Local standouts race at state CC meet

Kokomo Tribune - November 03, 2013

Thor, Duke, Breedlove and Griller finish 2013 at state

TERRE HAUTE - The Indiana state cross country meet was an eye-opening experience for Howard County's first-time participants at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Saturday.

More than 400 boys and girls runners participated in the state championship, which was swept by Carmel's boys and girls teams for the second consecutive year. Eastern senior Lewis Duke, the area's top boys' finisher, said the competition was keen and he wanted to enjoy his last high school race.

“I didn't do as well as I had wanted to, but I went out and had fun and that was the most important thing," said Duke, who placed in the top half the boys race, finishing 70th with a time of 16:34.5. “I learned that everyone who goes out fast doesn't die like they do the other meets. Everyone's fighting because it's their last meet and everyone wants it.”

Kokomo senior Jeremy Breedlove, who finished behind Duke and Western's Matt Grider in the New Prairie semistate meet last week and Culver Academies regional two weeks ago, managed to beat Grider Saturday while moving just two places off Duke.

Breedlove, who finished 72nd with a time of 16:35.9, called his first state cross country meet a "sobering experience”. “I went out under five minutes and usually if I'm out under five minutes, I'm usually in the top 20, Breedlove said. "This time, I would have been lucky if I was in the top 100.

"Up until tournament time I was in the top 10 in all of my races," Breedlove added. "I knew the competition was there. I went to a Nike camp over the summer and saw a lot of familiar people I wished good luck. The overall experience is all good. I am glad I'm here and happy for the other two from Howard County."

On the girls' side, Northwestern's Taryn Thor finished 40th in the with a time of 19:05.5, a little slower of her time of 18:41.6 in the New Prairie semistate last weekend but with the best place of any boy or girl from Howard County.

She's the first NW girl to run at state.

Grider's 16:51.7 (101st place) was off the pace he established during the postseason, where he ran a 16:22 to place second at the Culver Academies regional and 16:11 for eighth place at the New Prairie semistate meet last year.

"My legs started hurting a mile-and-a-half into the race fell and I back a lot," Grider said. "I knew they would go out really fast because I came here to watch them last year. I was surprised by how they spread out so quickly. I think I learned how to better prepare myself for something like this in the future and handle the atmosphere of it all.”