GIRLS XC: Howard County season preview

Kokomo Tribune Aug 18, 2018

Western's girls cross country team saw its Logansport Sectional reign end in 2017 when Maconaquah took the hardware. Western, which was bidding for a three-peat, finished 12 points back in second place.

With its top six runners returning, Western will look to reclaim the title this fall.

"We had a great summer of training and our team camp was fun. The girls worked hard and spent some time setting their personal and team goals," Western coach Joni Neer said. "We obviously would like to reclaim our sectional title, but as always, the competition will be ready to go also when we arrive on the Logansport course. It's not going to be easy, but it will be fun again."

The Panthers return seniors Natalie Nicholson, Emma Marley and Megan Hampshire, juniors Hannah Lushin and Olivia Lushin and sophomore Alivia Ford from their postseason lineup.

Last season, Nicholson made the all-Hoosier Conference team. In the sectional, Olivia Lushin led Western with a sixth-place finish and Nicholson (ninth), Hannah Lushin (11th) and Ford (16th) also had top-20 finishes. In the Culver Academies Regional, where the Panthers finished fourth as a team, Olivia Lushin was 10th, Hannah Lushin was 18th, Nicholson was 22nd and Marley was 29th. And in the New Prairie Semistate, Olivia Lushin led the team with a 128th-place run in a field of 180.

Neer is looking for her three seniors to have strong seasons.

"Natalie and Emma are ready to return to action after last season's illness. They have both been a mainstay for Western XC and we missed their presence on the course last year. I am excited to see them racing again," she said. "Megan has built a great base throughout the four years of her running career and we think that she will play a very important role in our success.

"Alivia Ford has worked consistently throughout the winter, spring and summer," Neer added. "I think she is going to see the benefits of training for a full year and will have a direct impact on our success this season."

Sophomore Sarah Manuel also has varsity experience. Sophomores Spencer Holder and Emma Kahn are returning to JV spots and freshmen Olivia Shoemaker, Madisyn Connoley, Gracie Freeman and Emma Thompson are new to the program.

The following are looks at the other Howard County girls teams, in order of their sectional finishes.

NORTHWESTERN

Like Western, Northwestern returns a veteran lineup and looks like a sectional contender.

The Tigers took third in the sectional last season and return the strong 1-2 punch of junior Lauren Longshore and senior Casey Lechner. In the sectional, Longshore was fourth and Lechner was eighth. In the regional, they were ninth and 20th, respectively. In the semistate, Longshore was 64th in a field of 180 and Lechner was 87th.

"Lauren and Casey are leading the team," coach Dave Stevens said. "Both of them have run in semistate each year of their high school careers."

Stevens also returns seniors Ellie-Marie Hendrickson and Sophia Yager-Motl and juniors Raleigh Brown, Kaylynne Fernandes and Mikayla Phillips.

Freshmen Ella Deck and Brenna Morrow round out the lineup.

"Ella had a really strong performance in her first varsity race and Brenna also showed potential," Stevens said.

"This is one of my smallest girls teams. However, they have a lot of experience and they are working well each day," he added.

EASTERN

The Comets will look to senior Molly Hapner, junior Victoria Leeder and sophomores Ella Kantz and Erin Matheny to lead the team. They are back from last season's team, which finished sixth in the sectional, just missing the final advancing spot to the regional.

Last season, Hapner was runner-up in the Hoosier Heartland Conference meet and made the all-HHC team. Individually in the sectional, Leeder was 22nd, Kantz was 25th and Hapner was 36th. Leeder and Kantz advanced individually to the regional where Kantz had a nice 28th-place run.

"We have a good team of girls working hard together and encouraging each other to improve," coach Ben Cox said. "We aren’t as deep as last year [only six on the roster], but we’ll still have some opportunities, especially for some individuals toward the end of the season. I’d like to see the team improve through the course of the season, and for Molly, Victoria, and Ella to have another chance to race in the regional.

"Ella’s [regional] race last year nearly qualified her for semistate and left her with a drive for more. Molly missed out on the regional last year so it would be nice for her to get one more race there before she’s done."

Freshman Gracie McClain looks like she'll fill a role for the Comets

KOKOMO

The Kats return just two runners, senior Liesl Elkin and sophomore Madison Collins.

"[They] will be vital to our overall team's success this season," coach Chad Salinas said. "They will be required to push themselves and improve quite a bit from last season."

Freshman Julynne Spidell is the top newcomer.

"She ran throughout the summer and put in the mileage and races necessary to set her up for a competitive season," Salinas said. "... She has high personal expectations and goals of making it to the regional meet at Culver. Julynne has so much potential; I believe she can be one of the top runners in the area as she continues to improve over the next few seasons."

Junior Brook Reaves, sophomore Marina Magdalena and freshman Eva Gonzales round out the lineup.

"Our team of young runners will gain some valuable experience that will help them in the fall," Salinas said.

TAYLOR

The Titans will start the season with two runners, junior Carly Brewster and freshman Sierra Fritch.

"Carly has goals to improve on her time from last year. From her summer workouts, it doesn't seem she's going to have a problem doing that. She's put in all the work," Taylor coach Matt Carlile said. "Sierra has really stepped up since middle school. It's tough moving from 3K to 5K."

Senior Alli Abney will provide a boost when she joins the team around midseason following basic training. She was sixth in the HHC meet last season and also had a strong track season in the spring.