LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Landon Kimmel led the Tippecanoe boys cross country team to an 11th place finish at the Trinity Valkyrie Invitational boys seeded race with a historic performance.

Kimmel ran a scorching 14:42.65, the fifth fastest time ever run by a Ohio high school runner in a 5K, to finish second.

The sophomore broke Sam Wharton’s school record of 14:56.

“No way did I ever expect to run a time like that on Saturday,” Kimmel said.

He was one of five runners to break 15 minutes in the race, but was the only one from Ohio.

“First, the competition was amazing,” Kimmel said. “And the conditions were amazing. We were all just really determined to break 15 minutes and we did.”

Still it was a surprise for Kimmel when he crossed the finish line.

“If you had seen me when I finished the race,” he said. “I had my hands up on my head. I was thinking, did that really just happen.”

Kimmel, who has high expectations for himself, said the race did nothing to raise those expectations.

“I don’t think it changes my expectations at all,” he said. “One of my goals was to break 15 minutes. My other goal is I didn’t feel like I finished the season strong last year, so I want to finish the season strong. Last year was a learning experience. It is a numbe of things like nutrion and conditioning. It was a valuable learning experience.”

Kimmel admits Wharton’s record seemed like something that would be hard to break.

“He texted me after the race to congratulate me,” Kimmel said. “So, that was pretty cool that he reached out to me.”

The rest of Tipp’s top seven were Everett Muhlenkamp, 78, 16:32.25; Will Hept, 88, 16:34.68; Ethan Berning, 95, 16:37.96; Dimitri Hartman, 98, 16:41.72; Luke Schwieterman, 130, 16:55.32 and Elias Stienecker, 178, 17:27.71.

Troy Invite

Covington senior Asher Long continues to rewrite the school record book — shattering his own record for the second straight week in prime time.

After lowering his school record at the Piqua Night Lights race the previous Saturday, Long did it again Saturday in the Troy Invitational Scarlet race.

Long finished second in 15:26.65, leading Covington to a 12th place finish.

The rest of Covington’s top seven included Preston King, 69, 17:25.10; Beck Wilson, 81, 17:44.37; Tanner Palsgrove, 108, 17:59.19; Chris Deaton, 132, 18:15.49; Caleb Ryman, 156, 18:31.99 and Calub Hembree, 157, 18:32.15.

Troy finished 18th.

Troy’s top seven included Ryan McChesney, 53, 17:21.76; Noah Zink, 63, 17:28.15; Chet Snyder, 86, 17:45.91; Gavin Romberger, 103, 17:56.34; Adam Timmerman, 162, 18:35.54; Ryan Gillig, 192, 18:51.23 and Zadok Reeves, 195, 18:51.91.

Miami East finished 26th.

The Vikings top seven included Andrew Crane, 96, 17:53.07; Gunner Weldy, 113, 18:01.97; Reese Gipe, 191, 18:51.04; Caleb Richter, 204, 18:55.63; Landon Moran, 212, 19:04.93; Coleton Moore, 243, 19:35.51 and Tai McAdams, 299, 20:58.44.

Bradford runners included Kyree Roberts, 303, 21:06.42; Owen Beachler, 319, 22:13.29 and Stephen Stewart, 321, 22:21.97.

In the Gray race, Lehman finished 13th.

Cavalier runners included Alex Goubeaux, 19, 18:52.98; Ethan Taylor, 42, 19:15.69; Brian Baumann, 95, 20:08.57; Adam Flood, 143, 20:45.26 and Chris Galbreath, 242, 22:20.06.

Eaton Purple

Noah Burgh led Piqua to victory in the Eaton Invitational Purple Race Saturday.

Burgh won in 15:51.35.

The rest of Piqua’s top seven included Brycen Angle, 5, 17:13.15; Braden Holtvogt, 9, 17:17.73; Thurston Rampulla, 28, 18:18.98; Evan Clark, 33, 18:33.37; Ryder Holtvogt, 35, 18:44.40 and Simon Baker, 37, 18:50.29.

Newton finished seventh.

Newton runners included Seth Coker, 14, 17:48.03; Dylan Bauer, 18, 17:56.74; Nick Staudt, 19, 18:26.21; Liam Woods, 38, 18:53.80; Travis Stanhope, 73, 20:30.48 and Andrew Schieltz, 91, 22:38.96.

Bethel finished eighth.

Bees top seven included Austin Hawkins, 22, 18:07.37; Kade Schweikhardt, 25, 18:12.88; Bryce Schweikhardt, 31, 18:29.30; Patrick Firtstenberger, 34, 18:39.66; Landon Endsley, 80, 21:38.92; Laban Kumendo, 82, 21:42.76 and Caleb Wrobel, 90, 22:29.86.

Eaton Gold

The Milton-Union boys cross country team won the Eaton Gold race Saturday, putting five runners in the top 10.

Milton-Union’s top seven were Ty Furlong, 2, 17:22.19; Colin Hinkleman, 4, 17:52.71; Chase Parsons, 6, 18:04.09; Zak Klepinger, 7, 18:09.91; Jacob Cruse, 9, 18:24.54; Andrew Oaks, 10, 18:31.48 and Tyler Shoemaker, 15, 18:54.70.

Running for Troy Christian were Landon Patel, 20, 19:10.23; Luke Ernst-Carr, 51, 22:05.72 and Noah Oiler, 60, 23:57.14.

Sports Editor Rob Kiser can be reached at [email protected]