PREP ROUNDUP: Comets, Panthers rule NW Combo

Kokomo Tribune - Friday, August 20, 2010

Eastern took care of business in girls cross country by winning the girls side of the Northwestern Combo in a time of 64:25 on Thursday.

Northwestern was second (68:26), and Western came in third (69:43).

The Comets had four of their top five runners place in first or second place in the event, which is broken up into three races - one for the Nos. 1 and 2 runners, one for the 3-4 runners and one for the 5-6-7 runners.

Eastern's Bethany Neeley won the 1-2 race in 1135, followed by Brittany Neeley's second-place finish (12:18). The Comets' Emily Wilcox won the 3-4 race (12:43), and Ari Rinaldo was third (13:19), and Bailey Pressey was second in the 5-6-7 race (14:30).

"The 5-6-7 girls race, Pressey came on strong," Eastern coach Brandon Minks said. "We didn't know where she would. She ran a smart race in pacing herself, and as swimmer by nature, she has shown her competitive side. In the 3-4 race, Wilcox was the girl of the night in dropping off a minute of her time from last year. Ari did a super job as well with the third place. She really stepped it up and ran great

"We expected the Neeleys to do well. The were itching to race with doing so much mileage in the summer. Bethany ran an outstanding race. She was second fastest overall in Combo history. It was a very strong night for us."

Northwestern's Karly Sprouse won the 5-6-7 race in 13:48. The Tigers' Gretchen Catron was second (12:54) in the 3-4 race, and Heidi Freeman was seventh (13:35) for Northwestern in the 1-2 race

"The girls ran well [Thursday]," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. "We looked tired, but it might because of the workouts we had. One of out top runners didn't run in Hannah Ault Her not running made a difference in the total time. I am not disappointed in the second-place finish. The girls adapted to Hannah's absence, and some of the other girls got experience with her being out"

For Western, Corianne Myer (12:51) was fourth in the 1-2 race and Bre Nicholas (13:17) was fifth. Erin Weber (14:06) was eighth in the 3-4 race, and Krissy Durr (14:46) was 10th. The Western pack took third, fourth and fifth in the 5-6-7 race. Jessica Love was third (14:44), Gina Jakubowicz (14:45) was third and Cara Love (15:02) was fifth.

"I was real pleased with our 1-2 girls," Western coach Joni McCracken said. "They pretty much came in where I expected them to be. We know what areas we need to work on and [the event] gave us an idea of where we are to start the season.

"That 5-6-7 pack, I was real pleased with how they ran also. They had a real nice pack run."

BOYS MEET
Western won the combo in a time of 52:50. Carroll was second (54:53), followed by Northwestern (60:08). Eastern did not field a complete team.

Western swept the top spots in both the 5-6-7 and 3-4 races. The Panthers' Braxton Bagwell won the 5-6-7 race in 11:03, followed by Jacob Brad-shaw (11:06), and Ben Brad-shaw (11:24). Western's Christopher Nunan won the 3-4 race (10:38), followed by Kyle Starich (10:49).

In the 1 -2 race, Chris Love took third place (10:02), followed by Matt Grider (10:18). "We actually were a minute faster than we were a year ago, and that is very encouraging," Western coach Gary Jewell said.

"I am very pleased with how we ran. By the time the first boys race got off, it was 85 degrees, and some of the boys were disappointed with their times. We haven't ran a lot when it was hot. The only evening practice was Wednesday night."

Northwestern's top finisher was Charlie Neher in the 5-6-7 race with a fifth place finish (12:00). The Tigers' Sam Freeman was sixth (10:52) in the 1-2 race, and Kyle Condon was ninth (12:52) in the 3-4 race.

"I am very proud of the guys in the third-place finish," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. "It is the best finish since I have been here. The boys have worked very hard in practice, and I am very proud of them." Eastern's Ryan Horner was second (10:02) in the 1-2 race, and Lewis Duke took fourth (11.-22) in the 3-4 race.

"Lewis is a freshmen, and he did well," Eastern coach Brandon Minks said. "He is a competitor, and I am very pleased with him. I am looking to move him up. Ryan dropped 27 seconds from last year. Love and him are glued at the hip. They were stride-to-stride with each other for the last three years. He ran a very strong race."