MARION INVITE

Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, September 03, 2017

BY TRIBUNE STAFF REPORTS

BOYS XC

Kokomo finished middle of the pack in the large-school purple division of the invite, placing eighth out of 16 teams.

Corey Dea placed 27th with a 17:42 for the Kats, Justin Taflinger was 34th at 17:49, Alex Ward set a personal best of 17:57 in 39th, Julian Wallace clocked an 18:27 in finishing 55th, and Rafe Lopez ran 19:54 for 89th.

Maconaquah took 11th overall while Western, with two of its top three runners out with illness, finished 14th.

"We had perfect conditions, just a beautiful day," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "We had good weather on a PR course. When you start the day out missing two of top three guys it makes it difficult but we had a respectable showing."

Andrew Granfield had the top showing for Western, finishing 32nd in 17:48. Brayden Curnutt followed in 50th at 18:14.

"Andrew did a nice job, really moved through the pack the second half of the race," Jewell said. "And Brayden, that's probably the best race he's run."

Chandler Cissell (80th, 19:35), Ethan Lutgen (95th, 20:11) and Trey Shock (96th, 20:13) rounded out the Panthers' top five.

West Noble took the top overall spot in the purple division.

Eastern placed fifth out of 23 teams for the top area finish in the small-school gold division. The Comets raced to a team score of 205.

"I'm really excited about our finish," Eastern coach Ben Cox said. "Last year we were 22nd out of 22 teams at this event. We made a big jump competitively. The three guys at the top for us worked really good together through the entire race."

The Comets' top three packed together to finish 32nd, 33rd and 34th. Caleb Vogl crossed in 18:27, Josh Reprogle in 18:28 and Jack Johnson in 18:29.

Rounding out Eastern were Seth Snyder in 47th (18:46) and Toscha Tränkmann in 60th (19:04).

Northwestern took 18th as a team. Jacob Myers had the top Tiger finish in 18:43 for 45th place. Mitchell Harrell was 79th (19:35), Jace Cournoyer 83rd (19:40), Mason Correll 98th (19:57) and Gus Bourff 115th (20:32).

"We ran nine guys and seven finished with personal bests," Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said. "As far as the team is concerned, they're really improving and really coming together."

Eastbrook won the gold division with a team score of 115.

GIRLS XC

Northwestern ran to a solid fourth-place finish out of 19 teams in the small-school gold division with a team score of 148.

Casey Lechner finished fifth for Northwestern at 20:08 and Lauren Longshore followed in seventh at 20:28.

"Casey and Lauren both set PRs and they're both rising in our record books," Tiger coach Dave Stevens said. "Casey is now third all time and Lauren is sixth. It was an outstanding day. Four of our top seven set PRs. The looks on their faces when they ran, they went after it. When you coach that’s a very rewarding thing to see the determination in each and every one of them."

Adri Freeman was 33rd in 22:23 for Northwestern, Sophia Yager-Motl 37th at 22:33 and Sarah Heaver 80th at 23:58.

Coldwater was first overall at 67 in the gold division, Indianapolis Ritter 2nd at 101, and Westview third at 112.

Eastern finished eighth with a team score of 197. Ella Kantz led the way for the Comets, crossing in 21:37 to place 18th. Also for Eastern were Molly Hapner (47th, 22:54), Katrina Witt (48th, 22:55), Olivia Vogl (50th, 23:02) and Victoria Leeder (52nd, 23:03).

"They looked really strong," Eastern coach Ben Cox said of his squad. "Seven girls ran and six PRd. They raced very, very well."

In the large-school purple division race, Maconaquah posted the top area finish with a seventh-place team score of 148.

Maconaquah's Madison Winegardner was third overall at 19:33. Following her for the Braves were Karli Miller (30th, 21:11), Bailey Hays (35th, 21:35), Haley Salinas (38th, 21:38) and Haley Wimmer (42nd, 21:49).

Western placed 10th in the event with a team score of 224.

Olivia Lushin logged the top Panther finish in 16th place at 20:27. Megan Hampshire was 29th (21:06), Logan Buck 48th (22:10), Alivia Ford 63rd (22:53) and Hannah Lushin 71st (23:12).

Kokomo sophomore Bricely Picasso crossed in 113th place at 26:08, shaving 2:22 off her personal best, to log the Kats' top finish.

F.W. Luers took the top overall spot in the purple division with a team score of 107.