CROSS COUNTRY: Squads tackle Braves' course

Western's Everetts takes second place in boys race

Kokomo Tribune - Tuesday, August 18, 2015

By Tribune sports staff

BUNKER HILL — Kokomo's boys team and Maconaquah's girls team took third-place finishes to lead the local teams in Maconaquah's cross country invitational on Saturday.

In the boys race, No. 13-ranked Noblesville posted an impressive score of 21 to run away with the title. Warren Central was a distant second with 100 and Kokomo (118) edged Marion (121) for third. The rest of the standings had Twin Lakes (139), Western (149), Pioneer (162), Maconaquah (209), Cass (239), Peru (280), Hamilton Heights (312), Tipton (329) and Northwestern (334).

Noblesville (31) also won the girls race. Twin Lakes (92), Maconaquah (101), Warren Central (112) and Northwestern (129) completed the top five. Tipton (190), Marion (203), Western (207), Cass (213), Pioneer (222), Hamilton Heights (254) and Kokomo (289) rounded out the 12-team field.

BOYS RACE

Kokomo's top five runners were: Ethan Sharp (eighth place, 16:54); Max White (17th, 17:41); Colten Pearce (24th, 17:52); Max McHaney (37th, 18:23); and Corey Dea (40th, 18:25).

"Five of seven Wildkat harriers ran well," coach Ricke Stucker said. "We set a season best of 74.8 in our team last 400."

Western was led by Josh Everetts, who ran to a second-place finish in 16:37.

"He was in the race the entire time," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "There was a lead pack of about eight to 10 guys and he sat in that pack the entire way. ... It's starting to come easy for him. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do in the very near future."

The Panthers' other scoring runners were: Josh Scott (18th, 17:45); Alex Taylor (36th, 18:23); Andrew Granfield (51st, 19:01); and Tyler Lechner (52nd, 19:02)."We ran a lot better than we did last week," Jewell said, referring to the Marion Invitational on Sept. 5. "It's amazing what happens when the temperature is 20 degrees cooler. It was probably 54 degrees [Saturday] and that's tremendous for a lot of kids.

"We had eight guys run personal bests," Jewell added. "Josh Scott dropped 41 seconds from last week and 24 off his previous best. He got under 18:00 for the first time in his career."

Northwestern's top five runners were: Spencer Hutchens (49th, 18:55); Owen Munson (75th, 19:56); Gavin Smith (80th, 20:22); Dylan Stahl (81st, 20:27); and Corey Menning (89th, 20:52)

"After a hard week of practice, I wasn't sure what to expect from the guys, especially the newer guys, but they didn't let me down. They went out there and ran hard," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said.

Eastern and Taylor had incomplete teams. The Comets' runners were Josh Reprogle (70th, 19:46) and Seth Snyder (104th, 23:20). Taylor's runner was Braxton Downs (101st, 22:14).

GIRLS RACE

Third-place finisher Maconaquah was led by the sister duo of Madison and Olivia Winegardner. They crossed the finish line 12th and 16th in the 102-runner field. Madison covered the 5K course in 20:12 while Olivia clocked 20:22.

Rounding out the scoring for Maconaquah were Haley Wimmer (22nd, 21:01), Bailey Hays (24th, 21:17) and Bekah Shinn (40th, 22:11).

“There was some very good competition at the meet and our girls performed very well,” Mac coach Charlie Hubler said. “We had several girls run their personal best and we are confident that they will run even faster as the season moves along.”

Casey Lechner led Northwestern to its fifth-place finish. Lechner was 18th in 20:50. The Tigers' other runners who scored were: Kate Bilkey (23rd, 21:16); Jensen Freeman (29th, 21:37); Sophia Yager-Motl (33rd, 21:54);

"Of my varsity seven, six of the seven all went personal best. Top to bottom, just a tremendous day for all the girls who ran for me," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said, noting the cooler temperature was a welcome change.

"I'm proud of the entire team. Every girl is out there to get better. They want to see improvement each week. It's a thrill to watch them grow as a team and attack on the course."

Western's top five runners were: Allison McMinn (27th, 21:23); Taylor Walden (38th, 22:03); Logan Buck (45th, 22:20); Jama Claxton (62nd, 23:20); and Bronwyn Getts (66th, 23:39).

"We went into it with some specific purposes," Western coach Joni McCracken said, noting the Panthers ran without some of their regulars. "We got to see a lot out of the kids who got a chance to be out there in our scoring positions. Allison McMinn had a great race and Taylor Walden is getting back in there after a rough start at the beginning of the season."

Kokomo's top runners were: Cinnamon Andrews (28th, 21:46); Breanna Roberts (58th, 23:14); and Madison Cleaver (69th, 23:47).

Kokomo coach Chad Salinas noted Andrews dropped 57 seconds off her previous season-best time.

"This was our best team performance this season," he said. "Ten of our 11 runners posted season-best times, which is an indication that we are beginning to get healthy and gaining confidence."

Eastern and Taylor fielded incomplete teams. Carly Jones led the Comets with a 13th-place finish in 20:17. Also running for the Comets were: Sydnie Hill (48th, 22:28); Molly Hapner (49th, 22:29); Catie White (99th; 31:33)

"I feel like everybody went after the goals we had for the day and achieved them," Eastern coach Ben Cox said.

Cami Hansen led Taylor with a sixth-place finish in a season-best time of 19:55. Paige Welsh was 81st in 24:58.