Kokomo Tribune - Friday, October 24, 2008

All signs point to the Western boys cross country team having an historic day Saturday at the New Prairie Semistate.

The No. 20-ranked Panthers have been on a mission since turning in what coach Joe Orr recently described as “the most disappointing performance we had all year” at semistate, where they finished 18th last year.

Seeking a school-first state-finals berth Nov. 1 in Terre Haute, Western has met or exceeded every goal thus far in 2008, winning its first regional title in 28 years at the Culver Academies last Saturday.

Now needing to place only among the top six teams at New Prairie after the IHSAA upped the number of advancing teams in 2007, the Panthers know Saturday will still be an uphill climb.

“We’re going to be ecstatic to be sixth,” Orr said. “After last year I think all of the kids realized there are at least a dozen good teams up there. We just have to give it our best.”

Joining Western from the area are the Kokomo and Maconaquah boys and the Western, Northwestern and Carroll girls, as well as individuals Kory Kennedy of Northwestern, Aaron Garretson of Peru, Annika Taber of Kokomo and Ashley Baber of Lewis Cass. The start is 11 Kokomo time for the girls race.

Western’s boys placed ninth out of 30 teams in the big-school Class AAA of the New Prairie Invitational back in September, behind four other semistate opponents.

Senior Corey Scott finished eighth overall that day, and he’s followed with a sectional win and a regional runner-up.

“It was an invaluable experience to be able to run in that division this year,” said Orr. “Everything is relative, and if we run as well or maybe even better than we have all season, we’ll be able to accomplish that goal.”

The Lady Panthers finished second at Culver, their fourth regional runner-up spot in five years. They were 14th at New Prairie last year and return five girls from that team.

“[The girls] are really excited to run on that course and to have another shot at semistate,” Western coach Heather Yentes said. “It can always happen, but they would have to run their best races of the season in order to advance.”

Sophomore Ashley Gaskins leads Western. She was fourth at sectional and third at regional.

The Tigers will make their first semistate appearance since 2003. They were second to Western at the Logansport Sectional and fourth at regional.

“We’ll get excited about it, but when we come to race it’s just another meet,” said NW coach Dave Stevens. “[Tuesday’s] practice they ran hard and did really well, so that tells me they’re still focused.

“They don’t want to go up there and start and just jog along. They want to compete and do their very best.”

Hannah Ault was third for Northwestern at sectional and eighth at regional.

Kats coach Ricke Stucker will send his fourth straight team to semistate, where he expects a much stronger field. Kokomo was 15th a year ago.

“There’s a big difference between regional and semistate,” Stucker said. “We have to be prepared mentally for all of those bodies in front of us. It’s going to be a real challenge.”

Senior Ian Holtson was 12th for the Kats Saturday at Culver after finishing 12th at sectional.

Taber, a freshman was in contention for a top-four spot at regional before running out of gas and placing eighth. She was second at sectional.

“She’s never had competition quite like this,” Stucker said. “It’ll be a great experience for her. We just want to go up there and not make any mistakes and come away with our heads held high.”

Kennedy is a senior making his semistate debut. He was sixth at Logansport and eighth at Culver.

“I’m going to tell him to run to the front and do the best he can do,” said Stevens. “He’s ready mentally and physically. I’m looking for him to have a great day.”

Garretson, a also senior, makes his third semistate appearance, once as a member of Peru’s team in 2006, but has yet to advance to state. He was sixth at regional.

Baber, a sophomore, will make her second straight semistate run after finishing fourth at Culver.

The Braves will make their first semistate appearance in more than a decade, led by Jacob Bingham and Bryce Comp. They were seventh and ninth respectively at regional.

The Cougars are back at New Prairie for the third year in a row. They were led by Ashley Bordner’s fifth-place finish at the Harrison Regional and were 16th at New Prairie a year ago.