That the Western High School girls cross country team will again be tops among area teams is nearly a foregone conclusion barring injury or illness.
The 2004 Marion Sectional champions and regional runnersup return four of their top seven runners, including two individuals with state-meet experience, and have a bevy of eager replacements waiting in the wings.
The only question is whether the Panthers can finally break through and reach the IHSAA state finals as a team. They were one spot away in 2003, finishing a disappointing sixth at the New Haven Semistate, and last year had to settle for seventh place.
Western coach Dana Neer believes his'team will be worthy of a top-20 ranking when the season begins, and that Western is ready to take the next step.
"As we look at [the semistate], I see three teams probably being favored there, and there's four or five teams vying for the next two spots," he said. "We feel like we're one of those teams [that will claim a state berth]."
Senior Annina Gruber and junior Anna Hurlock have been to state - Gruber in 2003 and Hurlock last year when she finished 57th overall and received Class 3A-2A all-state honorable mention.
"They've just been fantastic for us all summer," said Neer. "Annina and Anna have been among the state's best the last two seasons. They are leading our way."
Following are a pair of returning letterwinners, senior Cassie Myer and junior Vanessa Lorenz, whom Neet says is stronger physically and mentally.
Myer has emerged as a team leader, along with classmate and four-year runner Brianna Vess.
"[Cassie] has been a very effective leader, especially in the area of assimilating the younger runners into the program," Neer said.
Several girls are looking to fill the remaining three slots in the lineup, including Katie Hollingsworth, a sophomore out for the first time.
"She will be an outstanding runner once she [runs] eight or 10 more races, just because of her work ethic," Neer said.
He's also been impressed with his freshman class, which in his words is "proving to be one of the best ever at Western. They include Jenn Elliott, Kiley Camp, Lacey Myer and Callie Swigart.
Neer said Elliott has the potential to be a No. 3 or 4 runner, and Lacey Myer brings speed and strength and could also crack the top five.
"I don't think we're going to miss a beat," Neer predicted. "These girls this year believe in themselves. We hope to be the first Western team to get to that elite 20 at the state meet."
The following are looks at the other Howard County girls CC squads, in alphabetical order.
Eastern
After competing with only three girls last year, the Comets will field a team of five runners this season.
Four sophomores, led by regional qualifier Emily Rethlake, and one junior make up the team so far, and COach Brandon Mink is plenty pleased to have them.
"The most frustrating thing for me last year was to not even have a chance to compete as a squad," Mink said. "I'd rather lose with a full team than just have to do that 'Incomplete' every time.
"It'll be nice to compete and mix it up with the other teams?
Rethlake and classmate Danielle Stiner are the two remming letterwinners. Rethlake was 15th at the Marion Sectional last year but failed to qualify for the semistate. Stiner finished 35th at sectional, and both are being COunted upon heavily.
"We need to work On some speed with them," Mink said of the pair. "They have lots of experience and should be solid for us"
Abby Altman and Jessica Graber are the other two 10th graders. Altman has some junior high cross country experience, and Graber has track experience as a quartermiler.
Junior Danielle Armstrong is a first-time runner for Mink. He hopes to pick up another athlete or two once school begins.
"We really cannot afford any significant injuries," Mink said. "We have no room for error on that."
Kokomo
The Wildkats have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about their chances of returning to the New Haven Semistate, but it may not translate into early season success.
Kokomo returns its top two runners, junior Tiffany Williams and sophomore Nicky Parry, but coach Ricke Stucker says he has questions beyond that point.
Parry was all-sectional last year with an llth-place finish, and Williams just missed in 17th. Senior returnees Sarah Lee and Sarah McDonald are behind in their conditioning at this point.
"[Parry and Williams] ran a lot this summer and should do pretty Well," Stucker said. "[Lee and McDonald] did not have good summers, but by the end of the season, if they work hard, could be decent. They're just getting in shape:
The Wildkats will also be slowed by a lingering track injury to junior Adrienne Shepherd. Stucker sees great potential in her, assuming Shepherd also comes along physically.
Stucker says Western will once again be the local powerhouse, and that the Marion Regional field he called "really weak" last year could stiffen this season.
"Nobody's going to touch [Western]," he said. "We hope to run a better team time and we'll just see where those regional teams are this year."
Northwestern
The Tigers have fewer athletes than normal, a reality coach Pete Schroer says may make it difficult to earn another regional berth this year.
"If we're going to have similar success, we're going to have to stay very, very healthy," he said. "If we get anybody banged up, we're going to be in tough shape."
Senior returnees Lauren Sewell and Katie Tryling lead a group of seven girls. Sewell was the No. 1 runner last year and will be again this season.
"You can't say enough about the work ethic and positive approach [Sewell] puts into it,' Schroer said. "She has the desire and the drive to do well, and she does everything she needs to do in practice."
Sophomore Jennifer Claudio has cemented the No. 2 spot behind Sewell, and juniors Jackie Combs and Olivia Pohl add experience.
Two first-year runners, sophomore Stephanie Dewhurst and freshman Nicki Hendricks, round out the squad.
"The two new additions are going to help the team be strong and the other girls behind Lauren and Jennifer have just got to work to get themselves in shape," Schroer said.
"They have the experience to know what it takes at that level. They'll be there because they're good athletes and tough competitors."
Taylor
There's good news and bad news for the Titan's.
The good news is Taylor will field a full squad this year, perhaps buoyed bythe success of last season's track and field team.
Those girls reeled off county, conference and sectional titles and seniors Morgan McWhorter and Jamie Dunlap and sophomore Courtney Dunlap bring their success from the track to the cross country team.
The bad news is senior Danielle Glick has another stress fracture, her second in a year. She was released to start limited running only last week, and coach Jim Grossman says the cross country season for Giick might be just a springboard to track season.
"We're going to just try to pamper her for awhile," said Gross, man. "We're still going to work hard, but after losing her summer, there's only so much she can probably accomplish."
Glick is the only girl with cross country experience. She teamed with Courtney Dunlap and McWhorter to help win the sectional 5,200-meter relay title.
Jamie Dunlap is a sprinter in track, according to Grossman, so "she's kind of treading some new water here."
Senior Anisha Gohil, sophomore Brittany Parsley and freshman Leslie Maple round out the lineup.
"We're going to be competitive," Grossman said. "All these girls are athletes, so they're going to be able to jump right in and give us a strong performance."