Neeley leads Eastern girls to first regional title

Kokomo Tribune - October 15, 2011

CULVER — After missing out on the program’s first regional title by just a single point a season ago, the members of Eastern’s girls cross country circled the date Oct. 15, 2011 on their calendars.

“It was hard on us,” junior Bethany Neeley said. “That’s what kept us training.”

That date was to be the day for redemption. And, was it ever.

The Comets put four runners in the top 10, including three in the top four, to claim that elusive first regional crown Saturday at Culver Academies. The Comets had a score of 35. The defending champion and host Eagles followed with 50.

Culver’s top five runners all placed in the top 15, but the Comets’ surge to the front was enough to lift them to the title.

“I told the girls, ‘On paper, we have a slight edge, but not by much,’ and you can never count Culver out because they run so well with this being their home course,” Eastern coach Brandon Mink said. “We ran really strong up front and got all the places that we wanted. They just nailed it down and ran a smart race in the wind.

“They were self-motivated and put in the work. They put up goals, and this has been on their minds for a full year now. It means a whole lot to see how hard they’ve worked. To see it pay off — I’m just so happy for them.”

The scenic course at Culver is nestled between the campus’ buildings and the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee, creating a brisk draft that runners take head on for about half of the double-loop course.

The stiff breeze changed the race plan a little for Eastern, but not enough to effect the outcome.

Bethany Neeley, sister Brittany Neeley and fellow junior Sarah Wagner helped set the early pace, clearing the first kilometer in 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

The lead pack grew to eight runners by the midway point of the race, when Bethany Neeley made her move to break away and built an eight-second lead by the three-kilometer mark.

She built a 23-second lead by the time the race was over, crossing the finish line in 19:13. Although a little off from where she wanted to be time-wise, Bethany was elated to join with her teammates to bring the program its first regional title

“I normally am not running by myself for that long,” she said of her kick midway through the race. “Once I turned the curve with about 200 [meters] to go, I glanced over to see Brittany and Sarah because I knew they needed to be up there [close to the front] for us to do well as a team. It was a really good feeling to see them right where they needed to be.

“I’m about 35 seconds off of my [personal-best time], but I’m not worried about it. I’m right where I need to be and so is the team, so next weekend is going to be exciting [at the New Prairie Semistate].”

Brittany Neeley held off Northfield’s Jenna Halderman to take second at 19:37. Wagner followed in fourth in 19:52, just ahead of Culver’s top finisher, Taylor Stuewe.

Avery Ewing finished in 10th (20:22) for the Comets after taking fourth in Tuesday’s sectional at Logansport, and Ari Rinaldo rounded out the Comets’ top five in 21st at 21:27.

Third-place Northfield, fourth-place Plymouth and fifth-place Rochester earned the other three team berths in the semistate.

Western finished in seventh place, led by Krissy Durr’s 20th-place finish in 21:25. Northwestern took 10th, paced by Britanny Jocius’ 35th-place showing in 22:06.

Boys race

Western sophomore Matt Grider didn’t run the best race of his career, but with the wind hurting times across the board on the boys race, he was happy to take third place in a time 16:55 to advance to the semistate for the second straight year. Western just missed advancing as a team after a sixth-place finish.

Grider was in a pack at the front with Culver’s Leopoldo Burguete and Northfield’s Caleb Augustus for most of the first half of the race. At the four-kilometer mark, Grider started to fall off the pace a bit. Burguette took top honors in 16:35 while Augustus took second in 16:49.

An iliotibal band injury caused Grider to miss most of the first half of the season, but he seems to be in great physical shape with two weeks left in the season.

“I just didn’t have it in me [Saturday],” Grider lamented. “A lot of kids ran slower then they did in the sectional. I think the wind did affect us. Cross country runners are skinnier. They don’t have as much bulk to carry them along.

“This means a lot considering my injury and how much I’ve trained. Coming back has felt good.”

Western coach Gary Jewell is confident that Saturday was a key learning experience for his young squad, which features six underclassmen.

“It’s a good taste for these guys,” Jewell said. “It’s a great thing for these guys to be able to see this. They know, after coming in here, what they need to do in the offseason in order to get out of this place next year.”

Eastern will send two runners on to the semistate. Adam Schaff finished 12th in 17:35 to nail down a spot, and teammate Lewis Duke followed closely behind in 14th at 17:37. Maconaquah’s Quinn Reinhart also stamped his ticket to New Prairie by placing 10th in 17:32.

Northwestern finished eighth on the boys side, led by Charlie Neher’s 26th-place finish in 18:00. Kokomo was ninth, with Matt Scharenbroch leading the Wildkats with a 34th-place showing in 18:13.