BOYS XC TAYLOR U. INVITE

Kokomo Tribune September 2, 2024

By TRIBUNE STAFF

Western's boys cross country team is hungry to regain the Logansport Sectional title that it last won in 2020.

BOYS XC TAYLOR U. INVITE

Western took fourth at the Taylor University Invitational with a score of 137, Kokomo was seventh (252), Maconaquah 11th (301) and Tipton 13th (317). Homestead won with a score of 44, followed by Zionsville (74) and Yorktown (105).

Camden Raab led Western, taking third in a time of 15:56.3, posting Western’s fifth-best time and best since 2013. He was followed by Miles Rudy (12th, 16:43.2), Maddox Carver (205h, 17:00), Beck Bennet (61st (18:13.2), and Lincoln McKillip (73rd, 18:34.4).

"I think we exceeded expectations," Western coach Gary Jewell said, noting strong competition from top-20 squads Homestead and Zionsville, as well as Yorktown. "We dropped almost three minutes off our cumulative time from last week [at Logansport] and our top-five split improved by over 35 seconds."

Zionsville’s Jack Turnbull was first in 15:47.4.

"Camden nearly pulled off a monumental upset," Jewell said. "Jack Turnbull was defending champion and was an All-State performer last year. Camden told me after the race that at 2 miles he was feeling really good so he took a risk and surged into the lead and maintained it for about 800 meters. But champions figure out a way to make it happen and Turnbull overcame the deficit to claim the win."

For Kokomo, Cooper Cage led the Kats with a season-best time of 17:15. Also for the Kats, Connor Frederick clocked 17:49 for a personal record, Ben Wallace went 18:34 for a PR, Reece Wright had a time of 20:09 in his first cross country 5K and Leo Serra went 20:38 for a PR.

GIRLS XC TAYLOR U. INVITE

Kokomo placed 12th in a 16-team field.

Alaina Thompson (23:31) and Morgan Rakestraw (24:11) had personal records to highlight the Kats’ showing. Also for Kokomo, Christina Durham (26:45) and Claire Callane (26:59) had season-best times.