Elementary, middle school Bobcats run well at Area 8/NL meet
Published 10:10 am Tuesday, September 28, 2021
- Bell Elementary runner Emily Langford (center) competes at the Area 8 Championship.
The Bell County boys’ elementary cross country team. From left are Coach Simpson, Andrew Hoskins, Jonah Slusher, Coach Stewart, and Tanner Simpson.
The Bell County middle school and elementary cross country Bobcats had a strong showing Saturday at the Area 8/North Laurel Invitational.
In the boys’ middle school field, Bell County’s Reese Arno was the overall 3K winner with a time of 11:44.12, edging out Lincoln County’s Eli Roberts at the finish line. Bobcat Jacob Brannon placed 3rd with a time of 11:47.08. Bell runner Andrew Roy (14:19.82) placed 19th and Ashton Manis (17:23.94) finished 31st. On the girls’ side, Bianaca Echeverria was the lone Lady Cat in the field placing 8th overall with a time of 16:14.28.
“Our middle school kids work hard at what they do. They race hard and compete every single race. Reese and Jacob have been running for years and you can bet that you’ll have to run hard to beat those guys. Our newcomers this season, Andrew, Ashton, and Bianca, the kids are fun to coach. They work hard and compete. They’ll be really good in a season or two,” said coach Stewart
The Bell County Middle School cross country team from left are Coach Stewart, Andrew Roy, Jacob Brannon, Ashton Manis, Bianca Echeverria, Reese Arno, and Coach Simpson.
In the boys’ elementary race, Tanner Simpson led the way for the Bobcats with a strong 4th place finish (3rd Area 8) in the 2K course with a time of 6:32.26. Jonah Slusher was the next Bobcat to finish with a 39th place (37th Area 8) with a time of 8:09.50. Andrew Hoskins rounded out the boys’ lineup for the Cats finishing 89th with a time of 12:43.22. On the girl’s elementary side, Emily Langford placed 14th with a time of 8:21.08.
“These elementary kids are awesome. They work as hard as our varsity kids and are really fun to coach. Tanner has run for us for years now and I couldn’t be prouder, he races so hard out there. The rest of our elementary kids are new.
Jonah, Drew, and Emily are great kids, they work hard, and they give you their best effort. I love it,” said Bell coach Jason Stewart.
