Eastern runners set pace

Comets return core of squad that won sectional title.

Kokomo Tribune - Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Whatever anonymity Eastern and twins Bethany and Brittany Neeley shared prior to the 2009 girls cross country season quickly evaporated as the Comets blazed a trail that led to first-ever Mid-Indiana Conference and Logansport Sectional championships.

The Neeleys never slowed down and culminated their incomparable freshman years as both placed at the state track and field meet in June. What do they and classmate Sarah Wagner do for an encore this season? Plenty, according to coach Brandon Mink.

“Last year we weren’t necessarily on everybody’s radar coming in, and this year we certainly will be,” says Mink. “We’ve had a good summer of running and we’re excited about improving a little bit from where we were last year even.

“I don’t expect any letdown at all. They’re looking strong and are ahead of where they were last year.”

And what of the team Eastern dethroned, the Western Panthers, who had won six straight sectional titles?

“Our area has some great runners but our girls are going to be right there with them,” said first-year Western coach Joni McCracken. “We’re all going to be vying for that [top] position.

“We’re not going to give it up that easily.”

The following are capsules of the five Howard County teams in alphabetical order.

Eastern

The Comets still have some work to do to replace graduated Lindsey Reprogle, who ran usually fourth or fifth last season.

Two of the candidates to fill that role are freshmen Ari Rinaldo and Cambry Martin, whose brother Hansen just completed his stellar career at Eastern.

“She’s been around the sport quite a bit,” Mink said. “They’ve shown good promise from track and having a cross country background, so we’re hoping they can, by the end of the year, at least be where Lindsey was last year.”

Other girls competing for a spot are sophomore Bailey Pressey, who had her own breakthrough season as a freshman swimmer; returning junior Sarah Willis and freshman Megan Hedges.

Of course, all Bethany Neeley, Brittany Neeley and Wagner did was place first, fifth and eighth at sectional while senior Emily Wilcox was 29th. All four should be primed for another championship season.

“If we can get that fifth spot shored up we should be in really good shape.”

Kokomo

The Kats have handed the reins over to former runner and assistant coach Andrea Harris.

Harris has just three veterans returning from the team that finished eighth at sectional, juniors Annika Taber and Brittany Wade and sophomore Morgan Kemper.

“We’ll have a young team this year,” said Harris. “It’s just going to be a building and learning year with the transition of me being a new coach.”

Taber was a semistate qualifier as a freshman but missed nearly all of 2009 with a fractured leg.

“My hope with her is that we can just keep her healthy,” Harris said of Taber. “We just need to be patient. She certainly can come back and do as well as she did her freshman year and even better.”

The rest of the squad includes juniors Katharine Calabro and Samantha Glenn and sophomores Briel Robinson, Kierra Bronson and Brooke Wininger.

Northwestern

The Tigers had high hopes last season but were slowed at times by illness and injury. Even with Gretchen Catron just out of a walking boot, Northwestern still managed a runner-up finish at sectional to Eastern by 12 points.

“I have the same optimism for this season as I had for last season,” says coach Dave Stevens. “This year hopefully we’ll be able to accomplish all those things.

“The one thing about the girls is that they have been businesslike. They get excited but they’re never too high and never too low. They know what we want to do … and I don’t have to tell them about what our goal is.”

Returning with regional experience are seniors Hannah Ault and Catron, junior Brittney Jocius and sophomores Elise Cobb and Heidi Freeman, who was sixth at the Culver Academies Regional as a freshman.

Stevens has a total of 16 girls from which to choose a lineup, including junior returnees Kadi Miller, Emily Walls and Jenna Jordan and freshmen Karly Sprouse and Taryn Thor.

“We have tremendous leadership,” Stevens said. “Gretchen and Hannah are four-year varsity runners and they know what I expect. They take over with the younger girls and if someone is having a problem, they’re all over it.”

Taylor

Coach Matt Carlile has just one runner this season so far, junior Caitlyn Arnold.

“She’s always been strongly competitive in other sports, so I’m looking for some decent results from her,” Carlile said of Arnold.

Western

The Panthers will rely on several holdovers from their regional-qualifying team, including seniors Corianne Myer and Bre Nicholas.

McCracken has been putting the team through its paces with a renewed work ethic.

“They have really stepped it up,” said McCracken. “[The girls] have been so positive about getting used to my coaching style. They have responded and they’re working hard.

“My big thing is just to pull them together as a team. We’ve been bringing them along slowly as far as mileage goes and give them some time to buy into the fact that, if we work hard, we’ll see results.”

Also returning are juniors Krissy Durr, Gina Jakubowicz, Cara Love and Erin Weber and sophomore Jessica Love, as well as sophomores Tori Berger, Olivia Nixon, Carly Lawhead and Cami Griffith.

Myer was 15th and Durr 19th at sectional a year ago.

“[After those two] we’re going to have a pack that’s led by Bre and Erin,” McCracken said. “Gina and Cara are all going to be right in there with Jessica Love. That group is going to be strong, really close together.”