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RUSSIAVILLE — Just moments after the Eastern girls cross country team shook the very foundations of the Mid-Indiana Conference with a monumental victory, Maconaquah served notice that things won’t be the same on the boys side for a while either.
With a lineup that features six juniors, all with extensive experience, the Braves handed two-time defending champion Western a 32-49 setback in the boys race, with Eastern (88) a distant third. Hamilton Heights (105) was fourth, Peru (138) fifth, Lewis Cass (159) sixth, Taylor (165) seventh and Northwestern (190) eighth.
Maconaquah put all five of its markers in the top 10, led by Jacob Bingham (17:08) in second place, Chad Gregory (17:20) fifth, Austin Wise (17:33) seventh, Zac Butts (17:37) eighth and Bryce Comp (17:49) 10th.
“I’ve been saying for two years now that those guys were going to get really good, and I figure this year is the year,” said first-year Panthers coach Gary Jewell. “They’ve got juniors who have been running together for three years, and you can see the difference in what that does for the team. They are very talented.”
For the Braves, it’s a family affair with head coach Melanie Bingham; her husband, assistant coach Jeff Bingham, and their son Jacob.
“We have six juniors right now who have been working hard, especially this season. They’ve just turned it on and have been working hard at every practice,” said Melanie Bingham.
“I’m still waiting for Bryce Comp to get healthy,” Jeff Bingham added. “He was running 1-2 for us last year and I don’t know if he’s going to get out of [running with pain]. But we’ll take what we’ve got, even though he’s running No. 5. He’s a big part of the team.”
Western senior Austin Young, who apprenticed under last year’s champion Corey Scott for three years, captured the individual title easily in 16 minutes, 27 seconds.
“Last year Corey Scott won, so it was nice to bring another one home,” Young said. “That helped me out a lot in training. Now I know how to train better.
“That wind was tough. I took [the pace] out slow and just kept building it up gradually. I put a little surge in the second mile and that’s when I pulled away.”
Learning to pace himself is something Young has been getting an earful of from Jewell.
“We had a discussion after the Logansport meet where he went out too fast,” Jewell said. “If you can back that [fast pace] off a little bit, the rest of the race gets a lot easier. I think he went out [Tuesday] in 5:20, 5:22 and he ended up running 16:27. He got done and said, ‘I ran just fine.’ I’m happy for him.”
Kody Harmon (17:27) finished sixth for Western, which recently lost John Capps to a broken toe. Chris Love (17:44) was ninth, Ben Bradshaw (18:23) was 16th and Braxton Bagwell (18:29) was 17th.
“We took a big blow when John Capps broke his toe, and I don’t know if I’ll have him back,” said Jewell. “We have a gap between our No. 3 and our No. 4 and it’s over a minute. That’s hard to cover.
“I’m not disappointed in my team. Every once in a while you take your lumps. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see this one coming.”
For the Comets, Ryan Horner (17:14) was third, Hansen Martin (18:02) was 12th, Mitch Padfield (18:45) was 21st, Brett Buckmaster (19:01) was 25th and Sam Clark (19:20) was 27th.
Peru’s Shannon Garretson (18:05), Cass’ Nate Wilson (18:08) and Northwestern’s Sam Freeman (18:16) rounded out the all-conference slots in 13th, 14th and 15th place respectively.
Justin Anderson (18:58) led Taylor with a 24th-place finish. |
