SETTING THE PACEGIRLS XC: Howard County 2023 season previewNW returns Moore, Adams; Western looks solid again |
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Kokomo Tribune August 24, 2023By BRYAN GASKINSKokomo Tribune In one sense, the girls cross country season has a new look. The IHSAA reduced the state tournament by one week. The tournament now consists of just three rounds — sectionals, regionals and state. The semistate round was eliminated. In another sense, the season has a familiar look with Northwestern returning the dynamic duo of senior Hannah Moore and junior Courtney Adams and Western returning a strong core of runners. Last year, Moore and Adams finished 1-2 in the Hoosier Conference meet, 1-2 in the Logansport Sectional, 2-3 in the Culver Academies Regional and 4-7 in the New Prairie Semistate. Both made it to the State Finals where Moore took 19th place to make the All-State team. Adams was 62nd in the 204-runner field. Moore won the Howard County Cross Country Athlete of the Year award last year. She is a three-time sectional champion and a three-time state qualifier. “Hannah and Courtney had a great year last year, with both of them ending at the State Finals,” Northwestern coach Josh Perry said. “They are coming off excellent track seasons and look ready to make their way back down to Terre Haute in October.” As for Western, the Panthers return nearly intact after taking second in the sectional last year. That marked the eighth time in the last nine sectionals that they were either first or second. The sectional has an expanded look this year as part of the restructured tournament. Northwestern and fellow holdovers Eastern, Kokomo, Western, Carroll, Cass, Maconaquah, Peru, Logansport, Pioneer and Caston are joined by Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Frankfort and Rossville. The following are looks at the four Howard County teams. Taylor does not have a team at this point. NORTHWESTERN The Tigers, who finished fourth as a team in the sectional and advanced to the regional last year, also return senior Hannah Troyer and sophomore Bella Winrotte. Sophomores Emma Baker and Meredith Kelly are new to the team. “Hannah Troyer looks primed and ready to be a solid No. 3 runner for the team,” Perry said. “Newcomer Emma Baker is going to be right with her all season. I was extremely excited to have her come out this season. We also have Bella Winrotte coming back from an injury. She had a great freshman year and I’m sure she will get back to it soon. Rounding out the team is Meredith Kelly. Meredith has only been running for a few weeks but she has been fun to coach with how hard she works.” In the season’s opening week, Moore took first in both Northwestern’s 3K Combination meet and Logansport’s Jacob Graf Memorial Invitational. Adams was second in the combo and fourth in the Graf meet. Northwestern is set for its last season in the Hoosier Conference before moving to the Three Rivers Conference next year. Perry said perennial power West Lafayette is the team to beat in the HC. “We should end up somewhere near the top with a good season,” he said. “The sectional championship will be another competitive meet,” he added. “I feel like there are three or four teams that are good enough to win and we should be in the mix for advancing to the regional meet again.” WESTERN Despite having a veteran lineup, the Panthers are a little behind schedule. “This season has been a little different as we have had several of last year’s varsity team not be able to participate in summer conditioning work. We are behind where I wanted us to be,” coach Ray Tetrault said. “This is also the first year we ever canceled summer practices, which was due to the air quality as a result of the Canadian fires. But the team chemistry is very good, which can cover over a lot of other things.” Last year, the Panthers took second in the Hoosier Conference to set the stage for a strong postseason. After finishing runner-up to Maconaquah in the sectional, they finished third in the regional to advance as a team to the semistate. They took 13th in the 20-team semistate. Sophomore Kendall Depoy leads the returnees. She took fifth place in the sectional and 11th in the regional to highlight a strong freshman season. “We expect and are counting on Kendall to be our front runner,” Tetrault said. The Panthers also return seniors Lauren Bradley (12th in the sectional) and Avery Shock (22nd) and juniors Maddy Shoaff (ninth), Hattie Harlow (15th) and Joy Marley (31st). “Lauren and Avery are both seniors who have been on varsity since their freshman year,” Tetrault said. “Lauren has always had a motor geared to go and her attitude as always been top shelf. Avery is one of the best people you could ever come across. She has looked better than ever during our summertraining. We expect her to be a top five runner for us.” Senior Anna Dipaola, who has varsity experience, and freshman Sam Williams are pushing for spots. |
Western’s Lauren Bradley, head toward the finish line in the Jacob Graf Memorial Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, at Logansport.. Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune
“I think we should be in the top three in our conference and sectional meets,” Tetrault said. “Our pack puts pressure on other teams. We will only go as far as our front runners can take us. If our front of pack runners are unable to remain close to other team front runners, we will struggle to win in the larger meets.” The Panthers had second-place finishes in the Northwestern Combo and Logansport’s Jacob Graf Memorial Invitational to open the season. Tetrault also had juniors Kacey Bogue and Anna Pownall, sophomores Ashlyn Pownall, Kelsey Weber and Emma Conaway, freshmen Mary Claire Dipaola and Lainey Smith and exchange student Shima Nikbakht. KOKOMO “This is my second year as head coach of the girls team and I like how this team is coming together,” he said. “We have eight girls out and seven of them are brand new to the sport. That creates a lot of challenges, but the girls overall have had a realty good summer of training which will be beneficial to them in these early races. “I have preached consistency to them all summer and to their credit they had great attendance over the summer and have really done a nice job buying into the program.” The Kats had only two runners last season and one graduated. Sophomore Gretchen Riggle is back to the team. “She had a good freshman year in both cross country and track,” Ousley said. “She has done a nice job this summer of helping lead our girls team, as she is considered the veteran of the bunch. She has already shown growth and improvement this summer and I think she will continue that throughout the season.” The new runners are junior Daniella Vidal and sophomores Morgan Rakestraw, Christina Durham, Claire Callane, Grace Lake, Madison Armstrong and Leo de Bettigneis. “Morgan has the most running experience as she ran track in the spring, so she comes in a little ahead of the other new girls, but the rest of the girls have been catching on and showing improvement over the course of the summer,” Ousley said. So far, Ousley said Riggle and Rakestraw are his lead runners with Callane and Durham following them. “Those four will make up our varsity and we are trying to figure out who will be our fifth runner as the other girls are close in ability,” he said. Ousley said the main goal for the team is for all the runners to show steady improvement over the course of the season. “That is what this season is all about and the girls know that,” he said. “The girls know there will be many ups and downs, but they are a tough group and aren’t afraid of challenges. They have built great team chemistry and support one another every step of the way.” EASTERN The Comets are looking to seniors Lily Greene and Addie Conner and junior Ava Kantz to lead the squad as returning runners. “Ava will be returning as our No. 1 runner,” Eastern coach Ben Cox said. “We’re thrilled for her to be racing again after an injury kept her out of the last part of track season in the spring.” Cox also has junior Marly Coan, sophomore Alivia Kinney and freshmen Destiny Hess and Malia Shellnut. “The girls are fantastic teammates who make each other better, and it showed at the Northwestern Combination,” Cox said, referring to last week’s season opener. “We have a good mix of experience and inexperience, and our leaders are great teachers, so I’m looking forward to how we grow throughout the season. “We’ll be looking for individual accomplishments and advancement this year in the tournament,” he added. |