Kokomo Tribune - Wednesday, October 06, 2010

— Two teams that posted landmark victories a year ago went in somewhat opposite directions Tuesday during the Mid-Indiana Conference cross country championships at Oakbrook Valley Park.

Eastern’s girls, who captured the first MIC title in school history in 2009, dominated this year’s edition behind race winner Bethany Neeley, who set a new course record.

The Comets put their top five finishers among the first 13 places at Oakbrook to tally 32 points, well ahead of runner-up Western (70) and third-place Lewis Cass (91).

“We just wanted to make a statement [Tuesday],” said Eastern coach Brandon Mink. “Everybody came together and pulled their own weight. I gave each of [the girls] goals beforehand and they blew them out of the water. I could not have asked for anything better.”

Maconaquah, on the other hand, snapped Western’s two-year grip on the boys title last season, yet with practically the same squad returning the Braves couldn’t hold back the Panthers, who won with 44 points over Maconaquah’s 50. Hamilton Heights was third with 76 behind race winner Spencer Burgin.

“It is what it is,” Braves coach Melanie Bingham said. “I’m sure all of our guys are disappointed.”

Added coach and husband Jeff Bingham: “I’m happy with some individuals but overall we ran poorly. … That was the quietest warm-down [run] I’ve ever been on.”

Neeley, now a sophomore after a freshman year that saw her finish third in the state in the 800 meters, received a stiff challenge from Heights junior Sydney Chapman, a transfer student from Noblesville.

Running shoulder to shoulder far in front of the rest of the field, Neeley was able to out-run Chapman to the finish in 18 minutes, 39 seconds — eclipsing the 2-year-old mark of 18:43. Chapman was clocked in 18:55.

“I knew I could run with [Chapman] but I honestly did not think I could run that [time],” Neeley said. “I thought this would be the best place to race her. I knew I’d have the advantage of running the course a lot this season. I just ran my race and got her the last 800 [meters].”

Chapman, who only recently became varsity eligible, had been running junior varsity races. She won the JV race at the Maconaquah Invitation on Sept. 11 in 18:47. Neeley won the varsity race that day in 19:40.

“She just ran a really smart race,” Mink said of Neeley, whose twin sister, Brittany, was third in 20:00. “She knew the girl from Heights would be good competition. She’s been on the radar ever since Maconaquah. Bethany did a great job of using that strong kick of hers. Very few people are going to out-kick her.”

Also for the Comets, Sarah Wagner (20:19) was fifth, Emily Wilcox (21:19) was 10th and the top freshman finisher of the day, Ari Rinaldo (21:49), was 13th.

Senior Corianne Myer led the Panthers with a fourth-place finish in 20:08. She was followed in the top 15 by Krissy Durr (seventh) in 20:48 and Erin Weber (11th) in 21:30.

“The girls have been amazing this year,” said first-year Western coach Joni McCracken. “I keep asking of them and they just keep giving. We ended up with five [personal-bests], and Oakbrook is not an easy course.

“One of the things about our girls is they can look at Eastern and appreciate [the effort]. They know [Eastern’s] good, they know [the Comets] work hard and the teams are supportive of each other. Eastern handled everything humbly and that’s nice to see.”

PUSHING: Western’s Matt Grider races to a sixth-place finish in the MIC boys race. Grider helped the Panthers upset Maconaquah for the team title. KT photo

Panther boys edge Braves

How close was the race between Western and Maconaquah? The Braves put their top five runners between second-place Jacob Bingham and 15th place while the Panthers were bunched between third and 18th.

But it was the all-important finishes of sixth-place Matt Grider (17:23) and seventh-place Christopher Nunan (17:25), who were both ahead of Maconaquah’s second runner. Chris Love led Western, finishing third behind Burgin and Bingham in 16:50.

“It felt awesome,” said Love. “We all knew it would be close but it definitely feels good to get in there and do it. It’s what we’ve been aiming for all summer. We had a lot of guys step up.”

Braxton Bagwell was 10th for the Panthers with Ben Bradshaw 18th.

“This all started a year ago,” Western coach Gary Jewell said of the 2009 conference and sectional losses to the Braves. “We thought we could have done this a year ago. Unfortunately we had some [injuries] … so we kind of got relegated to page three, so to speak.

“But I looked at what we had and I said, ‘You know, I think we can do this.’ I’ve told our guys since June, on Oct. 5, we’re going to win the MIC. What are you going to do to make that true? And they took that to heart.”

After Jacob Bingham, Austin Wise was eighth for Maconaquah with Zac Butts 11th, Bryce Comp 14th and Devin Shaffer 15th.

Jeff Bingham thought perhaps an attitude adjustment might be needed before the two teams lock horns again next week at Logansport for the sectional crown.

“I said, ‘Look, guys, just because we’re favored to win, you can’t come in with some sort of nonchalant attitude. You’ve got to come in with your game face on,’” he said. “When you think you’ve got it won, that’s when things happen. And that’s what happened [Tuesday].”