Calloway sets new PR, but prep career ends at regional
- Val T.
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
Boys: Rochester’s Javier, Valley’s Marquez, Hammon, Argos’ Stackhouse all have seasons end
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
HUNTINGTON — Rochester senior cross-country runner Allyson Calloway’s emotions crashed down on her after she crossed the finish line at the New Haven regional at Huntington University Saturday.
On one hand, she shaved 1:30 off her sectional time at Manchester Oct. 18 and ran a personal best 20:11 in a crazed dash to the tape. But she had wanted to break 20 minutes, and she wanted to make state, and neither happened, ending her career.
“I had two goals for high school, especially this season, and that’s breaking 20 and going to state,” an emotional Calloway said. “And I didn’t do either. So pretty disappointed. … But I PR’d by six seconds, so close to 20. I’m happy with that.”
Calloway finished in 52nd place in a field of 243 runners. She was 25th among individuals on non-advancing teams. Only the top 15 individuals on non-advancing teams made state. The 15th place time was 19:38.
Calloway said she was physically prepared for the race. She noted that she had “positive splits” – in other words, she slowed down as the race went on – but added that the rest of the field also had positive splits.
“I got some extra rest this week,” Calloway said. “I actually got good sleep last night. Just hydrating and feeling well and trying to get in the right headspace after a not-great race last week.”
Calloway also said the weather conditions – brisk with temperatures in the mid-40s and approximately 30 degrees cooler than the sectional – were a “huge factor” as well.
“I think it was a big mental adjustment (from) last week,” Rochester first-year coach Troy Pryor said. “She had been going through some health issues with a sinus infection that contributed a little bit to last week’s performance, but I think a lot of it was upstairs, and she did process last week’s performance and put it behind her really well heading into today. And I think she was right in the mind at practice all week and had a good attitude all week, and I think that definitely contributed to her getting back on track and having a good end to her season.”
Other Rochester times included Vivian Miller, who ran a personal best 22:21 and finished 151st; Adison Hayes, who dropped 45 seconds off her Manchester sectional time and finished in 181st place in a personal-best 22:51; and Daniela Ochoa, who appeared to run through abdominal pain and was 226th in 24:38.
Miller snipped 38 seconds off her sectional time.
“She’s running amazing every week,” Pryor said. “She ran amazing today. For her to come out here, first year doing this as a junior, first time ever at regionals, to not be intimidated by the environment, to just go out there and do her job and run her race, I thought was incredible. She was our mental attitude award winner this year for a reason.”
Pryor said Hayes had a similar approach as Miller, just in different spots.
“They both just want to run their own race,” Pryor said. “They both want to not get caught up with what’s going on around them. And they’re both really dialed in to how their bodies feel and how they’re running. Again, this was her first regional appearance too, so I thought Hayes did an excellent job not getting overwhelmed by the surroundings, not getting overwhelmed by what everyone else was doing, and she just did a great job and PR’d as a result. Really proud of those efforts.”
Ochoa ran a 22:47 at the sectional but did not appear comfortable at the regional.
“It looked like a side stitch the way she was grabbing,” Pryor said. “And it looked like that happened early. She’s gone through a couple of those in her career. When I coached her in middle school, she had them at other races. I know it’s tough, but she gutted it out, and we’ll both tell you it wasn’t the way that we wanted the season to end, but as a freshman, it’s her first taste of this. She’s going to be back three more times, so she’s going to get some cracks at this.”
Fort Wayne Concordia won the team title with 49 points. Homestead (62), Carroll (Fort Wayne) (133), Warsaw (137) and Columbia City (147) also advanced to state.
Fort Wayne Concordia’s Daphne Weller was the individual champion in 17:41.
The top area boys runner was Rochester junior Leandro Javier, who ran an 18:04 and finished in 144th place out of 247 runners. Javier’s time was a 14-second improvement on his Manchester sectional time and a 1:20 improvement from his time at the 2024 regional on the same Huntington course. He finished in 209nd place last year.
Pryor put Javier’s time in perspective afterwards.
“I think we both viewed it the same way,” Pryor said. “I think we both viewed it very positively. I think obviously 17:59 feels a lot better than 18:04. So of course, we’re both greedy. We both want that. But he also ran really well. To get a PR on this course, the grass is tall. It’s hilly. It’s a tough course. To get a PR out here is not cheap. It’s not easy. And so we were both happy with the race. … It’s incredible. It started when I coached him in track last year. It felt like every time he went out to race in track last year, he would PR, whether it was the mile, the 800, the two-mile. And he’s just carried that over to this cross-country season.”
Pryor is also an assistant track coach in charge of the distance runners. All four girls regional qualifiers and Javier are among those expected to run track this spring. Asked how important important track season will be to set up cross-country season next fall, Pryor said “huge,” especially in the girls 4 x 800 relay.
“We have on the girls side a lot of options as you can see,” Pryor said. “I think it’s going to be awesome to plug and play those girls in a bunch of different events and see where they flourish, and I’m really excited about our four by eight team prospects too. I think they just use the confidence from a great track season, and that’s going to roll right into next year, and we’ve got some good eighth-graders coming up next year that will be freshmen, these girls will be dangerous.”
Tippecanoe Valley
Two Tippecanoe Valley runners also had their seasons end. Christopher Marquez ran an 18:21 in his prep finale and finished in 167th place, and freshman Collin Hammon ran an 18:39 and finished in 189th.
Marquez’s time was a 15-second improvement on his sectional time while Hammon was 28 seconds slower.
Valley coach Eric Hudson was asked to put Hammon’s time in perspective.
“He did well,” Hudson said. “I think a little of it was just the moment – being here. I think it was a little overwhelming. But now that he;s been through it, I’m going to make a prediction that that young man will make it to state some day because he is a hard worker, he’s dedicated, he’s disappointed today, and he doesn’t like to be disappointed.
“We’re going to work on that disappointment. We’re going to turn it around for next year. We’re going to go from there.”
Argos
Freshman Emry Stackhouse, the only runner representing Argos, finished in 202nd place in 18:52.
Homestead won the boys team title with 54 points. Carroll (Fort Wayne) (83), Yorktown (109), Fort Wayne Concordia (201) and Angola (209) also advanced to state.
Warsaw’s Jackson Gackenheimer was both the individual champion in 15:14 and the top runner among the 15 who made state as individuals on non-advancing teams. Every boy who ran a 16:32 or faster advanced.
NEW HAVEN REGIONAL GIRLS RESULTS SATURDAY (TOP FIVE TEAMS ADVANCE TO STATE): Fort Wayne Concordia 49, Homestead 62, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 133, Warsaw 137, Columbia City 147, East Noble 190, Fort Wayne Dwenger 197, Huntington North 249, Fort Wayne Snider 298, Leo 321, Plymouth 337, West Noble 348, Fort Wayne Northrop 425, Norwell 432, Jay County 444, Bluffton 447, Angola 448, Culver Academy 465, Oak Hill 503, Wapahani 523, Monroe Central 543, Yorktown 565, Marion 622, Southwood 681, Mississinewa 719
TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS ON NON-ADVANCING TEAMS: 1. Rowyn Norris (Leo) – 18:35, 2. Chloe Gibson (East Noble) – 18:38, 3. Hannah Suvar (Fort Wayne Blackhawk) – 18:40, 4. Maren Wilson (Fort Wayne Northrop) – 18:42, 5. Alice Friesen (Huntington North) – 18:47, 6. Johanna Carpenter (East Noble) – 19:13.4, 7. Vivy Miller (Plymouth) – 19:13.4, 8. Summer Ross (Angola) – 19:26, 9. Georgia Leininger (Fort Wayne Snider) – 19:27, 10. Abigail Ramseyer (Bluffton) – 19:29, 11. Abigail Hasselschwert (Fort Wayne Dwenger) – 19:30, 12. Kaleigh Rice (Northfield) – 19:33, 13. Addison Winter (Huntington North) – 19:38.2, 14. Cassandra Osenga (Fort Wayne Dwenger) – 19:38.6, 15. Razan Musa (Fort Wayne Snider) – 19:38.6
ROCHESTER RESULTS
52. Allyson Calloway – 20:11, 151. Vivian Miller – 22:21, 181. Adison Hayes – 22:51, 226. Daniela Ochoa – 24:38
NEW HAVEN REGIONAL BOYS RESULTS SATURDAY (TOP FIVE TEAMS ADVANCE TO STATE): Homestead 54, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 83, Yorktown 109, Fort Wayne Concordia 201, Angola 209, Wabash 258, Norwell 274, Fort Wayne Snider 282, Delta 289, Fort Wayne Northrop 308, Warsaw 312, Oak Hill 320, Lakewood Park 322, West Noble 379, Wapahani 384, Fort Wayne Dwenger 400, Plymouth 423, South Adams 445, Columbia City 467, Central Noble 467, Marion 504, Bluffton 509, Culver Academy 562, Muncie Central 624, Mississinewa 641
TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS ON NON-ADVANCING TEAMS: 1. Jackson Gackenheimer (Warsaw) – 15:14, 2. Zander Ritenour (Lakewood Park) – 15:29, 3. Bryan Garcia (New Haven) – 15:31, 4. Andrew Strong (Eastside) – 15:45, 5. Memphis Martin (Lakeland) – 15:55, 6. Mason Tomboni (Wapahani) – 16:05, 7. Jackson Slater (Fort Wayne Snider) – 16:06, 8. Graysen Ruch (West Noble) – 16:20, 9. Chase Wilson (Fort Wayne Northrop) – 16:24, 10. Ezra Church (Wabash) – 16:26, 11. Corban Tippey (Oak Hill) – 16:28, 12. Peyton Engle (Delta) – 16:29.4, 13. Caiden Petrie (Norwell) – 16:29.5, 14. Freddy Kallenberg (Plymouth) – 16:29.8, 15. Kyle Knafel (Central Noble) – 16:32
ROCHESTER RESULT
144. Leandro Javier – 18:04
TIPPECANOE VALLEY RESULTS
167. Christopher Marquez – 18:21, 189. Collin Hammon – 18:39
ARGOS RESULT
202. Emry Stackhouse – 18:52
