Grider sets a fast pace as Western boys rule Maconaquah CC invite.

Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, September 15, 2013

By Tribune Sports Staff

Warren Central won the 14-team invite with 66, Noblesville was second with 72, Western was third with 92, Kokomo was fourth with 95, Tipton seventh with 188, Northwestern ninth with 223, Eastern 11th with 263 and Taylor was 14th with 424.

Western's Matt Griller paced the field with a first-place finish in 15:59. Riley Carter was 16th in 17:15. Auston Davenport was 19th 17:22. Caleb Maddox was 24th in 17:43. And Josh Scott was 32nd in 18:03.

"It's nice that we finally got .good weather," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "We've been kind of plagued with having races when it's hot out. Tuesday at Oak Hill it was 95 degrees. [Saturday] it was 50 which is more conducive to running fast times. we had 10 guys run PRs out of the 20 that we ran. Matt had a good race, took the lead at a bout a mile and stretched it out to about 12 seconds."

Northwestern finished ninth as a team, led by Zach Duranto's 21st-place finish in 17:32. Shad Jakes finished 44th in 18:30, followed by Charlie Neher in 45th (18:31), Taylor McLain in 50th (18:41) and Josh Perry in 65th (19:55).

"I'm not feeling too bad about us right now," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. "I wish we were a little faster [Saturday], but when I went over the scats, 11 of our 15 guys had season's or personal-best times. So, we're moving in the right direction. The competition was good [Saturday]. The bigger schools went to the top, as what normally happens. I'm happy with the guys. I think we'll continue to improve meet after meet."

Eastern finished 11th as a team, led by race runner-up Lewis Duke, who finished in 16:11. Brenton Cherry (52nd, 18:49), Matt Kerner (66th, 19:59), Trevor Buchanan (71st, 20:22) and Evan Hursh (79th, 20:46) also competed for the Comets.

"This was the first time we've competed as a complete team this season, so that was a positive right off the bat," Eastern coach Brandon Mink said. "Four of our five guys had personal bests and the one who didn't was Lewis, and he ran an outstanding race. He timed his kick perfectly, raced very even and had a strong finish to nip a couple guys at the end. He did an excellent job."

Jeremy Breedlove led Kokomo with a fourth-place finish in 16:14. Ethan Sharp followed in 13th in 17:09. Jordan Fivecoat took 15th in 17:14, while Max McHaney took 26th at 17:53 and Colton Pearce took 37th at 18:16.

Taylor finished 14th, led by Kaleil Rucker. who finished 80th in 20:57. Stephen Sholty (87th, 22:27), Nick Denman (90th, 23:29), Alex Guy (92nd, 24:22), and Victor staggs (94th, 28:18) rounded out the Titans lineup.

Freshman Adam Rood led Maconquah with a 53rd-place finish in 18:54, while Carl Cook followed in 75th-place finish in a time of 20:24.

GIRLS RACE

Noblesville won the meet with 46 points, followed by Warren Central (74), Twin Lakes (80), Western (127) and Eastern (131) to round out the top five teams. Maconaquah was seventh with 176, Northwestern was eighth with 196, and Kokomo finished 11th with 303.

Twin Lakes' Madeline Lilly won the race in 18:55, narrowly edging Northwestern's Taryn Thor, who finished second in 18:58. Kindra Gingerich (49th, 22:44), Nicole Crocker (51st, 22:50), Rachel Johns (54th, 23:12) and Jensen Freeman (57th, 23:36) also competed for the Purple Tigers.

"Taryn is working extremely hard and has big goals," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. "So, her workouts
have been tough in the last couple weeks with the heat index. I think she is where she needs to be right now to be running in late October. We ran 14 girls and eight of them had personal or season's-best. After a week of practice in the heat we came out strong [Saturday] morning. We're not where we want to be a as a team yet, and I'm sure the girls will continue to work to get there. Our times right now are an indication of how hard we're working in practice."

Eastern put a pair of sophomores in the top 10. Avery Ewing finished eighth in 19:52 while Carly Jones followed in 10th in 20:15. Jessie Sprinkles took 12th in 20:21, while Elysaa DeAngulo (43rd, 22:17) and Kaylee Gebhart (68th, 25:14) rounded out the Comets' lineup.

"I thought we did really well. With the cards we were dealt we did as best as we could," Eastern coach Brandon Mink said. "Western beat us by four, so hats off to them. We ran just about as well as we could, so I'm proud of the girls. We had two PRs and another season's best, so it was a good performance out of the five girls that ran [Saturday]."

Freshman Cinnamon Andrews led Kokomo in 33rd in a time of 21:41. Mary Lucas (76th, 27:32), Hannah Reecer (79th, 29:36), Madeline Ryals (80th, 29:46) and Abbie O'Keefe (81st, 29:59) also competed for the Wildkats, with Reecer, Ryals, and O'Keefe each shaving two minutes off of their season's-best times.

"It was a beautiful day to run compared to the last couple weeks," Kokomo coach Dave Barnes said. "The girls performed outstanding for me. We aren't as talented as some, but I ask them to improve every meet for me and that's what it's about. We're making great improvements and working hard. For three to take off two minutes is outstanding. Cinnamon was down a minute and when you're already in that caliber, that's outstanding. I'm very pleased."

Taylor was led by Cami Hansen, who finished 14th in 20:23. Teammate Paige Welsh followed in 64th at 24:25. Olivia Winegardner led Maconaquah with an 18th-place finish in a time of 20:50. Kate White followed in 27th in 21:22, followed by Vanessa Frazier (35th, 21:42), Amanda Shinn (50th, 22:48) and Bekah Shinn (58th, 23:37).