BOYS XC - NW COMBO

Kokomo Tribune - Wednesday, August 17, 2017

BY TRIBUNE STAFF REPORTS

Western took first among the five complete teams in the Northwestern Combination Race at Oakbrook Park, amassing a time of 55:19 in the three-race format. The combo features a race for each team's 1-2 runners, a race for the 3-4 runners, and a race for the 5-6-7 runners.

First-year cross country runner Chandler Ciscell led Western with a fifth-place finish in the 1-2 race, crossing in 10:53. Western's top five runners finished just 18 seconds apart despite running in three races. Tyler Lechner won the 3-4 race (11:00) and Brayden Curnutt won the 5-6-7 race (11:10).

"We put five guys in 18 seconds," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "We did a little recruiting this summer. We needed a fifth man and Chandler had run track last spring and was a distance kid. He was our top guy [Tuesday]. The time he ran at Oakbrook, that was a solid time. Now we have a pack that can run together during bigger races, which will pay hopefully big dividends."

Maconaquah took second, Eastern was third, Northwestern fourth and Carroll fifth. Maconaquah's Caleb Winegardner won the 1-2 race in 10:39, posting the best time of the three races.

Western won the six-team meet, amassing a time of 66:58 to beat Maconaquah by slightly more than two minutes. Northwestern was third, Eastern fourth, Carroll fifth and Tipton sixth.

Megan Hampshire won the 3-4 race for the Panthers and posted Western's best time in any of the three races, finishing in 12:52. Logan Buck won the 5-6-7 race in 13:52.

"Each of the top teams had a couple people out, of our top runners. We knew that we were all kind of in the same boat," Western coach Joni McCracken said. "I was pleased with where we started out for the season. It was good to get the freshmen started and introduced to the high school level, and I was really glad to see how the freshmen did."

Western's freshmen, Alivia Ford, Sarah Manuel and Emma Kahn, each scored top-10 finishes in their respective races.