Horn, Sinclair lead NCMS at WIC championship with top-five finishes

North Clay Middle School's Lauren Horn (left) and Easton Sinclair (right) each finished in the top five of their respective race to help lead the Knights at the Western Indiana Conference championship race.

Contributed photo

On Thursday night in Ellettsville, North Clay Middle School’s cross country teams concluded their strong seasons at the Western Indiana Conference championship meet.

There, the boys team finished second behind only Indian Creek while the girls team finished third behind Brown County and Indian Creek, showcasing the talent the high school programs, which have fared well again this fall, have coming through the pipeline in the coming years.

In the boys race, it was Easton Sinclair that led the way. Sinclair finished fourth with a time of 11:04. He was joined in the top 15 by Nathaniel Bebee, who finished ninth with a time of 11:40, and Emmett Heiliger, who finished 13th with a time of 12:06. Behind the trio included Jack Mullenix (20th with a time of 12:26), Easton Kooistra (21st with a time of 12:27), Colton Gardiner (28th with a time of 12:40) and Landon Brewer (32nd with a time of 12:52).

On the girls side, Lauren Horn paced the Lady Knights with her second-place finish in a time of 12:34. Like in the boys race, there were two other runners for North Clay – Layney Hughes, who finished eighth with a time of 13:01, and Blakeley Hughes, who finished 14th with a time of 13:14 – in the girls race that also earned top-15 placements. Rounding out the evening for North Clay included Emma LeBrun (22nd with a time of 13:58), Kenley Hughes (25th with a time of 14:12), Hailey Ogborn (27th with a time of 14:27) and Ava Vencel (39th with a time of 15:04).