CROSS COUNTRY: Keith, PCHS boys win conference meet; DHS girls 2nd

Pinckneyville's boys cross country team claimed a conference championship last Thursday at West Frankfort, edging out second-place Nashville by three points and landing three runners on the all-conference squad for their top-10 showings at the meet.

Lady Panther Sophie Keith took the overall win in the girls' race, and Du Quoin's squad posted a strong second-place showing behind Mississippi Division winner Carterville.

The Panthers were led by Cale Jausel, who was 4th overall at a time of 16:01. Right behind him was 5th-place Grant Batteau, and Garrett Johnson joined those two on the all-conference team with his 7th place showing. Hayden Carter (11th) and Caleb Logan (13th) completed PCHS's top five boys.

Du Quoin's boys were 5th behind Caleb Davis (16th), Jordan Kirkpatrick (21st), Bobby Coats (23rd), Nate Manning (24th) and Paxton Higgerson (27th).

Carterville's Harrison Thomas dominated the race as an individual, winning with a time of 15:06, over 30 seconds faster than his closest competitor.

The Lady Indians were led by all-conference medalists Andrea Lopez (4th) and Quinn Kirkpatrick (8th) in their second-place performance. Only Carterville placed higher with three runners inside the top 10. Kate Smith (12th), Chloe Hill (17th) and Hope Stewart (23rd) rounded out Du Quoin's top five girls runners.

Pinckneyville, behind Keith's winning time of 18:25, came in fourth. The rest of their top five included all-conference medalist Savannah Cheek (10th), Mayci Doerflein (20th), Lindsey Taylor (21st) and Hannah Porter (22nd).

Both Panthers and Indians teams will be at Benton on Monday and at Chester on Saturday for their IHSA Cross Country Regional.