Brown County High School

The 2023 cross country season will have a new look when the Eagles take to the course this year. Changes by the IHSAA have reduced the tournament down from the original four-week competition to three weeks. The semi-state level has now been taken out and the tournament will consist of a sectional, regional, and state meet, just like track. Brown County will host the sectional, the regional will head to Angel Mounds in Evansville, and the state finals will remain in Terre Haute. Coming off an 18th place finish in the Brown County Semi-State last year, the boy’s cross country team will look to make a qualifying run at the Evansville Regional. Through summer conditioning, it appears the Eagles will have 10-12 runners on the squad this season. Charlie Webb has emerged as the front runner for the team as practices begin. A consistent season of training through track has Webb ready for his senior season. Junior Kai Koester has continued to progress with a good summer of training. Sophomore Eli Wrightsman and senior Corbin Brahaum should both be close to the 18’s as the season opens. Seniors Carter Condon, Elijah LaVere, and Josh Bowling will add depth to the Eagles. Each of these three have made significant progress in the last year. Junior Josh Redmon has been able to get his training back on track after missing much of the track season, and freshman Xavier Himebaugh looks ready to make contributions for the Eagles. On the girl’s side, the Eagles will also be looking for a regional qualifying position. As of the end of summer training, the girls will have at least six members on the team. With at least five finishers, the girls will be able to post a team score each meet, which they have not been able to do at times the past few years. It has been a very consistent summer for the girls. The lone senior on the squad this season will be Livie Austin. A good summer of training appears to have Austin ready for her best season yet. Sophomore Sadie Hiatt has been leading some of the workouts early on. Hiatt clocked a best of 22:52 last year. Junior Megan Cumberledge will look to continue her progress and improve on her 22:28 time from last year. Freshmen Charly Eddins, Izzy Miller, and Della Hitchcock have shown through conditioning this summer that they are ready to step in and make an immediate impact. The Eagles will open up their season on August 16 at Eagle Park at 5:45 with the annual BCXC Challenge which will have them partner with a teammate and run 2500 meters each.