2x2 for Terre Haute

Western juniors Camden Raab and Miles Rudy, Lewis Cass sophomore Ben Jay and Cass junior Aftin Griffin earned spots in the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals by advancing as individuals from the Brownsburg Regional on Saturday.

In the regional round, the top 15 runners not on an advancing team qualify for state. The state meet is this coming Saturday at Terre Haute. The girls race, featuring a return appearance by Griffin, opens the event at noon and the boys race follows at 2:30 p.m.

Raab, Rudy and Jay each advanced from the boys race at Brownsburg. Raab scored a top-10 finish, taking seventh in 15:32 flat. Rudy was 23rd in 15:59.1.

"What a great accomplishment by Camden and Miles," Western coach Gary Jewell said. "This is the first time we've had two guys run under 16:00 in the same race since Chris Williams and Jeff Brantley did it at the 1980 State Finals."

Jewell said both Raab and Rudy improved by better than a minute on the Brownsburg course since last year. While Raab ran in the top 10 for most of the race, Rudy was in 50th place at the mile mark before making his move and finishing strong. He cracked 16:00 for the first time.

"This is still very new to Miles. He didn't commit to running until about 15 months ago. He's still running off of natural ability. It will be amazing to see what he can accomplish when he has more time to develop," Jewell said.

The Kings' Jay was 28th in 16:03.7. He took the 14th of 15 individual advancing spots. The cutoff for individual advancement from the boys race was 29th.

Griffin was 18th in the girls race, clocking in at 18:39.6. She took the fourth individual advancing spot. The cutoff for individual advancement from the girls race was 43rd. The Cass junior is making her second straight trip to the state meet.

BOYS RACE
Third-ranked Brownsburg won the 25-team event with a score of 47, No. 6 Carmel was second (65), No. 18 Zionsville third (136), Avon fourth (146) and No. 20 Ben Davis fifth (166). The top five teams in the 25-team race take spots at state.

Ben Davis' Aboubakar Ibrahim was the individual winner in a course-record time of 15:04.

Among local schools, Logansport Sectional champion Western topped the area contingent with a 12th-place finish and score of 318. Cass was 16th (465), Maconaquah 19th (510), Northwestern 22nd (608), and Kokomo 24th (706).

."We were only five points away from a top-10 finish and in a field this big, that's only about four seconds," Jewell said.

Following Raab and Rudy for Western, Maddox Carver was 103rd (17:08.4), Beck Bennett 122nd (17:25.2), and Lincoln McKillip 161st (17:50.3).

"Lincoln had a great race to complete his career. It was great to see him finally get under that 18:00 mark," Jewell said.

After Jay, Cass' Kaiden Hughes was 82nd (16:57.8), Colton Copeland 99th (17:06.9), Curtis Henry 184th (18:12.4), and Aiden Heavilon 241st (20:45.3).

Daylen Schrock paced Maconaquah in 38th (16:13.3). Joel Loshnowsky was 116th (17:21.7), Ari Schrock 121st (17:24.4), Christian Collins 210th (18:43.6), and Jeffrey Wilson 222nd (19:11).

Mason Broeker led Northwestern in 63rd (16:40.7). Ryland Barnes was 159th (17:49.2), Isaac Everson 190th (18:19.3), Bryan Burkhalter 219th (19:05.7), and Sam Martin 227th (19:22.5).

"Mason Broeker's 16:40 moves him up to eighth place all-time in school history," Northwestern coach Josh Perry

said. "We had planned that exact race for the last few weeks and he executed it perfectly. I'm proud of the boys for moving up in the ranks on race day. We ran better than what we were seeded and that's all you can ask for at a tough regional."

Connor Frederick led a short-handed Kokomo team in 85th (16:59.7). Ben Wallace was 217th (19:02.3), Maurice Wright 233rd (19:43.4), Gabe Newland 238th (20:02.6), and Braxton Frederick 243rd (21:10.4).

"We did not have quite the day we wanted due to our No. 1 and No. 3 runners being unable to race, due to illness. They both warmed up to try to give it a shot, but in the end were just unable to go," Kokomo coach Jordan Ousley said.

Ousley credited Frederick and Newland for running well in their Kat finales.

"[They] have had great careers and done a great job in setting the future foundation for our program," he said. "I am proud of our guys for doing their best and maintaining an overall great attitude at the regional despite facing adversity and for it being their first time there."

Among locals competing as individuals in the race, Eastern's Obi Greene was 150th (17:44.5), Peru's Landen Emerson was 193rd (18:21.8), and Carroll's Noah Johnson was 205th (18:33.4).

"Obi had trouble early, getting stuck in a pack that wasn't where he needed to be, and he couldn't get past them," Eastern coach Ben Cox said. "Eventually, the gap from that pack to where he needed to be was just too large to make up. Despite that, he gave his best effort and I'm proud of him. He's a great kid and we'll miss him next year."

Ben Davis' Aboubakar Ibrahim was tops out of 247 runners in a time of 15:04. Clinton Prairie's Hayden Kemple was second in 15:11.7.

GIRLS RACE
Sectional champion Maconaquah led the local girls teams, taking 13th with a score of 421. Western was 14th (also 421) and Cass 17th (483). Top-ranked Carmel won the 25-team meet with a score of 26. No. 4 Brebeuf was second (78), No. 14 Indianapolis North Central third (99), No. 13 Bishop Chatard fourth (106), and No. 15 Zionsville fifth (131). The top five teams advance to state.

Zoie Laber topped Maconaquah, taking 51st in 20:05. Lucy Loshnowsky was 62nd (20:18.9), Samantha Jones 100th (21:06.9), Macie McManus 155th (22:12.6), and Kaytlin Moeller 167th (22:24.5).

Kendall DePoy led Western in 59th (20:14.8). Mary Claire DiPaola was 70th (20:30.6), Hattie Harlow 93rd (20:59.8), Madelyn Shoaff 128th (21:38.3), and Lucy Schave 177th (22:44.4).

After Griffin, Hope Rush was 129th for Cass (21:38.4), AnnaLeigh Hedrick 163rd (22:16.8), Grace Spicer 170th (22:29.6), and Brystalin Gillem 176th (22:41.7).

Northwestern's Courtney Adams was 56th (20:09.9) and Ashlyn Kelly was 191st (23:01.3).

"I was really happy to see those races from the girls," Northwestern's Perry said. "We fell just short of our goals, but they came out hard and fought to the end. Both girls immediately talked about having a good track season. I'm very proud of them and their dedication to themselves and their teammates."

Kokomo had three runners competing as individuals. Alaina Thompson was 145th (22:03), Gretchen Riggle was 213rd (23:42.9), and Morgan Rakestraw 221st (24:10.3).

"Proud of our three girls and looking forward to seeing how they improve next season," Kokomo's Ousley said.

Carroll had two individuals compete. Jillian Salts was 131st (21:42.5), Riley Hayden was 207th (23:29.2).

Peru's Bailey Butt was 159th (22:14.4).

Bishop Chatard's Julia Score was first out of 238 runners in 17:17.5