Western Invitational
Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, August 31, 2014
BY TRIBUNE SPORTS STAFF
The host school placed highest out of Howard County squads in the boys half of Saturday’s Western Invite as the Panther cross country runners finished seventh out of 15 teams.
Westfield finished first at the invite with 25 points, placing the top runner with Sam Henthorn, who set the pace with a time of 16:39.
Josh Everetts was the top finisher for Western, placing 20th at 17:55.
Other top finishers for the Panthers included Riley Carter in 28th place (18:14), Auston Davenport (32nd, 18:25) and Caleb Maddox (33, 18:27) running neck and neck, and Alex Taylor finishing 57th at 19:16.
“I didn’t feel like we ran our best race,” Western coach Gary Jewell said. “Honestly, our top four is pretty strong. I think we’re laying the groundwork to run a lot faster later in the season.”
Kokomo finished ninth in the event, while Eastern ran to a 13th-place finish with a score of 367.
“I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect,” Eastern first-year coach Ben Cox said. “What I was looking for was a good effort, and I got that. Our No.1, Brenton Cherry, this was his first meet, and his splits were consistent and he ran a good race.”
Cherry finished 46th at 18:52. Aaron Schaaf was 74th at 20:08 and Matt Kerner finished in 82nd with a time of 20:32.
Also for the Comets, Trevor Buchanan was 84th with a time of 20:36, and Evan Hursh finished 91st at 21:15.
With only three runners, Peru did not place as a team, but Nathan Cole ran for a 30th-place finish with a time of 18:22, and following him were Chris Estrada (53rd, 19:10) and Zach Hollis (85th, 20:37).
GIRLS RACE
Maconaquah posted the best finish of local schools on the girls’ side, placing sixth. Western followed in seventh.
Madeline Lilly of Twin Lakes posted the top time at 19:38.
Western’s Nicole Hampshire was close behind, finishing in fifth place at 20:38. “Nicole has been running very, very strong and she ran a very good race,” Western coach Joni McCracken said. “We had a couple of girls who really stepped up and I was really pleased with that.”
Allison McMinn finished 49th with a time of 23:27 and Taylor Walden finished 53rd at 23:42. Sam Luginbuhl finished 57th (24:01) and Cora Johnson was 59th (24:24).Eastern finished ninth in the event.
FASTEST LOCAL: Western's Nicole Hampshire was the fastest local runner in the girls side of the Western Invite on Saturday. She took fifth overall in 20:38 to help Western's girls to a seventh-place finish.
Carly Jones led the Comets with a time of 21:35 for an 18th-place finish. Avery Ewing finished 25th with a time of 22:06 and Sydnie Hill finished 50th with a time of 22:31. Elyssa DeAngulo finished 90th (27:58), and Kaitlin Adair was 91st (28:42).
“It’s an excellent field to run against,” Eastern coach Ben Cox said. “It’s early in the season and awfully hard to run when it’s this humid. We’ve got some things to work on with our times coming down and things like that, but the girls gave their best effort.”
Peru finished 14th in the event, with Jesse Zvers racing to a 23rd-place finish at 22:04. Anna Boyer was 45th with a time of 23:17. Jaelin Richardson was 65th (24:55), Kaylee Anderson was 85th (26:34) and Jazzmyan Bayless was 93rd (29:46).