New Palestine High School

The New Palestine cross country teams both advanced to the regional with strong performances at Saturday's Mt. Vernon sectional. The Dragons girls placed fourth with 113 places. Courtney Study led the Dragons with a ninth-place finish, posting a time of 20:27.5. Alexis Baynes was 19th (21:10.7), Cami Massari 28th (22:12.2), Edie Schwarb 30th (22:24.4) and Heidi Bloomer 31st (22:30.6). Franklin Central won the sectional title with 17 places, beating Mt. Vernon (55), Roncalli (66), the Dragons and Greenfield-Central (123). The top five teams advance to the regional. The Dragons boys placed fifth out of 11 teams to also advance, tallying 159 places. The Dragons finished eight places ahead of Eastern Hancock to clinch a regional spot. Franklin Central (29) won the sectional title ahead of Greenfield-Central (68). Mt. Vernon (80) and Roncalli (96) also clinched regional spots. The Dragons were consistent, led by sophomore Jacob Cooper, who ran the 5K course in 17:43.6 to finish 27th. Cody Crawmer finished 28th in 17:48.7, Gavin Smith 30th in 17:52.1, Jacob Collins 36th in 18:14.6 and Sam Ragsdale 38th in 18:29.1. Both teams will compete in next week's Rushville regional.