Columbus East High School

The Columbus East boys and girls cross-country teams turned in strong performances Saturday morning at the Ray Gerkin Invitational, hosted by Jennings County at Muscatatuck Park. On the boys side, the Olympians battled their way to a third-place team finish, narrowly edging Hauser by just two points, 75-77. Senior Norman Dickson led the charge, racing to runner-up honors in 16 minutes, 41.5 seconds. He was joined in the top 10 by Elijah Clore, who crossed the line in 10th place at 17:04.3. Rounding out the scoring for East were Lorren Westerfeld in 20th (17:59.0), Riley Wilson in 23rd (18:11.4), and Maddox Hult in 30th (18:42.5), helping secure the team’s place on the podium. The Olympian girls finished sixth overall in a competitive field. Sophomore Ainslee Shaw paced East with a 10th-place finish, clocking 21:01.4. She was followed by Elizabeth Sztaba in 24th (22:34.3), Abigail Collins in 30th (23:29.2), Brooke Newell in 31st (23:57.9), and Trinity Burns in 34th (24:25.9). Both squads will look to build on their performances as the postseason draws closer.