PETERSBURG — Barr-Reeve's Connor Sorrells was an easy winner at Saturday’s Pike Central Cross Country Regional, and his teammates came home second with the help of a surprise appearance from Jarit Perkins.

Washington’s Brandy White and Logan Sipes will also have the chance to run another week after placing eighth and 15th respectively in girls and boys competitions.

Sorrells ran in a time of 15:26 to outdistance teammate Damon Pruett, who placed second in 15:42.

“Connor and Damon ran well,” Barr-Reeve coach JayR Perkins said. “Damon got passed at about the 3K, and was behind Sievern (Evansville Memorial’s Alec Sievern who placed third in 15:48) in the last half. Damon said he didn’t pass him until he came to the last hill. He has a lot of mental fortitude.”

Much like Tuesday at South Knox, Sorrells and Pike Central’s Cain Parker set the early pace. Perkins said he thought Sorrells might try to set a quicker pace at the beginning, but changed strategy as the race developed.

“I think Connor decided a quarter-mile into it to set a more conservative pace,” Perkins said. “The pace was a little conservative for those two, but at the 2K mark, Connor just took off.”

But Viking freshman Jarit Perkins may have made the biggest splash of the meet, racing to 18th place after missing Tuesday’s South Knox Sectional with an upper leg muscle injury.

Barr-Reeve coach JayR Perkins said his son’s probability to run in the regional was close to 75 percent against at South Knox, but Perkins ran to the 18th position, wearing a knee brace on his left leg.

“Jarit really toughed it out,” Perkins said. “He probably should have started walking at a mile, but it was a struggle for him. He was in a lot of pain.”

His run helped the Vikings to a second-place finish with 95 points behind team winner Evansville North with 51. Without Perkin’s 15 points, the Vikings may not have qualified from the field of 10 teams seeking positions at next Saturday’s Brown County Semistate.

“You have to give the other guys on our team credit,” Perkins said. “They laced them up, and went out and ran a good race today. We had two guys injured. We’re advancing and moving on.”

North did not have a runner finish until Xavier Johnson came home ninth. But the Huskies had three of the next four spots to earn the win.

South Knox, who had defeated the Vikings at their sectional site, was third with 98 points, Evansville Memorial was fourth with 119, and Evansville Reitz grabbed the final semistate spot with 129.

While Perkins helped give Barr-Reeve the second team spot, he will not make an appearance at the semistate. Coach Perkins said his son’s fall finish was complete.

“I’m shutting him down.” Perkins said of his son. “He won’t run next week. He’ll take some time off before running again. As a dad, I’m sad for Jarit. Mentally, he gave it all he had. I think he dealt with so much pain (Perkins collapsed just after the finish),

Sipes was able to place in the final individual spot in the boys race with a time of 17:04. It was a good regional performance in the senior’s first season of cross country.

“Very nice accomplishment for Logan,” Harman said. “Considering it was his first year as a senior, he has proven that he is a good runner.”

Harman said KC Heller, who was also hoping for an individual semistate position, suffered  a sidestich, side pain from breathing, mile into the run. Keller, Washington’s team leading runner this fall, finished 63rd.

“KC said his legs were heavy and sore since Thursday,” Harman said. “I thought both might make it out, but I think KC was just really sore and his legs were heavy from Tuesday.”

Brandy White made the semistate with an eighth place finish in the girls race. White, also running her first season in the sport after competing for Harman in track, has shown continued improvement throughout the season, and placed second last Tuesday in her first sectional.

“We thought going in that she had a chance,” Washington coach Dave Harman said. “Coming in eighth is an excellent spot for her. I figured that if she could stay close to the Vincennes girl (South Knox champion Jenee Goodwin from Lincoln who placed sixth), she had a chance. She just gets better with every race and can run a very good last mile.”

Washington’s Madison Decker did not compete after qualifying from the South Knox Sectional. Suffering from a back and hip injury, Decker did not run for a month before the sectional. She was a state finalist last fall.

“After Tuesday and getting ready for practice Wednesday, she was just struggling walking through the hallways at school,” Harman said. “We felt it would be better if she didn’t run.”

Washington Catholic’s Sam Baker placed 42nd for the Cardinals in the boys race with a time of 18:08. Cardinal Sarah Wichman placed 34th in the girls race in a time of 22:22.

“If it’s dry it will be a fast course,” Perkins said of Brown County in Nashville. “There are long straightaways, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Wagler 11th at Crawford

MARENGO — Loogootee’s Zach Wagler placed 11th at the Crawford County Cross Regional to qualify for the Brown County Semistate Saturday.

Wagler ran in a time of 16:57 to gain the next round of the state tournament. North Harrison’s Jonathan Reynolds won the race with a time of 15:49.

Wagler finished ninth at the Jasper Sectional the