Thirteen ACS athletes in middle school and high school participated in several cross country meets this fall and finished the season undefeated, in a club program that has been expanding for several years. The ACS team took first place in two 5K meets against King’s Christian School in October and in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference meet on November 6.
“We are building a cross country program in the hopes of making it a full-fledged team sport in the near future,” said Athletic Director Pam Hitchner. “We are very pleased with the success of our athletes this season and look forward to seeing more students participate next year.” Hitchner said King’s Christian School was the only other school in the TSCAC with a cross country program and hopes to see more schools field teams in the future.
At the TSCAC meet on November 6 held at Pilgrim Academy, 12th grader Shane Schweppenheiser took first place in the high school boys’ division, with a time of 24:01, 9th grader Isabel Alford placed first in the high school girls’ division, with a time of 24:03, and 12th grader Caeli Barbour came in a close second, with a time of 24:18. At the middle school level, 7th grader Kalee Tardif won first place in the girls’ division, with a time of 25:48, and 7th grader Ethan Costello placed third in the boys’ division, with a time of 23:15.
Other top runners on the ACS team included 11th grader Cruz Lewis, who took first place in the 5K meet on October 6 against King’s Christian, with a time of 18:23; 9th grader Jayden Sanchez, who finished second in that race, with a time of 20:17; 7th grader Justice Settles, who placed second among middle school boys, with a time of 21:21; and 7th grader Ashlee Alford, who placed first among middle school girls, with a time of 25:26.
As part of Homecoming 2021, ACS also added a new 5K cross country race. PE Teacher Josh Clark, who helped oversee the club, created the course for the race, which can now be used for future meets.
Congratulations to all the athletes who participated in this memorable season: Ashlee Alford, Isabell Alford, Liam Aspenberg, Caeli Barbour, Gabe Correa, Ethan Costello, Micah D’Anna, Cruz Lewis, Christian Pineo, Jayden Sanchez, Shane Schweppenheiser, Justice Settles, and Kalee Tardif.
Ten middle school and high school athletes competed in a cross country meet with King’s Christian School on November 13 and the ACS team won the meet, with 10th grader Tommy Ellison coming in first place overall, finishing the 3.1 mile course in 19:42 minutes.
