The Knoxville Cross Country Squads opened up a little earlier than normal yesterday by hosting their own Early Bird Invitational. The girls were essentially a dual meet with Knoxville and Norwalk with the Warriors winning with 21 points, Knoxville was second with 39 points and Wayne did not have enough runners to score. The Panthers were led by Courtney Hughs, who placed second overall. Kaeline Schuenke was fifth and Lydia Anderson was ninth to complete the Panthers in the top ten. On the boys side, Knoxville’s Wick Cunningham finished nearly two minutes ahead of second place. Also in the top ten for Knoxville was Brad Shearer in third, Mitchell Hollingshead in sixth, Cris Schwanebeck in seventh, and Preston Lee placing eighth. The Panthers scored 25 points good enough for first place with Norwalk second scoring 31 points and Wayne had 80. Coach Mike Moats was very happy about the times and how the runners stepped up. The Panthers will have a couple of weeks off before their next meet which is September first at the Central College Invitational.

Knoxville Girls Varsity Finishers:
Courtney Hughs 19:09 (2nd overall)
Kaeline Schuenke 20:05 (5th overall)
Lydia Anderson 20:31 (9th overall)
Mikayla Becker 21:21 (11th overall)
Tori Johnston 21:32 (12th overall)
Katie Goodwin 21:49 (13th overall)
Melissa Molloy 21:50 (14th overall)

Knoxville Boys Varsity Finishers:
Wick Cunningham 17:05 (1st overall)
Brad Shearer 18:53 (3rd overall)
Mitchell Hollingshead 19:53 (6th overall)
Cris Schwanebeck 19:53 (7th overall)
Preston Lee 19:57 (8th overall)
Brendan Finan 20:57 (13th overall)
Nathan Raymie 21:52 (15th overall)

Photos (top left to right): Lydia Anderson, Kaeline Schuenke, Wick Cunningham, (bottom) Brad Shearer