Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley junior-high cross country team opened its season on Saturday, traveling to Southwestern (Shelbyville) to compete in the Jeremy Wright Memorial Small Schools XC Invitational. Though the Blackhawks were competing in a large field, they were able to get positive results. In the boys' race, Dane Harris and Guy Purkhiser led the charge for Springs Valley. The former placed 17th, winning a ribbon with a time of 12:30.3, while the latter's time of 12:43.9 earned him a 22nd-place finish and a new course personal record. The other Blackhawk boys to crack the top 100 were Noah Harris and Elijah Bradley. The finished 84th and 95th respectively. Behind them Henry Goldman placed 110th, Zadyn Cave placed 116th, Eli Painter placed 117th, Jacob Harris placed 123rd, Alex Hunt placed 125th and Chase Sexton set a new course personal record with a time of 21:32.33 to place 137th. Each of Bradley, Painter and Hunt were competing in their first cross country races. In the girls' race it was Sadie Hall who finished first for Springs Valley, placing 51st with a course-personal-record time of 16:05.57. Other Blackhawks to run in the top 100 were Belle Roberts (63rd), Paisleigh Roberts (80th), and Mina Wolford (94th). Capree Purkhiser finished 101st, Mikaya West finished 103rd, Lana Brown placed 118th, Sophia Cox was 123rd, and Arabelle Willett rounded out the race for the 'Hawks at 133rd. Wolford, West, Cox and Willett were all first-time competitors. "We are extremely proud of the effort of each athlete on Saturday," Springs Valley coach Justin Harris said. "They did an awesome job and hopefully gained a lot of experience from the meet." The Blackhawks will compete again on Thursday, traveling to North Harrison for an invitational with a 6 p.m. start time.