JACOB GRAF MEMORIAL INVITE

Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, August 19, 2018

BY TRIBUNE STAFF REPORTS
BOYS RACE

Western's Brayden Curnutt ran to a sixth-place individual finish in 18:09 and the Panthers took third place as a team to log the area's top finish at Logansport's Jacob Graf Memorial Invite.

The host Berries had the top overall team finish with a score of 70, followed by Caston (87) and Western (88).

"Would have been nice to get one more point, but this is a young team with three freshmen and two sophomores that came within an eyelash of a semistate team with everybody back," Panther coach Gary Jewell said.

Western's other finishes included Pete Bradshaw (15th, 19:05), Joseph Packard (22nd, 19:27), Taylor Rathbun (24th, 19:37), and Evan Kretz (29th, 19:55).

"I thought we had some pretty good performances," Jewell said. "For those freshmen [Bradshaw, Rathbun, Kretz], this was their first cross country 5K. We accomplished what we set out to do, but we've got a long way to go."

Caston's Mitchell Rans took first overall in 16:59.

Northwestern finished fifth with a team score of 137. Jacob Myers was the first Tiger in, taking 11th place in 18:45. Following him were Isaiah Kanable (27th, 19:47), Jeremy Bell (31st, 20:02), Jace Cournoyer (34th, 20:20), and Gus Bourff (43rd, 20:56).

Cass was sixth overall (141), followed by Maconaquah in seventh (160) and Eastern in eighth (174).

The Comets' top three of Brayden Richmond (20th, 19:25), Caleb Vogl (21st, 19:27) and Jack Johnson (23rd, 19:29) packed their times together, while Owen Taylor (63rd, 21:35) and Seth Snyder (73rd, 22:19) rounded out Eastern's scores.

"It's good to see those three guys [Richmond, Vogl, Johnosn] finish that way," Eastern coach Ben Cox said. "They've just got to keep working on it.

Peru finished ninth with a score of 182. Placing for the Benal Tigers were Adam Garner (14th, 19:05), Braxton Jimenez (26th, 19:44), Alex Legg (42nd, 20:50), Cole Sailors (56th, 21:23), and Treydon Curtis (60th, 21:31).


GIRLS RACE

Western logged the top local team finish in the Jacob Graf Memorial Invite at Logansport on Saturday, finishing second with 77 points behind host Logansport's 68.

Olivia Lushin was sixth for the Panthers in 21:48, Hannah Lushin 13th (22:12), Megan Hampshire 14th (22:19), Alivia Ford 18th (22:49) and Sarah Manuel 28th (23:41).

"This was their first 5K and I'm really happy with where we are at the beginning of the season," Western coach Joni Neer said. "We think we’re getting them into shape. I like where we're starting out and overall it was a positive race for us."

Cass finished third as a team with 83 points. The Kings' Miah Martin had the top individual time, crossing the finish line in 20:33, followed by Northwestern's Lauren Longshore at 20:46.

"Lauren ran a really smart race, ran her race all the way to the finish line," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said.

Maconaquah finished fourth (102) with Karli Miller leading the way with a third-place finish of 20:49. Also running for the Braves were Bailey Hays (16th, 22:35), Haley Salinas (25th, 23:26), Alexandra Merritt (26th, 23:30) and Annie Isenburg (36th, 24:06).

Northwestern finished fifth as a team with a score of 123.

Casey Lechner was 10th for the Tigers in 22:06, followed by Sophia Yager-Motl (24th, 23:23), Ella Deck (27th, 23:37), and Kaylynne Fernandes (85th, 29:29).

"I'm really happy with the way the girls ran as a team," Stevens said. "The top five girls all ran well, especially the top four. Ella is a freshman and ran a really great race for her first time out."

Eastern finished ninth as a team with a score of 197.

Victoria Leeder led the way for the Comets, finishing 12th in 22:11. Ella Kantz followed (19th, 22:57), and Molly Hapner (52nd, 25:48), Gracie McClain (72nd, 28:28) and Erin Matheny (87th, 29:52) rounded out the Comets.

"The girls did a nice job running the kind of race we were looking for them to run," Eastern coach Ben Cox said. "Victoria had a 23-second PR to start the year, which was pretty exciting."

Peru and Kokomo were incomplete.

Freshman Julynne Spidell was 15th individually with a time of 22:21 for the Kats.

"I was pleased to see her moving in the right direction with her time," Kokomo coach Chad Salinas said of Spidell's run. "There will be a huge breakthrough for her over the next two weeks. The sky is the limit for Julynne and I know that she will continue to do everything to compete at her highest level."

Also for Kokomo, Marina Magdelena finished 51st in 25:45 and Madison Collins crossed 100th in 32:09.

Peru's individual finishes included 37th Mya Lancaster (37th, 24:13), Sadie Carter (40th, 24:37) and Samantha May (111th, 40:48).