Outside The County-Maconaquah
Results from Maconaquah for Saturday, August 12th
Boys Varsity Cross Country finishes 27th place at Valley Cross Kickoff
The Maconaquah Running Braves kicked off their season at the Valley Cross Kickoff in Terre Haute, where they finished in 27th place out of 39 teams.
The Braves had 10 of their 11 runners cross the finish line today (senior Kaden Miller had state fair responsibilities). Five of the ten runners were running their first meet ever, including freshmen Jacob Bowman and Joel Loshnowsky, sophomores Drake Samuel and Jeffrey Wilson, and German foreign exchange student Janis Groeber.
Every Brave on the course put forth an excellent effort today despite hot and humid conditions. Scorers for the Braves included junior Daylen Schrock (54th, 17:38), senior Isaiah Moore (150th, 18:56), sophomore Kaden Hanson (183rd, 19:27), senior Isaiah Wittenberg (293rd, 21:20), and exchange student Janis Groeber (294th, 21:20).
The high point on the day was the leadership of senior Isaiah Wittenberg, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Because he could not run at full speed, Isaiah made it a point to run with the new runners on the team, essentially becoming an assistant coach on the course. Well done, Isaiah!
The Brave will run next Tuesday at Northwestern High School. Start time is 5:30 PM.
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Girls Varsity Cross Country finishes 18th place at Valley Cross Kickoff
The Maconaquah Lady Braves began their season on the Lavern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute (one of the most challenging courses in the country), where they finished in 18th place out of 35 teams, many of whom are some of the best teams in the state!
Eight girls ran today, while three others did not yet have enough practices to compete. Three of the girls (sophomores Elaina Montgomery, Cloe Gibbs, and Kyndal Collins) competed in their first cross country meet ever. All had a positive experience and will improve greatly throughout the season.
Scorers for the Lady Braves included senior Abby Jordan (16th place, 20:35), sophomore Zoie Laber (60th, 22:03), sophomore Chloe Jordan (133rd, 23:19), junior Lucy Loshnowsky (143rd, 23:34), and senior Kaylee Futrell (216th, 25:53).
The Lady Braves will run next on Tuesday at Northwestern High School. Start time is 5:30 PM.
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The Lady Braves shot a very respectable 373 on Saturday at the Franklin Invitational held at the The Legends Golf Course. The 373 was good enough for 7th place in the 21 team field. Due to a torrential downpour early in the morning and windy conditions the course played longer than the listed 5,600 yards
Leading the Braves was Junior Daisy Williams who shot 79 and tied for 12th place. Daisy played extremely well throughout the day and was just a couple of bad breaks from competing for the individual title. On her 1st hole soggy fairway conditions made it impossible for her to hit a solid wedge and her ball ended up in a creek. On her 14th hole she ht a tremendous drive that couldn’t be found leading to a lost ball and two stroke penalty. She did have a bit of luck on her 7th hole when she chipped in for birdie.
Senior Miranda Stoll was second on the team with an 85. Miranda has been working extremely hard on her putting this season and was also playing a new ball this weekend to help with her short game. The hard work is paying off as she chipped and putted much better than she had in recent weeks. She also was thinking her way around the course in good fashion as she knew to avoid shots that would possibly put her in pot bunkers or the rough. Her score put her in the top quarter of the field.
Junior Finley Dobbs was third on the team with a 103. Finley was very consistent in her round shooting 51-52. Finley was another player who had some trouble with the soggy fairways and had trouble hitting her wedges solidly. Despite this she scored and did open her round with an incredible tee shot on her second hole to three feet.
Freshman Aubry Stoll was fourth with a 106. Playing in the Franklin Invitational is a difficult task due to the quality of the field and the challenging course. Aubrey responded well by bouncing back from bad holes with a solid performance on the next. Due to a lack of experience, Aubrey struggled as the winds picked up, but her final score was respectable for only her second competitive 18 hole tournament.
Senior Haley Washburn was fifth on the team with a 109. She started her round well, but ran into trouble on the par 5 3rd hole when she got into a deep bunker and had trouble escaping. She was able to bounce back and improved by 11 strokes on her back nine (60-49). For the first time playing 18 holes, Haley did fantastic on the challenging Legends course.
The Lady Braves are back in action Tuesday (8/15/2023) versus Oak Hill at Arbor Trace Golf Course
As always the Lady Braves appreciate all the parents, family and friends that come and support the teams at each match.
