By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

A pair of Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference schools hosted cross country meets that drew a large contingent of Clermont County runners to campus.

Western Brown began the week by hosting the Jim Neu Invitational on Sept. 6. Bethel-Tate’s Jackson Coates placed second, finishing the event in just over 11 minutes. Batavia’s Nathan DeRose edged teammate Dylan Young by two seconds. The pair placed third and fourth, respectively. Luke Glenn led the way for New Richmond, finishing in 11:32.78 to cross the line in eighth place. Teammate Mason Hance finished eight seconds behind Glenn, with Goshen’s Michael Mason earning a 13th-place finish.

Felicity was led by Bradley Elkins, who finished with a time of 12:02.29. Glen Este’s Logan Westendorf led the Trojans with a time of 17:16.47.

The Lions won the team title, totaling 69 points. Batavia placed second with 80 points. Bethel-Tate (165), Felicity-Franklin (181) and Goshen (207) finished seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.

Jenna Burns led the Lady Lions, winning the race with a time of 12:50.15. Teammate Catie Biehle placed fourth, while Felicity-Franklin’s Kaitlyn Sharp earned a seventh-place finish. Avery Amundson led Goshen, placing 12th with a time of 15:32.42.

The Lady Lions capped off a New Richmond sweep, posting 57 points. Bethel-Tate finished third with 81 points while Felicity-Franklin came home in fifth place with 114.

Later in the week, teams returned to Washington Township Park for the 2016 Felicity-Franklin Cross Country Invitational. Coates placed first, finishing in 16:18.24. The Cardinals’ own Jared Boeckmann finished fourth, with Clermont Northeastern’s Seth Teaney placing sixth. Williamsburg’s Drake Jones earned a 12th-place nod, crossing the line in 18:58.76.

The Bethel-Tate Tigers won the team title, placing two runners in the top eight. Felicity-Franklin finished in fourth, with CNE totaling 149 points to finish in seventh.

In the girls’ varsity race, Sharp led all Clermont County runners with an eighth-place run. Bethel-Tate’s Jenna Carter finished in 11th, while Sharp’s teammate Madison Winter crossed the line in 24:02.42 to finish 13th.

The Lady Tigers finished in second, as Blanchester won the team title by placing five runners in the top 10 and seven in the top 20. Felicity-Franklin tallied 106 points to finish fifth, one ahead of Williamsburg.

New Richmond returned to action at the Mason Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 10. Burns won the girls’ event, finishing in 19:57.10. Beihle earned a 12th-place finish, propelling the Lady Lions to an overall finish of sixth place in the team standings with 153 points. Highlands High School, in Kentucky, won the girls’ title with 43 points.

Batavia’s Young led all local runners in the boys’ race, finishing in 18:37.90 to cross the line in 17th. DeRose finished in 27th for the Bulldogs, finishing 4.4 seconds ahead of New Richmond’s Mason Hance. Grant Winterkorn paced Goshen, finishing in 19:49.40 seconds and earning a 48th place finish out of 174 runners.

The Lions totaled 204 points, good for sixth in the team standings. Batavia’s 237 points slotted the Bulldogs in ninth place, while Goshen finished 16th as a team. Carroll won the team title with 41 points.

Amelia also competed in Mason. Morgan Walsh finished 14th out of 137 runners, posting a time of 20:29.10. The Lady Barons finished 16th in the team standings.

Milford’s girl’s team competed in Princeton’s Cross Country Invitational. The Lady Eagles finished fourth out of nine “big schools” in the event, led by Olivia Loeffler’s 12th-place finish. Teammate Andrea Armstrong finished roughly 11 seconds behind Loeffler in 15th place.

A pair of cross country meets are on the calendar this Saturday, Sept. 17. The Bethel-Tate Tigers are hosting the Bethel-Tate Invitational at Hill Intermediate School, located at 150 Fossyl Drive in Bethel. New Richmond, Amelia, Goshen, Batavia and Felicity are five of several schools expected to participate in the event, which begins at 9 a.m. with the junior high races.

Milford is also hosting a meet this weekend. The Milford Invitational begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Valley View Nature Preserve.