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Caston boys take 9th in A race; Seward takes 5th in girls AA race, Montgomery 6th in girls A race
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Rochester senior cross-country runner Zoe Seward finished fifth out of 184 runners in 19:57 at the New Prairie Invitational Class AA girls race on Sept. 17.
Meanwhile, the Rochester boys finished seventh in a field of 27 teams in their AA race.
Here is a roundup of how the four area teams at New Prairie:
CLASS AA GIRLS
In the AA race, neither Rochester nor Tippecanoe Valley had a complete team. Both teams had four runners each, one less than the minimum allowed.
Seward broke 20 minutes for the second time in three weeks, and her time was four seconds faster than her 2021 semistate time at the same New Prairie course.
Other Rochester runners included Allyson Calloway, who was 42nd in 22:33; Maddie Heinzmann, who was 116th in 26:12, and Kadence Bradley, who was 144th in 28:01.
Junior Chesnee Miller was the Valley frontrunner, taking 13th in 20:59.
Other Valley runners included Bailey Bussard, who was 90th in 24:37; McKenna Lowe, who was 91st in 24:42, and Talia Holder, who was 121st in 26:27.
Western won the AA girls title with 96 points, topping a field of 22 teams. Northwestern’s Hannah Moore won the race in 19:00.
CLASS A GIRLS
In the Class A race, Caston placed 18th, and Pioneer took 23rd in a field of 26 teams.
Caston did not have a runner finish in the top 70, but they had four scoring runners finish between 24:00 and 26:00. That included frontrunner Mackenzi Roudebush, who was 72nd in 24:09; Myli Rude, who was 76th in 24:22; Alexa Lowe, who was 89th in 24:44; and Camila Hernandez-Rios, who was 121st in 25:31. Jaded Aguilar-Rios was the final Caston scoring runner, taking 168th place in 27:34.
Madelynn Sprow, who was 173rd in 27:42, and Cheyenne Price, who was 206th in 31:22, rounded out the Caston lineup.
Pioneer junior Violet Montgomery was sixth in a field of 219 runners in 20:40 and was her team’s frontrunner.
Other Pioneer runners included Paula Fernandez, who was 46th in 23:08; Grace Alpha, who was 171st in 27:40; Hannah Zeigler, who was 200th in 30:23; and Madison Coy, who was 213th in 33:38.
Lewis Cass freshman Aftin Griffin, whom Montgomery will race again at the Logansport sectional on Oct. 8, won the race in 19:49 to top a field of 219 runners.
Kouts won the Class A girls team title with 36 points.
CLASS AA BOYS
Chris Rohr spearheaded the Rochester team in the AA race, finishing in 20th place in a field of 213 runners after running a 17:44. Teammate Wes Steininger was right behind in 17:50 and finished 24th.
Other Rochester runners included freshman Grant Bailey, who was 34th in 18:14 before heading off to North Miami to play soccer for the Zebras; Adrian Ochoa, who was 48th in 18:50; Reece Johnson, who was 76th in 19:25; and Lane Shank, who was 109th in 20:05.
Tippecanoe Valley scored 792 points and placed 27th out of 27 complete teams.
The Valley frontrunner was sophomore Isaac Whetstone, who was 132nd in 21:04. His teammates included Eli Sterk, who was 176th in 23:12; Christopher Marquez, who was 186th in 24:03; Gavin Leininger, who was 198th in 26:20; Christian Guzman, who was 211th in 31:29; and Michael Leininger, who was 212th in 32:21.
Illiana Christian won the Class AA boys team title with 131 points. Griffith’s Joseph Lapatra, who was timed in 16:14, was the Class AA boys individual champion.
The top area runner in the Class A boys race was Pioneer’s Leighton Dodt, who took seventh in a field of 255 runners after running a 17:17. However, Pioneer had an incomplete team.
Other Pioneer runners included Carson Meyer, who was 12th in 17:41; Jack Cooper, who was 86th in 19:55; and Elliott Cooper, who was 152nd in 21:38.
The only area complete team belonged to Caston, who finished 18th out of 26 teams.
Edison Byrum and Austin Dague finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, crossing the finish line two seconds apart in 18:05 and 18:07.
Other Caston runners included Marshall Finke, who was 80th in 19:49; Connor Sommers, who was 83rd in 19:51; Caleb Stinson, who was 111th in 20:32; A.J. Reyburn, who was 113th in 20:35; Kane Finke, who was 138th in 21:22; Max Sommers, who was 144th in 21:44; Josiah Helt, who was 230th in 24:39; and Braden Rush, who was 236th in 25:08.
Clinton Prairie won the Class A boys team title with 68 points. Westview freshman Noah Bontrager won the Class A boys individual crown in 16:18.
The New Prairie Invitational consists of nine races: Class A, AA and AAA races for girls and boys, plus a boys freshman-sophomore race and girls and boys reserve races. No area runners competed in the AAA races, the freshman-sophomore race or the reserve races.
New Prairie Invitational Class AA girls results (top five teams plus all RTC area teams; points in parentheses): 1. Western 96, 2. Angola 113, 3. Illiana Christian 120, 4. South Bend St. Joe 131, 5. Highland 141, Rochester (incomplete team), Tippecanoe Valley (incomplete team)
Rochester results
5. Zoe Seward – 19:57, 42. Allyson Calloway – 22:33, 116. Maddie Heinzmann – 26:12, 144. Kadence Bradley – 28:01
Valley results
13. Chesnee Miller – 20:59, 90. Bailey Bussard – 24:37, 91. McKenna Lowe – 24:42, 121. Talia Holder – 26:27
New Prairie Invitational Class A girls results (top five teams plus all RTC area teams; points in parentheses): 1. Kouts 37, 2. Faith Christian 100, 3. Winamac 106, 4. Westview 135, 5. Carroll (Flora) 204, 18. Caston 455, 23. Pioneer 517
Caston results (455 points, 18th place)
72. Mackenzi Roudebush – 24:09 (63), 76. Myli Rude – 24:22 (66), 89. Alexa Lowe – 24:44 (78), 121. Camila Hernandez-Rios – 25:31 (106), 168. Jaded Aguilar-Rios – 27:34 (142), 173. Madelynn Sprow – 27:42, 206. Cheyenne Price – 31:22
Pioneer results (517 points, 23rd place)
6. Violet Montgomery – 20:40 (5), 46. Paula Fernandez – 23:08 (41), 171. Grace Alpha – 27:40 (143), 200. Hannah Zeigler – 30:23 (159), 213. Madison Coy – 33:38 (169)
New Prairie Invitational Class AA boys results (top five teams plus all RTC area teams; points in parentheses): 1. Illiana Christian 131, 2. Rensselaer 132, 3. Culver Academy 145, 4. Maconaquah 158, 5. South Bend St. Joe 169, 7. Rochester 200, 27. Tippecanoe Valley 792,
Rochester results (200 points, seventh place)
20. Chris Rohr – 17:44 (20), 24. Wes Steininger 17:50 (24), 34. Grant Bailey 18:14 (34), 48. Adrian Ochoa 18:50 (48), 76. Reece Johnson – 19:25 (74), 109. Lane Shank – 20:05
Valley results (792 points, 27th place)
132. Isaac Whetstone – 21:04 (123), 176. Eli Sterk – 23:12 (155), 186. Christopher Marquez – 24:03 (163), 198. Gavin Leininger – 26:20 (172), 211. Christian Guzman – 31:29 (179), 212. Michael Leininger – 32:21
New Prairie Invitational Class A boys results (top five teams plus all RTC area teams; points in parentheses): 1. Clinton Prairie 68, 2. Westview 95, 3. Morgan Township 128, 4. Hebron 196, 5. Kouts 199, 9. Caston 286, Pioneer (incomplete team)
Caston results (286 points, ninth place)
21. Edison Byrum – 18:05 (18), 22. Austin Dague – 18:07 (19), 80. Marshall Finke – 19:49 (73), 83. Connor Sommers – 19:51 (76), 111. Caleb Stinson – 20:32 (100), 113. A.J. Reyburn – 20:35, 138. Kane Finke – 21:22, 158. Max Sommers – 21:44, 230. Josiah Helt – 24:39, 236. Braden Rush – 25:08
Pioneer results
7. Leighton Dodt – 17:17, 12. Carson Meyer – 17:41, 86. Jack Cooper – 19:55, 152. Elliott Cooper – 21:
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