CATCH 'EM IF YOU CAN

Kokomo Tribune Aug 16, 2016

Western's boys cross country team once again looks like a sectional contender.

The Panthers took home the Logansport Sectional hardware four times over a six-year span ending in 2013. They finished as runners-up in 2014 before settling for fourth place last year.

Coach Gary Jewell returns eight of his top nine runners — including No. 1 Josh Everetts.

"He’s probably the best runner in our area and is one of the top runners in our semistate," Jewell said of the Panther senior.

Individually in 2015, Everetts finished fourth in the sectional, seventh in the Culver Academies Regional and 43rd in the New Prairie Semistate.

"I think he’s going to surprise some people this year," Jewell said. "He had some enlightening experiences over the past six months that have shaped his expectations for this fall. In July, he attended the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, where he was able to get in some workouts with some elite athletes who also gave him some gave sound training advice.

"One of the things we’ve worked on this summer was his ability to out-run the competition rather than trying to out-kick it. He had three very good races this summer where he placed second at the Haynes-Apperson 5K behind [Purdue runner and former Western standout] Matt Grider and won two others. In all three races he ran faster than his best time last year."

The Panthers' other returning letterwinners are seniors Zach Zentz, Hunter Purtee and Ethan Akers and juniors Andrew Granfield, Alex Taylor, Tyler Lechner and Nate Nicholson.

Senior Jason Hampshire, junior Grant Schneck and sophomore Austin McMinn also return for Western and junior Ethan Lutgen and freshmen Trey Shock and Milo Jones round out the roster.

"Our fortunes this year will rest largely on how much our [Nos.] 2 through 5 guys have improved since last fall," Jewell said, noting Taylor, Granfield, Lechner and Zentz all put in a lot of miles over the summer. "Taylor appears to have shaken an injury problem that slowed him last fall. Granfield, Lechner, Zentz and Hampshire have shown tremendous improvement since last year, as well."

Jewell sees defending champion Winamac, Logansport, Maconaquah and Cass as other possible contenders in the sectional. The top five teams in the sectional advance to the regional round, and the top five teams in the regional advance to semistate.

"Goal No. 1 is to qualify the team for semistate," Jewell said.

Western opens today with the Northwestern Combo.

The following are looks at the other Howard County boys teams.

KOKOMO

Longtime Kokomo coach Ricke Stucker said the Wildkats have their work cut out for them.

"The 2016 edition of our KHS boys cross country team is a small, inexperienced squad that did not put in very many miles or meets in June and July," he said. "Only 10 boys are running and only three of them are returning lettermen."

The Kats finished third in the sectional last year. They return sophomore Max White (15th place in the sectional) and juniors Corey Dea (21st) and Justin Taflinger. Dea is the team's captain.

Stucker said White is the Kats' early leader with Dea and Taflinger following closely. Junior J.C. Roberts is the No. 4 runner at this point.

"There is a huge huge gap timewise between No. 4 and No. 5," Stucker said. "Junior Alex Ward had a good summer and is improving. Senior Nigel Lenoir is our No. 6 man."

Junior Noah Gallaher, sophomore Kevin Logan and freshmen Bryce Hagen and Nathanael Elkin round out the roster.

"We need more bodies and some athletes if we are to compete well in the NCC and IHSAA sectional," Stucker said.

Kokomo opens Saturday with the Logansport Invitational.

NORTHWESTERN

Northwestern coach Dave Stevens has 10 runners, which he said is his lowest turnout in several years.

"The numbers are down, but I'm not disappointed with the ones I have. I'm happy with the guys who are out and we'll build what we can build," Stevens said.

The Tigers are led by senior Spencer Hutchins.

"He's looking really strong. He had a good summer. He'll definitely lead us on the course," Stevens said.

Stevens also returns senior Corey Menning, junior Gavin Smith and sophomore Mitchell Harrell from his sectional lineup. Seniors Evan Witter and Jeremy Jakes also are back from last year.

Sophomore Jacob Myers is a promising addition to the team.

"Jacob Myers is showing a real strong look at the No. 2 spot," Stevens said. "Gavin Smith is showing some improvement and probably is going to be 3. Corey Menning, Evan Witter and Mitchell Harrell will run 4, 5 and 6 in some order, depending on the day and depending on the course."

Stevens is looking for steady improvement from his squad.

"I think a lot of it is going to be learn as they go. With only 10 guys, there will be some varsity challenges for some of the kids a little earlier than I normally would like. But I don't see any of them being the kind of guy who is going to challenge away from it," he said.

The Tigers open with their annual combination meet today.

EASTERN

Eastern coach Ben Cox is working with six runners.

"It’s exciting to have a complete team this year after running with only three guys last year," Cox said. "They worked hard and they came back and brought three more guys with them. We’re still learning what the new runners can do, but the team is really coming together in a positive way."

Junior Josh Reprogle is the Comets' top returning runner. He had a 43rd-place finish in the sectional last year.

Junior Ethan Shook and sophomore Seth Snyder also are back and Macaiah White, Alex Morrow and Nick Hillman are the newcomers.

"With half of the team new this year, it’s hard to tell exactly how competitive we’ll be, but we’ll be scoring in the meets, which is really encouraging after last year," Cox said. "Josh has really grown as a runner in the last year, and we’d like to see him individually qualify for the regional, as he was pretty close to it last year."

Eastern opens today with the Northwestern Combo.

NORTHWESTERN

The Tigers will look to juniors Spencer Hutchins and Corey Menning and senior Owen Munson to lead the way. In the 2014 sectional, Hutchins was 42nd (19:16.43), Menning was 55th (19:58.57) and Munson was 56th (20:04.88). The Tigers finished ninth as a team.

“We have 13 guys out this year and we are off to a very good start,” coach Dave Stevens said. “We have a good mix of returning runners and newcomers.”

Also returning are juniors Camden Hochgesang and Jeremy Jakes and sophomores Jaden Platt and Michael Bolyard.

The newcomers are junior Evan Witter, sophomores Craig Closson, T.J. Macaluso, Gavin Smith and Dylan Stahl and freshman Mitchell Harrell.

“It may take us a few meets to learn what it takes to run at this level,” Stevens said. “Many of our guys are out for cross country for the first time, but they come from other sports where they were competitors. So, I feel excited about watching them learn and develop.”

Northwestern has moved to the Hoosier Conference following the MIC’s breakup.

“I will miss the MIC,” Stevens said. “It was a great conference with very good competition all the time. Eleven schools [in the Hoosier] is a lot, but we will compete and we’re looking forward to making new rivalries and relationships with our new conference members.”

The Tigers open today with their annual combination meet.

TAYLOR

Taylor coach Matt Carlile has two runners, sophomores Anthony Sommer and Eli Paul. Both are back from last season.

"They've improved a lot from last year, which is great," Carlile said. "Anthony had never run before. He has really dropped his times. Eli looks like he's already ahead of last year."

Taylor opens next week.