Clay City finishes regular season at soggy Shakamak Invitational

Clay City's Anna Duckwall, who has slid into the No. 1 spot for the Lady Eels since Ashley Martinez-Morales went down with an injury on Sept. 10, led the way again at the Shakamak Invitational. The freshmen finished 22nd overall with a time of 23:59.

Adler Ingalsbe photo

Clay City’s cross country teams wrapped up the regular season Saturday morning at the Shakamak Invitational where the footing was a muddy mess after the reminiscence of Hurricane Helene swept through the state Friday.

Still, the Eels were able to have some strong showings as the boys team finished third behind only Cascade and Eastern Greene while the girls team finished sixth behind Eastern Greene, Owen Valley, North Daviess, Cascade and Sullivan.

Leading the way for the boys was Jayden Hickenbotham. The senior standout finished eighth with a time of 17:57. He was joined in the top 20 by Luke Swearingen, who finished 11th with a time of 18:00, and Brayden Wiram, who finished 20th with a time of 18:51. Right behind Wiram was a swarm of Eels that included Luke Laswell (21st with a time of 18:53), Brady Hauer (22nd with a time of 18:54) and Alex Edwards (30th with a time of 19:56).

Rounding out the day for Clay City’s boys team was Jack Edwards (37th with a time of 20:15), Reed Sawyer (52nd with a time of 21:37), Elliott Corbin (53rd with a time of 21:52) and Ethan Schopmeyer (54th with a time of 21:54).

On the girls side, it was Anna Duckwall, who finished 22nd with a time of 23:59, in front again. Fellow freshmen Shelby Hofmann, who finished 35th with a time of 25:19, and Sydney Lowdermilk, who finished 36th with a time of 25:24, each cracked the race’s top 40 while the contingent of experienced veterans, which included Tessa Stagg (42nd with a time of 25:54), Millie Withers (44th with a time of 25:57), Lydia Grant (45th with a time of 26:27), Jenna Hofmann (48th with a time of 26:55) and Olivia Shidler (51st with a time of 27:35), capped another productive day for Clay City.

Up next for both teams is a full week away from racing. After that, it’s onto the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference meet that’s back at Shakamak High School on Oct. 12 before the Eels embark on the state tournament, beginning with the sectional held at LaVern Gibson Championship Course on Oct. 19.