Clay City edges out Eastern Greene to win third straight SWIAC crown

At the start of every high school cross country season, Clay City boys head coach Cole Schroer goes over the goals he has for that year’s team.

Regardless of the experience the group has or the talent that’s spread throughout the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference, Schroer’s No. 1 goal always remains the same – winning the conference championship.

The Eels accomplished the feat in back-to-back years entering Saturday’s meet at Shakamak High School.

And by edging out Eastern Greene (45) by one point, Clay City (44) made it a three-peat.

In such a tight race, every single placement was vital in Clay City bringing home the hardware once again. Jayden Hickenbotham (fifth-place with a time of 17:32) and Luke Swearingen (eighth-place with a time of 17:41) led the way with top-10 finishes, respectively, although the Brayden Wiram (11th with a time of 18:06), Luke Laswell (12th with a time of 18:29) and Brady Hauer (13th with a time of 18:31) crossing the finish line consecutively, especially with Eastern Greene’s No. 4 and 5 runners finishing directly behind them, may have been what ultimately clinched the Eels their third straight title.

Alex Edwards (16th with a time of 18:55), Reed Sawyer (26th with a time of 20:00) and Jack Edwards (28th with a time of 20:41) rounded out the morning for Clay City’s boys team.

On the girls side, the Lady Eels brought back Ashley Martinez-Morales, who hadn’t raced since the Clay City Invitational on Sept. 10 and was in the process of knocking off the rust after missing over one month of action. Still, Clay City finished fourth behind only Eastern Greene, North Daviess and Linton.

It was a pair of freshmen in Anna Duckwall, who finished 12th with a time of 22:38, and Shelby Hofmann, who finished 20th with a time of 23:52, that paved the way for the rest of the team in their conference championship debuts. Behind them included Tessa Stagg (26th with a time of 24:53), Martinez-Morales (28th with a time of 25:10), Sydney Lowdermilk (30th with a time of 25:34), Lydia Grant (31st with a time of 25:44) and Millie Withers (32nd with a time of 25:53).

Both teams will now turn their full attention to next weekend’s sectional championship race held at LaVern Gibson Championship Course as they vie for a top-five finish in the team standings to advance onto the regional round of the state tournament.