BOYS XC: Howard County season preview

Sectional champ Western returns entire squad; Eastern also well-stocked

Kokomo Tribune August 22, 2020

By BRYAN GASKINS

Western’s boys cross country team is flush with talent.

Potentially, we could have 10 different guys competing for a top-seven spot,” coach Gary Jewell said.

Jewell returns all seven of his 2019 postseason runners: seniors Brayden Curnutt, Joseph Packard, Cade Shock and Zac Cline; juniors Pete Bradshaw and Taylor Rathbun and sophomore Charlie Conkle.

The Panthers have added a pair of promising seniors in Blackford transfer Drew Caldwell and former football player Matthew Edison.

Add it all up and the Panthers look ready for a strong encore to their terrific 2019 season, which included winning the Logansport Sectional title for the first time since 2013 and advancing as a team to the New Prairie Semistate for the first time since ‘14.

We could be exceptionally good,” Jewell said. “We had a good season last year, but we could have been better. With no seniors running in the top seven, we were still a little young. ... This year, we need to build on last year’s success and I think we have the tools to do that.

Curnutt leads the returning group. He was the individual runner-up in both the Logan Sectional and the Culver Academies Regional. Packard and Bradshaw finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the sectional. Rathbun was 14th, Conkle was 20th, Shock was 22nd and Cline was 23rd.

Curnutt and Packard posted Howard County’s top times last season with Curnutt clocking 16:46 at Culver Academies and Packard running 16:54 at Taylor University.

Caldwell was Blackford’s No. 1 runner last year. He finished 21st in the Marion Sectional.

Jewell credits Curnutt and Bradshaw for organizing team workouts during the spring shutdown.

We tracked mileage daily and communicated regularly,” Jewell said. “When we found out Drew Caldwell was moving here last winter, it really improved everyone’s focus. The addition of Matthew Edison has increased the competition level.

The Panthers opened the season with Caldwell running No. 3 and Edison running No. 5.

There’s further depth as the Panthers have a total of 20 runners. Junior Evan Kretz is back after not running last year. He ran in the 2018 sectional.

A little competition makes everyone better and with this many guys on the roster, we see that every day,” Jewell said. “The idea is that we’re pushing each other to get better rather than being content with where we are.

The Panthers are off to a strong start, having won Clinton Prairie’s invitational last Saturday and Northwestern’s 3K combination meet Tuesday. They’ll compete in Logansport’s invite today.

Jewell said the team’s goals include challenging perennial power West Lafayette in the Hoosier Conference meet, repeating as sectional champs and making noise in the regional. Warsaw is the regional favorite, but Western could benefit from the meet being held at Logansport instead of Culver Academies this year.

The following are looks at the other Howard County teams.


EASTERN

Like Western, Eastern is loaded with returning talent. The Comets qualified for last year’s regional after finishing fourth in the sectional.

“We’re all really happy to be together, training and racing,” coach Ben Cox said. “The guys are motivated and working hard, and every day and it’s a really positive feeling for everyone.”

The Comets are strong at the top of their lineup with seniors Brayden Richmond and Caleb Vogl. Richmond was second in the Hoosier Heartland Conference meet, third in the sectional, 13th in the regional and 55th in the semistate last year. Vogl was fifth in the conference, 12th in the sectional and 31st in the regional.

Eastern also returns seniors Kamden Johnson and Aden McClain and juniors Benjamin Kurfman, Porter Brovont, J.T. Webster and T.J. Weeks.

“The boys really worked well together last year, and I want them to continue that,” Cox said. “We’d like to have another year of strong conference and sectional races, and a stronger regional race than last year. We’re also aiming for Brayden and Caleb to race at the top of the field in the sectional and regional rounds, and hopefully the semistate round as well.”

Junior Jordan Armogum and freshman Kamp Miller lead the newcomers.


Western's Brayden Curnutt,, left, leads the pack on his way to winning the Northwestern Combinational meet's 1-2 race Tuesday. Fellow Panther Pete Bradshaw, right, took thrid. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune
NORTHWESTERN

The Tigers are young. Their roster of 11 runners shows only three from the upper grades — senior Mason Harrell and juniors Isaiah Kanable and Caden Lechner.

Sophomores Caleb Champion, Colin Feazel, Gunnar LaShure and Amadeusz Alcalde also return with experience and freshmen Caden Cothern, Corbyn Sparling, Mathew Mitchell and Brady Correll round out the roster.

“I’m excited to coach these guys,” coach Dave Stevens said. “They are all runners and want to get better. Their focus and competition in practice every day will be key to us making a run later in October as a team. Caden Lechner, Isaiah Kanable and Caleb Champion are all returning regional qualifiers and that experience will benefit the team of younger guys.”

Kanable had a team-best 21st-place finish in the sectional last year. Lechner was 27th and Champion was 30th. Northwestern was seventh as a team


KOKOMO

The Wildkats have a mix of five returning runners and five new runners.

“So far, things are going well with our team,” coach Jordan Ousley said. “The athletes have been very good about wearing their mask, social distancing and taking care of themselves during our return to practice. They are working hard every day and we are showing growth with each passing week.”

The returning runners are senior Bryan Stoltzfus, juniors Collin Keesling, Isaac Elkin and Travarion Corbin and sophomore Noah Thompson. In last year’s sectional, Stoltzfus was 33rd and Keesling was 35th. The Kats were 10th as a team.

“Stoltzfus and Keesling have worked very hard since we shut down in March,” Ousley noted. “Even though we lost their track season, they have kept a really good training routine and have come into camp with a great attitude. The year-round running they have done has already been paying off in practice, but now they will get to start racing again and are excited to see where they are starting off at.

“They really want to advance in the state tournament this season and have been putting in the work that has set them on the right track for that goal.”

The new runners are senior Wilmer Corrales, junior Nathan Conner, sophomores Kacey Coak and Zavion Clark and freshman Adam Kemper.

“Kemper ran last year at the middle school level, so he has the most experience out of the bunch,” Ousley said, “but Corrales has looked good so far in practice, so we will be working to translate that into the meets as we go along.”

The Kats are shooting for improved finishes in the North Central Conference and sectional.


TAYLOR

The Titans have one runner, freshman Jayden Smithson.

“No access to campus all summer has been a challenge, but work ethic has him on track to meet or exceed preseason goals,” coach Matt Carlile said.