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Anderson, Hesson first in Broughton 5K

Left: Fort Frye’s Justin Anderson was the first boys finisher in the 5K run of Saturday’s 18th annual Elizabeth S. Broughton Memorial Cross Country Invitational at the Broughton Nature & Wildlife Area in Marietta. Right: Williamstown freshman Ella Hesson was first girls finisher in the 5K run of Saturday’s 18th annual Elizabeth S. Broughton Memorial Cross Country Invitational at the Broughton Nature & Wildlife Area in Marietta. Photos by Ron Johnston.

MARIETTA — Justin Anderson fell down during the race — and still won.

The Fort Frye High junior running standout finished first in the 5K run of Saturday’s 18th annual Elizabeth S. Broughton Memorial Cross Country Invitational at the Broughton Nature & Wildlife Area in Marietta.

“I led (at the start) until the bottom of the hill and then I slipped on the rocks at the half mile –and he (Caldwell High senior Levi Pemberton) took off,” said Anderson, whose winning time was 16 minutes, 43.60 seconds. “(Pemberton) led until about the 2-mile mark.”

Said Pemberton, “I had the lead most of the race. Justin fell coming out of one of the turns, and still beat me.”

Pemberton finished in 16:51.40.

The Dugan Hill-coached Caldwell boys of Pemberton, Jacob Niswonger, Mason Ackley, Marshal Niswonger and Lucas King won the team title with 64 points, while Amanda Mercer-led Marietta was second with 71. Ritchie County finished third with 71.

Freshman Ella Hesson of Williamstown High claimed the 5K girls run with a clocking of 19:56.60, while junior Elise Johnson of Lancaster was runner-up in 20:00.50 for the second straight year.

“She (Johnson) was ahead of me for about the first two miles,” Hesson said. “She was definitely very tough and a good competitor. I passed her at about the top of the second hill.”

The Lancaster girls repeated as team champs, while Williamstown was runner-up, and Caldwell, third.

In the Middle School 3200-meter races, Zyan Hardbarger of Ritchie County was first in 11:55.20; Trenton Jones of Edison, second, in 12:03.30; and Bryson Angelo of Warren, third, in 12:20.20.

The Rebel Middle School boys won the team title with 57 points; Warren was second with 65; and Belpre, third with 102.

Natalie Sawin of Williamstown captured first place in 13:12.60, while Olivia Cress of Ritchie was second in 13:20.20, and Brianna Winsett of Williamstown, third, in 13:20.30.

The Yellowjacket Middle School girls claimed the team title with 37 points; Hamilton was runner-up with 63; and Ritchie, third, with 83.

Anderson became the fourth Anderson brother to win the Broughton 5K boys race.

“Jordan won twice,” Anderson said. “Jeremy won once or twice, and Jon-Jon won it once.”

But none of Anderson’s brothers ever fell down in the race.

“I was planning on breaking 16:30 but I think I was 10 or 11 seconds off,” said Anderson, smiling. “But I’m happy about the race.”

So was Jason Lipot.

“Justin’s got a lot of support here,” the Fort Frye XC coach said. “He’s been working, like I said, real hard. We’re proud of him and hopefully he can do it again next year.”

Lipot paused.

“I’ve got to say,” he continued, “that we practice on one foot, but have never practiced falling down.

“Even though this isn’t our home course (Broughton), we consider it. We run here and we train here, and we prepare here from time to time.”

Collin Doughty of Marietta was third in a PR (personal record for the course) of 17:13.70.

“They are really strong runners,” said Doughty of Anderson and Pemberton. “And I respect both of them as runners. It’s one of those things where we just pace off of each other. We just try to stay on each other’s heels for as long as we can and run our race.”

Added the Tiger runner, “It was a really nice day. This is the first time that it’s really been this nice out for Broughtons. I put in a lot of summer miles. I was looking to do my best on this course and lead my team this year.

“I ran an 18:27 last year, so I’ve shaved a full minute and 15 seconds. I’m really happy and satisfied with my time, and I hope to keep going in the right direction with all of these other courses that we have coming up.”

Mercer, a first-year MHS XC coach, said that she was very “pleased” with her protege’s performance at Broughton.

“Collin is one of those athletes who works hard,” she said. “He truly loves this sport, and it’s an honor to see him do so well so early in the season and be so successful.”

Marietta’s second-place team scorers also included Nathan Matthews, Max Garrison, Wyatt Miracle, Caleb Young, and Jack Wesel (tiebreaker).

Hesson, who won every race she was in as a Williamstown eighth-grader, including the Broughton 3200-meter run, is the daughter of former Caldwell standout Brian Hesson.

“Just about everything I know comes from him,” said the younger Hesson, smiling.

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