Moving on

Thumbs up to the three Immanuel Lutheran School cross country runners who recently qualified for the national meet by finishing in the top 15 of the Indiana Lutheran Schools Athletic Association state championships at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour. Eighth-grader Emma Doriot advanced by finishing first out of 32 girls with a time of 13:02.5 in the 2-mile race, and teammate Elizabeth Downey, also an eighth-grader, advanced by finishing sixth with a time of 14:05.09. Immanuel eighth-grader Nathan Negrete finished second among 47 boys to advance, as well. His time was 11:47.2. The 13th national championships will be Oct. 21 at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, Wisconsin.

Successful students

Thumbs up to Seymour High School students Kayla Baker, Lucas Jablonski and Avery Musgrave, who recently were named commended students in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 34,000 commended students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2024 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2024 competition by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Super superintendent

Thumbs up to Tim Taylor, superintendent of Brownstown Central Community School Corp., for recently being named 2024 Superintendent of the Year for District VIII by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. Winners are selected by other superintendents in their district who consider the qualifications and accomplishments of area colleagues and their instructional leadership in a time of scarce resources, according to a news release from the association. District VIII includes Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Clark, Floyd, Franklin, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, Scott, Switzerland and Washington counties.

Sectional sensations

Thumbs up to the Seymour High School boys tennis team for winning the Seymour Sectional on Sept. 29 by defeating Brownstown Central 3-2. The sectional title was the 13th for the Owls and the second in a row. Members of the squad include Joe Schmidt at No. 1 singles; Parker Thompson at No. 2 singles; Carter Stein at No. 3 singles; Shun Takeuchi and Joel Stevens at No. 1 doubles; and Drew Handloser and Xavier DuBois at No. 2 doubles. In the regional semifinals Tuesday night in Columbus, the Owls lost to Columbus North 5-0.