Hinrichs, Wolfe go 1-2, Schmauch soars to third in Centralia Invitational

Fulton, New Bloomfield and North Callaway all had a runner finish in the top three Tuesday at the Centralia Invitational.

New Bloomfield's Nathan Hinrichs remained unbeaten with his first-place time of 17:03.0, and Fulton's Shaun Wolfe finished just behind Hinrichs with his time of 17:11.60. In the girls race, North Callaway's Pressley Schmauch ran to the third-place time of 20:54.70.

Hinrichs' fellow Wildcat senior Brian Figard was the other boy to finish in the top 20 with his 18th-place time of 18:34.00.

Fulton had five appear in the top 20, starting with Wolfe and then was followed by freshman Noah Thompson in 9th with a 18:07.30, sophomore Devin Merritt in 14th with a 18:20.90, sophomore Kai Foster in 15th with a 18:22.30 and freshman Noah Combs in 20th with a 18:40.20.

The Hornets took the team title with a score of 45, just three points ahead of Centralia. New Bloomfield finished in fourth with 117 points while North Callaway was sixth with its 134 points. The Thunderbirds' highest boy finisher was senior Brendan Reinhard in 25th with a time of 18:56.80.

The Ladybirds, on the other hand, finished second with 70 points behind first-place Centralia with its 37 points. Centralia had three finish in the top five, including the top spot, and North Callaway had four in the top 25. After Schmauch, senior Rachael Jeffries finished in 18th with a 23:37.60, senior Piper Jeffries was in 21st with a 24:02.70, and senior Lydia Backer was in 24th with a 24:19.70.

New Bloomfield senior Mikaela Lemelin appeared in the top 10 with her sixth-place time of 21:35.90 while her fellow Lady Wildcat freshman Kaelyn Tighe finished in 17th with a 23:37.20.

The Fulton girls came in sixth in the team competition but had one in the top 25, which was junior Jonna Vanzetti's 22nd-place time of 24:10.00. Sophomore Emily Boyd just missed the top 25 with her 26th-place time of 24:34.10.

All three teams are scheduled to compete Saturday. Fulton will run in the North Central Missouri Conference Cross Country Championships at Kirksville Country Club, New Bloomfield will partake in the Brian T. Simpson Invite at Gans Creek Cross Country in Columbia and North Callaway will participate in the Eastern Missouri Conference Meet at Bowling Green's Pike County Fair Grounds.