BOYS AND GIRLS XC: Griffin, Raab, Rudy, Cage run at state

By Tribune Sports Staff

TERRE HAUTE — Four local seniors — Western's Camden Raab and Miles Rudy, Kokomo's Cooper Cage and Lewis Cass' Aftin Griffin — competed in the IHSAA Boys and Girls Cross Country State Finals on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Course.

Griffin posted the highest finish of any local, taking 49th in the girls race. The senior cross country, track and basketball standout finished in 18:48.5. The girls field featured 250 runners. Indian Creek senior Libby Dowty was the individual champ in 17:10.2 and Carmel won the team event with a score of 100.

Griffin said she met all of her personal goals for the meet.

"I knew the LaVern Gibson Course was nothing like the regional course at Brownsburg so I knew it would be more difficult to run a [personal record]. I just wanted to break 19:00 and more so, run my best time for that course, beating my sophomore time of 18:55," she said. "I knew I wanted to get top 50, as I got 51st place my sophomore year, and I think top 50 is pretty good out of 250 of Indiana's best runners.

"I don't think I went out as fast as I had hoped, but I still maintained a good spot through each mile. I picked people off as I went. As the final 400 came, I gave it my all but I still got passed by a few runners. I was still hoping to get top 50 though, and I did."

In addition, Griffin made the Indiana All-Star team for the Mideast Meet on Nov. 15 at Kettering, Ohio.

"Going into it, I wasn't really sure if I was going to be able to since there is such a strong senior class this year. But many runners dropped out because they want to focus on the NXR race or they are just ready to be done. Once I got the callback that I was on the team, I was so excited. Making the All-Star team was a goal I had set at the beginning of the season," said Griffin, who made track all-stars last spring.

Cass coach Denise Rush will serve as an assistant coach for the Indiana squad.

In the boys race, which also featured 250 runners, Western's Raab and Rudy finished within a second of each other as Raab took 55th in 16:08.0 and Rudy 56th in 16:08.6.

"After the success we had most of the season, this wasn't quite what we were expecting," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "After racing here at the Nike Twilight meet in early October, to say our expectations were a little bit higher would be an understatement."

Jewell said state projections had Raab around 20th, but that Raab said after the race that he felt a little off.

"Miles echoed Cam's sentiments. He thought he was a little fast through the mile, but was actually about where he needed to be. His final time was within about two seconds from what he ran here last month," he said. "Cam and Miles had to run great races at the ultra-competitive Brownsburg Regional last week just to be here this week."

Kokomo's Cage was 176th in 16:51.4. He competed at state despite sustaining a foot injury in the regional that will require surgery.

"Cooper fought through the pain and adversity and gave it his best shot. … We are proud of Cooper for his efforts and dedication throughout his high school career to the sport and his team," Kokomo coach Jordan Ousley said.

Springs Valley junior Calvin Seitz was the individual boys champ, finishing in 15:01.22, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Westview's Noah Bontrager in a photo finish. Columbus North won the team title by 71 points with a score of 58.