Pioneer boys take 2nd, Rochester 7th, Winamac 11th at Mac Invite

Winamac girls pack takes 6th, Pioneer 9th behind Montgomery; Rochester’s Calloway sets PR

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

BUNKER HILL — Led by top five finishers Leighton Dodt and Carson Meyer, the Pioneer cross-country team scored 86 points and finished second out of 16 complete teams at the Maconaquah Invitational on Sept. 9.

Among area teams, Rochester was seventh with 185 points, and Winamac was 11th with 281.

Western won the team title with 66 points, and Eastern (Greentown)’s Obadiah Greene won the race in 16:19, besting a field of 120 runners.

In the girls race, Winamac was sixth among 12 complete teams with 156 points. Pioneer was ninth with 217 while Rochester had an incomplete team.

Hamilton Heights won the girls team title with 72 points. Northwestern senior Hannah Moore crossed the line first in 18:09, 56 seconds ahead of teammate Courtney Adams.

The top RTC area finisher was Pioneer senior Violet Montgomery, who ran a season best 20:19 and finished ninth in the field of 104 runners.

Boys

Dodt and Meyer finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in 16:32 and 16:33. They followed Greene home as well as the Western duo of Aden Yeary and Camden Raab.

Baker was 15th in 17:26, Dane Bowditch was 25th in 17:53, and Jack Nance was 37th in 18:26.

Dodt, Meyer and Baker received medals for finishing in the top 20.

Meanwhile, the Rochester twosome of Grant Bailey and Wes Steininger took 18th and 20th in 17:37 and 17:43, respectively, and they also received medals.

Other Rochester finishers included Reece Johnson, who was 42nd in 18:38; Lane Shank, who was 43rd in 18:43; Hayden Shuck, who was 63rd in 19:45; and Leandro Javier, who was 82nd in 20:47.

The Winamac frontrunner was Logan Fredel, who was 24th in 17:49. Fellow sophomore Nathan Pierzchalski was 27th in 17:57. Dylan Guilford was 41st in 18:37, Corbin Holehan was 91st in 21:15, and Joel Showley was 117th in 27:10.

Girls

While 10 different boys broke 17 minutes, seven different girls broke 20 minutes.

Winamac did not have any individual runner finish in the top 25, but they had five runners finish in the top 40. They included Kadence Hoover, who was 27th in 21:55; Kandace Kroft, who was 30th in 22:05.1; Kelsey Wegner, right on Kroft’s heels in 31st in 22:05.6; Claire Goodman, who was 34th in 22:28; and Avery Wegner, who was 40th in 22:55. Other non-scoring Winamac runners included Bethany Poor, who was 64th in 24:22; Lily Bennett, who was 65th in 24:25; and Mara Holehan, who was 91st in 27:58.

While Winamac ran as a pack, no other Lady Panther was within three minutes of Montgomery. Kylie Jamerson was 51st in 23:27, Ellie Hines was right behind in 53rd in 23:29, Avery Haselby was 58th in 23:44, and Laylynn Malchow was 81st in 26:13.

After Montgomery, the next fastest area runner was Rochester sophomore Allyson Calloway, who ran a personal best 21:30 and finished 22nd. Kadence Bradley was 44th in 23:01, and Brooklyn Chandler was 66th in 24:28.

This was the last prep race before the New Prairie Invitational Saturday. The New Prairie Invitational is considered to be the largest annual high school sporting event in the state.

MACONAQUAH INVITATIONAL GIRLS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): Hamilton Heights 72, Western 102, Maconaquah 120, Eastbrook 127, Northwestern 139, WINAMAC 156, Manchester 162, Lewis Cass 176, PIONEER 217, Twin Lakes 237, Eastern (Greentown) 282, Delta 284

Incomplete teams: ROCHESTER, Northfield, North Miami, Sheridan, Tipton

Winamac results (156 points, sixth place)

27. Kadence Hoover – 21:55 (26), 30. Kandace Kroft – 22:05.1 (29), 31. Kelsey Wegner – 22:05.6 (30),34. Claire Goodman – 22:28 (33), 40. Avery Wegner – 22:55 (38), 64. Bethany Poor – 24:22, 65. Lily Bennett – 24:25, 91. Mara Holehan – 27:58

Pioneer results (217 points, ninth place)

9. Violet Montgomery – 20:19 (9), 51. Kylie Jamerson – 23:27 (45), 53. Ellie Hines – 23:29 (47), 58. Avery Haselby – 23:44 (50), 81. Laylynn Malchow – 26:13 (66)

Rochester results

22. Allyson Calloway – 21:30, 44. Kadence Bradley – 23:01, 66. Brooklyn Chandler – 24:28

MACONAQUAH INVITATIONAL BOYS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): Western 66, PIONEER 86, Maconaquah 98, Lewis Cass 122, Eastbrook 183, Manchester 184, ROCHESTER 185, Delta 199, Northwestern 210, Hamilton Heights 217, WINAMAC 281, Tipton 290, Twin Lakes 313, Eastern (Greentown) 320, Northfield 373, North Miami 405

Incomplete teams: Sheridan, Taylor

Pioneer results (86 points, second place)

4. Leighton Dodt – 16:32 (4), 5. Carson Meyer – 16:33 (5), 15. Jackson Baker – 17:26 (15), 25. Dane Bowditch – 17:53 (25), 37. Jack Nance – 18:26 (37), 76. Elliott Cooper – 20:23, 85. Kevin Gluth – 20:57, 90. Kaleb Boller – 21:11, 120. Silas Rouch – 32:55

Rochester results (185 points, seventh place)

18. Grant Bailey – 17:37 (18), 20. Wes Steininger – 17:43 (20), 42. Reece Johnson – 18:38 (42), 43. Lane Shank – 18:43 (43), 63. Hayden Shuck – 19:45 (62),82. Leandro Javier – 20:47

Winamac results (281 points, 11th place)

24. Logan Fredel – 17:49 (24), 27. Nathan Pierzchalski – 17:57 (27), 41. Dylan Guilford – 18:37 (41), 91. Corbin Holehan – 21:15 (84), 117. Joel Showley – 27:10 (105)

Rochester cross-country runners, from left, Grant Bailey, Allyson Calloway and Wes Steininger show off their ribbons from the Maconaquah Invitational Sept. 9. Bailey was 18th in the boys race in 18:37, Calloway was 22nd in 21:30 in the girls race, and Steininger was 20th in 18:43 in the boys race.

Rochester Middle School and Rochester High School runners participated at the Maconaquah Invitational for the first timeon Sept. 9. The Rochester Middle School girls finished 11th, the Rochester Middle School boys finished seventh, the Rochester High School girls had an incomplete team, and the Rochester High School boys finished seventh. Middle school coaches include Troy Pryor and John Wachtmann. Alex Gudeman is the high school coach.