Eels sweep Clay City Invitational | Brazil Times

A couple of weeks ago, Clay City cross country head coaches Melanie Laswell and Cole Schorer brought their teams together for a meeting.

Their message was clear.

Laswell and Schorer saw the potential of the Eels and knew they had it in them to do some special things this fall.

“I sat them down a couple of weeks ago, after looking over some of the results, and I told them, ‘We could do some big things this year. It’s up to you guys. I’ll give you the tools, but it’s up to you to apply them and be all in.’ That’s been our motto this year – we’re all in,” said Laswell.

“We have so much potential – both the girls and the guys – as runners. They’re either going to be one of the best teams we’ve ever had here or they’re going to end up being one of the biggest disappointments where you look back and ask, ‘What could have been?’ It’s on them. They’ve done a really good job so far,” Schroer said.

Since then? The Eels have competed well against some of the top teams from around the state at various meets. And on Saturday at the Clay City Invitational, they swept the annual event for the first time in its 24-year existence, adding two more plaques to their trophy case.

“We’ve never done this before, so this is pretty cool,” said Schroer.

Clay City’s boys team was led by Brayden Wiram.

The senior, after going through Senior Day festivities earlier in the morning, finished fourth overall with a time of 19:18. Schroer credited Wiram for finishing as high as he did, especially with the temperatures – and humidity – pushing into the upper-90s.

“I really wish we would’ve had better conditions for him to run in today. He doesn’t like the heat all that much, but he went out hard and did a good job,” said Schroer of Wiram. “He’s been a huge piece of this thing the last couple of years. He’s one of our biggest improvers. He was once above 20 minutes, and now he’s turned himself into a sub-18 guy. That says a lot about him. I’m happy he could get a top five finish here.”

He was joined in the top 12 by a slew of underclassmen – Chase Lowdermilk finished fifth overall with a time of 19:20; Micah Reeves finished eighth with a time of 19:44; Elijah Dickey finished 10th overall with a time of 20:14; and Clayton Laswell finished 12th overall with a time of 20:21 – who have stepped into important roles this season and have helped the team compete at a high level on a consist basis.

“These freshmen have been very big additions that have helped a ton,” said Schroer. “I knew coming in that they would have to contribute for us to have success because we just had some many gaps to fill. They’ve raced well and have finished well. Their times haven’t jumped off the page or anything yet, but we’ve been dealing with a lot of muggy days and really, really hot days. I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve seen from them.”

That was the case for the Lady Eels as well.

Clay City’s girls team put three – Maizy Shidler finished fifth overall with a time of 22:53; Sophia Paul finished seventh overall with a time of 23:37; and Hadley Stoelting finished ninth overall with a time of 24:04 – in the race’s top 10, all of whom are freshmen and sophomores. Laswell has been impressed with the way the underclassmen have adapted to running at the high school level. She also pointed to the leadership of the juniors and seniors for their guidance of the newcomers as a key to the team’s success.

“My freshmen have been awesome this year,” Laswell said. “It’s a good class of kids. They work hard and aren’t afraid. They came in with the mentality of wanting to work hard. Without them, we wouldn’t be anywhere close to where we are, and that’s not discrediting our upperclassmen because they’ve paved the way for these younger kids.”

Clay City returns to the course next week when the Eels take part in the Washington Invitational.

Clay City Invitational (Boys)

Team results – Clay City 39, Owen Valley 52, South Putnam 60, Shakamak 75

Top 25 – Liam Hogan (OV) 18:10, Aiden Barber (S) 18:55, Dominic Pierce (SP) 19:16, Brayden Wiram (CC) 19:18, Chase Lowdermilk (CC) 19:20, Gabriel Hasselburg (OV) 19:27, Bryan Bye (SP) 19:28, Micah Reeves (CC) 19:44, Caleb Mahlan (SP) 20:09, Elijah Dickey (CC) 20:14, Leo Miller (S) 20:15, Clayton Laswell (CC) 20:21, Corban Jackson (LCA) 20:34, Evan Murray (OV) 20:44, Mason Lucas (CC) 20:50, Dane Stahl (OV) 20:53, Zeke Callahan-Gallego (SP) 20:54, Darren O’Brien (OV) 21:00, Reed Sawyer (CC) 21:04, Spencer Dean (S) 21:04, Jaxon Chapella (OV) 21:08, Beau Collins (S) 21:19, Ethan Evol (S) 21:28, Christian Ferran (Cl) 21:29, Riley Barcus (S) 21:31

Clay City – Brayden Wiram 19:18, Chase Lowdermilk 19:20, Micah Reeves 19:44, Elijah Dickey 20:14, Clayton Laswell 20:21, Mason Lucas 20:50, Reed Sawyer 21:04, Austin Martinez-Morales 21:33, Jaxon Conder 21:36, Ethan Schopmeyer 21:43, Clayton Williamson 22:10, Carson Shouse 24:12

Clay City Invitational (Girls)

Team results – Clay City 47, Linton 55, Owen Valley 57, South Putnam 59

Top 25 – Payton Lukowski (OV) 20:52, Wremee Leigh (L) 22:07, Isabelle Sylvester (OV) 22:32, Addy Thibodeau (SP) 22:36, Maizy Shidler (CC) 22:53, Mia Cole (L) 23:31, Sophia Paul (CC) 23:37, Brylee DiLorenzo (L) 23:48, Hadley Stoelting (CC) 24:04, Sylvia Helton (SP) 24:10, Sydney Lowdermilk (CC) 24:38, Elaina Cash (SP) 24:46, Adire Burge (SP) 25:14, Kendall Freeman (OV) 25:23, Anna Duckwall (CC) 25:28, Aubrey Mangia (OV) 25:36, Ashley Martinez-Morales (CC) 25:38, Eva Wring (L) 26:12, Shelby Hofmann (CC) 27:14, Victoria Paige (SP) 27:19, Isla Kaufman (S) 27:33, Malaia Fulford (S) 27:45, Alexis Earle (L) 28:01, Avri Dickey (CC) 28:12, Lydia Farnam (LCA) 28:46

Clay City – Maizy Shidler 22:53, Sophia Paul 23:37, Hadley Stoelting 24:04, Sydney Lowdermilk 24:38, Anna Duckwall 25:28, Ashley Martinez-Morales 25:38, Shelby Hofmann 27:14, Avri Dickey 28:12, Brooklyn Cano 32:14, Jenna Hofmann 34:48, Aubrey Paddock 39:06, Savannah Koch 39:44