross country runner, Melanie Kutter.

Ansonia Tigers’ cross country runner, Chad Milikin.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_web1_Chad_Milikin-1.jpgAnsonia Tigers’ cross country runner, Chad Milikin.

Ansonia Lady Tigers’ Mariah Troutwine.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_web1_thumbnail_Mariah_Troutwine-1.jpgAnsonia Lady Tigers’ Mariah Troutwine.

By Gaylen Blosser

DarkeCountyMedia.com

Contact Darke County Media Sports Editor Gaylen Blosser at [email protected] or 937-569-0122

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