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Wilson wins semistate, earns third trip to finals
Edwards sets Eagle record
SHELBYVILLE — Emma Wilson of Greencastle continued her perfect season on Saturday by winning her first-ever cross country semistate title at Shelbyville, qualifying her for the IHSAA state finals on Saturday at Terre Haute for the third straight year.
Wilson won in a time of 17:41.4, defeating runnerup Phoebe Bates of Carmel by 10.9 seconds.
“Emma ran well to win the semistate title,” Greencastle coach Craig Jordan said. “She looked pretty comfortable throughout the race so I’m excited to see how she’ll compete on Saturday at State. She’s raced on that course twice this season and the weather forecast looks like it’ll produce fast times.
Others competing in the semistate were Cloverdale’s Lily Monnett and Chelsie Edwards and Lillie Stein of South Putnam in the girls’ race and South Putnam’s Austin Rumley and Greencastle’s Ben Gellman in the boys’ race.
South Putnam coach Brandon Welti did not see either of his runners advance past the semistate, but was pleased with their performances.
“This was the final race of the season for South Putnam runners, and overall it was a great experience,” Welti said. “The weather was nice and the competition was great, making it a perfect day to run fast.”
Welti noted that Edwards, who placed 88th overall, set a new personal and school record with her time of 20:17.5.
“Chelsie also got out to a strong start and was able to battle through the last portion of the race in order to beat the previous record of 20:23,” Welti said. “Beating this record was a goal for Chelsie all season long, and it was great to see her accomplish this in her last race of the year.”
Senior Lillie Stein also had her final race of her high school cross country, Welti noted, but an injury prevented it from going the way she had hoped.
“Lillie was off to a great start and was on pace for a new personal record,” he said. “However, with about a mile to go, a leg injury forced her to withdraw from the race. Nonetheless, it was a great season for Lillie, especially considering how this was only her first season of running XC.”
Monnett was the 21st-fastest freshman among the 182 runners who completed the race, finishing 120th overall in 20:59.1.
In the boys’ race, Rumley paced the Putnam County entrants by placing 58th in a time of 16:34.
“Austin was able to end things on a positive note,” Welti said. He got out fast and kept his foot on the gas, finishing with a new personal best time.”
Gellman finished 111th in 17:11.8.
“Ben is a hard worker, so it was awesome to see him accomplish everything he did this season,” Jordan said. “He met 99 percent of his goals and currently holds a 9-10 record with his training partner [Wilson]. I look forward to seeing what he’ll do on the track.”
Wilson will compete for the third straight year at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course east of Terre Haute, where she finished eighth in each of the past two years.