Grider leads Western CC to victory

Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, August 25, 2013

Senior Matt Grider paced a 16-team field in 16 minutes, 16 seconds at Saturday's Fountain Central Grand Prix, leading Western to the team title in Saturday's cross country action.

Western dominated on its way to victory with 47 points.  Angola was runner-up with 92 points while McCutcheon took third with 97 points.

Riley Carter followed Grider in fifth place at 17:51, while teammate Auston Davenport followed closely behind in sixth at 17:54. Jacob Bradshaw (18th, 18:52) and Mark Boss (19th, 18:58) added top-20 showings for the Panthers.

"This is the first time we've ever won this meet, and we've been coming here for probably 10 years or so," ;Western coach Gary Jewell said. "Davenport and Carter both had PRs on a ,course that's not easy. The course typically runs 30 seconds slow. Grider won by 34 seconds, and the guy who finished second beat him last year. We had some really good performances from ,our top three. Any time you put three in the top six, that's huge. Grider’s time vas the second-fastest in meet history."

Girls Meet

Western finished in third in the 19-team event behind champion Seeger and runner-up Perry Meridian.

Perry Meridian's Kieran Casey won the event in 20:31. Western's Erin Knepley finished second in 20:56.

Nicole Hampshire added a fourth-place showing for the Panthers in 21:39. Emma Nixon finished 11th in 22:44, Sam Luginbuhl followed in 15th at 22:57, and Jama Claxton took 43rd in 25:13.

"It was a really great competition," Western coach Joni McCracken said. "Seeger has a great team that's very deep, and obviously Perry Meridian is going to be very good. All the girls who ran here last year and ran again this year improved significantly. We're in better shape this season than we were at this point in the year, so I'm excited to see what the rest of the season brings."