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“We had a bad closure on this course last year,” Western coach Dana Neer said. “We lost to Heights 46-47. We kind of led the whole race, and we got beat in the last 600 meters. We had that in the back of our minds, and we solidly got 29 points [Tuesday]. Our goal was to get five or six in the top 10, and we got six in the top 11. It was a solid race for us.
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“Jenn and Katie just ran so well,” Neer said. “In the woods at the mile mark they were a solid first and second place, and we felt at that point and time we had the race.”
The Panthers’ other runners also had solid showings. Kiley Camp (17:29) came in seventh place, Lacey Myer (17:35) was ninth, Kelsey Durr (17:40) was 10th, Vee Weitbrecht (18:01) was 11th and Vanessa Lorenz (18:24) finished 16th.
“Camp continues to run so well. She has been so focused since the third week of the season,” Neer said. “Myers has her legs bothering her this time of the season, and she was able to block that out and focus. Our two freshmen, Kelsey and Vee, were just awesome. They gain so much confidence in the last five weeks to the point where they are two of the top freshmen in this part of Indiana, and I am proud of all their efforts.
“Our one senior, Lorenz, has been part of three sectional championships with three very strong semi-state showings, but we never won the conference in three years. So we want to dedicate this race to Vanessa.”
Northwestern had three of its top runners place in the top 20. Jennifer Claudio (16:47) led the Purple Tigers with a third-place finish, Nicki Hendricks (17:25) placed sixth and Morgan Hullinger (18:35) was 17th.
“I am very proud of our girls,” Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. “We have been building for this kind of thing all year, and we got one more to go with sectionals, and they are peaking at the right time. It was a good team effort. Jennifer ran a tremendous race up front, and Nicki did a great job.”
Eastern had two runners in the top 20 as Emily Rethlake (18:20) took 15th place and Lindsey Reprogle (18:48) followed in 18th. Taylor also had two runners in the top 20 as Courtney Dunlap (18:15) and Leslie Maple (18:17) finished 12th and 13th, respectively.
Heather Reeves (16:55) led Hamilton Heights with a fourth-place finish. Kolena Bowman (17:34) was the top Maconaquah runner with an eighth-place showing. Cass’ Alex Sullivan (19:14) placed 26th and Peru’s Courtney Iliff (20:04) was 34th.
MIC boys race
Hamilton Heights came in with 46 points to edge Peru by three points. Western (64) took third and was followed by Northwestern (96), Eastern (123), Maconaquah (132) and Cass (166).
“I was awfully proud of the boys,” Heights coach Bill Trachtman said. “We had a real close group of guys, and we knew it was going to be tough to handle Peru and Western. They are two good teams that are well coached. Our goal was to have five in front of Peru’s four. We are proud of that, and it was close. We had a couple of guys charge in at the end. That is something that means a lot to a coach. The Idea that you charge in, dig deep and get one or two guys at the end that was special.”
Jordan Ellis (18:07) led Heights with a fifth-place finish. Also for the Huskies, Zach Cherry (18:10) came in sixth, Martin Garrison (18:13) was seventh, David Silberberg (18:31) took 12th and Ryan Band (18:46) was 16th.
Peru had strong runs as well. Cody Siblisk (16:54) was the overall winner, Aaron Garretson (17:51) came in third and Andrew Bedwell (18:25) was 10th. Also for the Bengal Tigers, J.R. Robison (18:58) was 17th and Tony Zimmerman (19:07) was 18th.
“It’s disappointing, because the seniors really wanted to be a first-place team, and we didn’t get the job done,” Peru coach Gary Downing said. “We haven’t been the healthiest of teams in the last three weeks, and we are fighting through it. Cody did a great job at the end there. Siblisk and [Northwestern’s] Matt Ullmer had a great race at the end, and Cody pulled it out in the last 200 yards. Garretson for a sophomore did a fantastic job.”
Ullmer finished in second place in 16:58, and the Purple Tigers’ Kory Kennedy placed fourth (17:58).
“Matt is starting to drop his times rapidly each meet, and I am really proud of him,” Stevens said. “Running close to [Siblisk] is right where Matt needs to be. This kind of meet is tough for Kory. With the limited vision that he has, he is really concerned about slippery and muddy courses. He held back the first part of the race. At one time, I think he was 12th or 13th, and to get up to the top five is just super.”
Western also had its five runners place in the top 20. Zac Martinez (18:17) led the Western contingent with an eighth-place finish, Kody Harmon (18:21) was ninth, Luke Minor (18:35) came in 13th, Corey Scott (18:41) was 14th and Alex Sigler (19:36) came in 20th.
“We had two sophomores and a freshman finish in our top three,” Neer said. “We have a young team coming back, and we were competitive. We were able to get all five of our guys in the top [20] which is a big goal for us. We have one senior, and that is Minor.”
Drew Parton (18:43) led Eastern with a 15th-place finish and Hansen Martin (19:15) came in 19th for the Comets. Ian Gay was Maconaquah’s top runner in a time of 18:26 for 11th place, and Dean Sixbey (20:29) led Cass with a 29th place finish.
