New Richmond's Jenna Burns (left) won the girls' 5K event at the SBAAC Cross Country Championships at Western Brown High School on Saturday, Oct. 14. Bethel-Tate's Jackson Coates (right) posted the fastest time in the boys' National Division.

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New Richmond's Jenna Burns (left) won the girls' 5K event at the SBAAC Cross Country Championships at Western Brown High School on Saturday, Oct. 14. Bethel-Tate's Jackson Coates (right) posted the fastest time in the boys' National Division.

By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor

Clermont County swept the boys’ cross-country championships at the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference meet at Western Brown High School on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Jackson Coates paced Bethel-Tate to a first-place finish in the National Division, finishing first overall out of both divisions with a time of 17:17.64. Felicity’s Jared Boeckmann (17:23.48) and Brayden Sponcil (17:47.96) placed second and third in the National Division.

Coates’ teammate, Sam Frondorf, placed sixth overall for Bethel-Tate. Clermont Northeastern’s Seth Teaney placed eighth overall, two spots ahead of Bethel-Tate’s Noah Rees.

Putting three runners in the top 10 finishers helped Bethel-Tate keep their team score low. The Tigers finished with just 39 points, besting Blanchester by 21. Felicity-Franklin placed third with 62 points. CNE placed fifth, with Williamsburg in sixth place.

In the American Division, Wilmington’s Simon Heys won the individual race with a 16:58.30. New Richmond’s Ryan Wolf placed fourth overall, less than a second ahead of Batavia’s Ridge Cook. Nathan DeRose (18:04.22) and Ethan Clark (18:08.44) also earned top-10 finishes for the Bulldogs.

However, Brady Jenkins, Luke Jaehnen and Austin Ruhstaller finished 10th, 11th and 12th for New Richmond to help the Lions to the team title. Goshen was led by a 13th-place finish by Grant Winterkorn.

The Lions edged Western Brown for the team title by four points, 52-56. Batavia placed third with 64 points, and Goshen finished fifth.

In the girls’ event, which was ran first, a pair of Lady Lions led the way overall but Western Brown was able to rally for the team title, finishing with 40 points to New Richmond’s 52.

Jenna Burns won the race for the Lady Lions, finishing in 19:46.19. Caitie Biehle placed third, with Goshen’s Erin Ashley bringing home fourth place. Batavia’s Morgan Cravens placed fifth. Teammate Madilyn Flandermeyer finished 10th.

Batavia placed third in the team standings with 58 points. Goshen tallied 98 points in a fourth-place effort.

The National Division was controlled by Blanchester, who put runners in both first and second. Felicity’s Madison Winter and Kaitlyn Sharp both placed in the top five, with Winter fourth and Sharp in fifth place. Kylie Hoerth led CNE with a 10th-place finish, right behind the Williamsburg duo of Emily Hart and Belle Middendorf. Bethel-Tate’s Jenna Carter and Allison Parks placed sixth and seventh, respectively.

Blanchester’s 54 points were good for the team title. Bethel-Tate tied for second with Georgetown at 67, with Sadie Baker’s 25th-place finish the tiebreaker.

In the junior high race, Goshen’s Alec Amundson won the 3K with a time of 11:01.95. Batavia’s Brandon Sauter placed third, with Bethel-Tate’s Thomas Eyre and Milford’s Hayden Hollins completing the top five.

Western Brown won the team title by four points over New Richmond. Batavia placed third, with Williamsburg (4th), Goshen (5th) and Bethel-Tate (7th) all finishing in the top 10.

Meanwhile, former Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference competitors were battling in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference meet.

Former Amelia standouts Maddie Walker and Morgan Walsh competed in the girls’ varsity race, with Walker the victor and Walsh a fourth-place finisher. Milford’s Andrea Armstrong placed 21st to lead the Lady Eagles, who finished the meet in fifth place as a team. Their 142 points tied them with Loveland for fourth, and put them two ahead of Walnut Hills for sixth.

In the boys’ varsity race, Milford’s Harris Craycraft placed 12th, while West Clermont’s Davis LaGana earned a 28th-place finish.

The Eagles and Wolves were sixth and seventh respectively.