A group of Brown County kids is hoping for clear skies and dry trails this weekend as they head north to run in a national meet.
Seven Brown County runners ranging in age from 9 to 13 are participating in the USA Track & Field Cross-Country Nationals in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
The regional meet in this series, attracting more than a dozen teams from across the Midwest, took place at Brown County’s Eagle Park on Nov. 24. Nine local kids qualified to move on to nationals: Megan Cumberledge, Nathan Cumberledge, Sadie Hiatt, Jordyn Nicols, Kodi Smith, Case Smith and Cord Smith. Chloe Harsch and Grace George also qualified, but they will not be attending the national meet.
These runners are part of the Indiana Pathfinders team, which is affiliated with the Columbus Running Club. It’s not associated with Brown County Schools, but many of the members also run for their school teams. Chasity and Dan Smith of Brown County coach the local branch.
The Brown County group started meeting in the summer of 2017, and 13 runners qualified for nationals that very first year. Local kids also competed at the Amateur Athletic Union Cross Country Nationals in Knoxville, Tennessee last December.
The club starts practicing around late September or early October each year and runs three times per week at Eagle Park. All children ages 7 to 18 can participate. For more information, visit runcolumbus.org/youth-cross-country.
See the local runners’ times from the regional meet in this week’s Scoreboard.
