Western, Eastern take MIC cross country titles

Kokomo Tribune - Wednesday, October 05, 2011

BOYS MEET

Western repeated as Mid-Indiana Conference champions in the meet at Oakbrook Valley. The Panthers posted a score of 44 to easily better runner-up Hamilton Heights (78). Northwestern (81) was third and Peru (111), Maconaquah (112), Eastern (116), Cass (135) and Taylor (incomplete) rounded out the field.

Western's top five runners were: Matt Grider (first place, 16:41); Braxton Bagwell (seventh, 18:01); Jacob Bradshaw (eighth, 18:06); Auston Davenport (12th, 18:33) and Austin Elliott (18th, 19:22).

"Matt ran a very good race," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "He took over the leadership of the race at about the 2-kilometer mark and put in a big surge. He opened up a 20-second lead and ended up winning by 29 seconds.

"I thought Braxton Bagwell ran probably his best race of the year. ... Jacob Bradshav,' was having a good race and then right before the 2-mile mark, he rolled an ankle on a walnut. He soldiered home. He has been a solid No. 2 runner for us and I think that's going to continue. And then Auston Davenport, our No. 4 guy, ran a PR. He is looking better and better as a freshman."

Northwestern's top five runners were: Charlie Neher (fifth place, 17:53); Zach Duranto (ninth, 18:19); Shad Jakes (17th, 19:17); Tyler Barnes (25th, 20:07) and Bradley Jakes (28th, 20:21).

"We're very excited about the way the guys ran. This was one of our best finishes in a long time," NW coach Dave Stevens said."... All 11 boys have been working hard all season long and now they're starting to get faster and faster as the meets go on and that's a great thing."

Eastern's top five runners were: Adam Schaaf (third place, 17:28); Lewis Duke (sixth, 18:00); Damon Byers (32nd, 20:58); Kevin Zheng (37th, 21:42) and Jason Taylor (42nd, 22:56).

"We were only five points out of fourth place, so we were about where we thought we'd be," Eastern coach Brandon Mink said.

"I gave goals for Adam and Lewis before the meet to get third and sixth and they nailed that down. I was very pleased with the way they ran. Adam passed a couple guys in the last mile and a half to crack the top three, which was a nice accomplishment for him."

GIRLS MEET

Eastern ran away with the Mid-Indiana Conference meet at Oakbrook Valley, posting a dominant score of 19 in taking its third straight conference title. Cass (83) finished in a distant second place.

Northwestern (96), Western (105), Hamilton Heights (109), Maconaquah (125), Peru (132) and Taylor (incomplete) rounded out the field.

Eastern's top five runners were: Bethany Neeley (first place, 19:25); Sarah Wagner (third, 19:56); Avery Ewing (fourth, 20:53); Brittany Neeley (fifth, 21:10) and Ari Rinaldo (sixth, 21:17).

"I was very proud of the girls. We had five of the top six runners — I couldn't ask for much more than that," Eastern coach Mink said. "I was especially pleased with the way Brittany ran back from where she normally does to help push our fifth runner. It really helped pull Ari ahead of a couple Lewis Cass runners. That allowed us to get five in the top six. I was very pleased with that — it was a self less act."

Hamilton Heights' Sydney Chapman broke up Eastern's dominance with a second-place finish in 19:40.

Third-place NW's top five were: Taryn Thor (12th place, 21:52); Britanny Jocius (14th, 22:34); Olivia Price (21st, 23:07); Megan Bunch (23rd, 23:35) and Elise Cobb (26th, 24:02).

"The seven girls who ran varsity for us did a very good job," NW skipper Stevens said. "Once again, we were running without two of our top four runners and for the girls to take a third-place finish was very good. I am very proud of their performance."