Pioneer frosh Caudle, senior Bowditch top area runners at Jacob Graf Invite

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

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From Left to Right:

1st: Rochester senior Leandro Javier runs at the Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport Saturday, Javier finished 45th in the field of 127 runners in 19:07.

2nd: Tippecanoe Valley freshman Andrew Wise runs at the Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport Saturday. Wise placed 72nd in 20:24.

3rd: Pioneer freshman Brylie Caudle runs at the Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport Saturday. Caudle took 14th place in the field of 101 runners in 22:51

4th: Rochester junior Jane Gottschalk runs at the Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport Saturday. Gottschalk placed 86th in 30:12.

LOGANSPORT — The Jacob Graf Invitational was a meet for Pioneer runners to make strong early impressions on the area cross-country scene.

Pioneer freshman Brylie Caudle was the top area girls runner, and Pioneer senior Dane Bowditch was the top area boys runner.

Pioneer was seventh out of 13 complete teams in the girls race while Rochester was ninth, Caston was 10th, and Winamac was 13th. Tippecanoe Valley had an incomplete team.

Hamilton Heights won with 42 points.

Freshman Warner DuBois helped Rochester to a 10th place team finish in the boys race. Caston was 13th, Winamac was 16th, Valley was 18th, and Pioneer had an incomplete team.

Northwestern won with 39 points.

Girls

Pioneer’s four fastest girls were all freshmen. Caudle was 14th among all individuals in 22:51, Jolene Kennell finished in 25th in 23:44, Evie Shafer was 39th in 24:52, and Lenix Jasmantas was 79th in 29:41.

Senior Avery Haselby was 94th in 31:24, and senior Zadie Fross was 96th in 32:04.

Rochester’s frontrunner was sophomore Daniela Ochoa, who took 28th in the field of 101 runners in 24:06. Addisyn Malone was 44th in 25:21, Vivian Miller was 52nd in 26:09, Addisyn Zimmerman was 77th in 29:11, Jane Gottschalk was 86th in 30:12, and Trinity Baine was 87th in 30:15.

Adison Hayes, who was the team’s frontrunner at the Twin Lakes Invitational four days earlier, did not run due to illness. Freshman Katelyn Conliff was also out because she was at a dog show at the state fair.

“She was our number one on Tuesday, so obviously, getting her back is going to be huge for the team,” Rochester coach Troy Pryor said of Hayes. “She’s our veteran presence right now. I think getting her back is critical to us performing well as a team. She was missed today for sure, both from a leadership perspective and her ability to go score low points.”

Junior Hannah Rogers was the frontrunner for Caston, taking 33rd place in 24:34. Freshman Aliza Rudicel was 49th in 25:51, Trinity Zimmerman was 66th in 28:01, Ella Monical was 84th in 30:08, Sadie Flenar was 89th in 30:44, Emmie Lowe was 97th in 33:24, and Aryanna Solis was 98th in 33:41.

Winamac freshman Jillian Burns led her team by finishing 64th in 27:22. Brooklyn Jachim was 75th in 28:52, Katelyn Burgess was 78th in 29:14, Kallie Kasten was 95th in 31:58, and Jaelyn Huddleston was 101st in 40:55.

Katie Sterk was the lone Valley runner. The junior placed 74th in 28:47.

Boys

In a span of four days, DuBois dropped his time from 19:01 at Twin Lakes to 18:10 at Logansport. He finished 13th in the field of 127 runners.

“His ceiling is very high,” Pryor said. “That’s what I’ll say for now. And I’m not surprised that he’s come out and been our number one the first two meets. He’s an incredibly competitive kid. His desire is to get out and mix it up with the best in the area, and he’s really good at that … making sure he’s in contention for things like ribbons or medals and in a spot to maybe be all-conference. I think long-term, his ceiling is incredibly high. This year, I wouldn't be surprised if he’s put himself in an all-conference position and certainly will go to regionals.”

Other Rochester runners included Leandro Javier, who was 45th in 19:07; Tyson Wachtmann, who was 61st in 19:57; Caden Biernacki, who was 73rd in 20:27; Parker Smith, who was 81st in 20:43; Lucas Scorsone, who was 83rd in 20:46; and Tommy Schwenk, who was 123rd in 25:52. 

Like DuBois, Smith and Schwenk are also freshmen. Wachtmann, Biernacki and Scorsone are sophomores.

Junior Daulton Oaf was the Caston frontrunner, taking 36th place in 18:57. Other Caston runners included Malakai Clayton, who was 46th in 19:10; Jack Brumett, who was 76th in 20:36; Drew Douglass, who was 101st in 21:49; Isaac Albright, who was 105th in 21:55; Reuben Helt, who was 107th in 22:12; and Armando Garcia, who was 124th in 26:14.

The first two runners across the line from Winamac were freshmen. Brody Bonnell was 17th in 18:22, and Ethan Showley was 96th in 21:38. They were followed by Austin Pratt, who was 104th in 21:54; Evan Burgess, who was 108th in 22:15; Braylen Becker, who was 109th in 22:21; and Joel Showley, who was 122nd in 25:06.

Freshman Andrew Wise was the Valley frontrunner. taking 72nd place in 20:24. Other Valley runners included Adric Shock, who was 91st in 21:13; Aaron Babbitt, who was 92nd in 21:14; Everest Lipsey, who was 115th in 24:02; Wyatt Whetstone, who was 120th in 24:28; and Darryn Miller, who was 126th in 28:37.

Bowditch ran a 17:28 at last year’s Logansport sectional; this time, he ran an 18:03. In both races, he finished 10th.

Other Pioneer runners included Eli Hines, who was 93rd in 21:17; and Braylon Jamerson, who was 102nd in 21:52.

Hamilton Heights’ Allie Bushey, who ran an 18:36, and Western’s Beck Bennett, who ran a 16:39, were the individual champions.

Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport girls results (points in parentheses): Hamilton Heights 42, Logansport 91, Lafayette Jeff 97, Western 105, Lewis Cass 114, Frankfort 187, Pioneer 203, Kokomo 220, Rochester 231, Caston 259, Tipton 259, Rossville 261, Winamac 333, Tippecanoe Valley (incomplete team)

Pioneer results (203 points, seventh place)

14. Brylie Caudle – 22:51 (11), 25. Jolene Kennell – 23:44 (20), 39. Evie Shafer – 24:52 (33), 79. Lenix Jasmantas – 29:41 (63), 94. Avery Haselby – 31:24 (76), 96. Zadie Fross – 32:04

Rochester results (231 points, ninth place)

28. Daniela Ochoa – 24:06 (23), 44. Addisyn Malone – 25:21 (36), 52. Vivian Miller – 26:09 (43), 77. Addisyn Zimmerman – 29:11 (61), 86. Jane Gottschalk – 30:12 (68), 87. Trinity Baine – 30:15

Caston results (259 points, 10th place)

33. Hannah Rogers – 24:34 (28), 49. Aliza Rudicel – 25:51 (40), 66. Trinity Zimmerman – 28:01 (54), 84. Ella Monical – 30:08 (66), 89. Sadie Flenar – 30:44 (71), 97. Emmie Lowe – 33:24, 98. Aryanna Solis – 33:41

Winamac results (333 points, 13th place)

64. Jillian Burns – 27:22 (53), 75. Brooklyn Jachim – 28:52 (60), 78. Katelyn Burgess – 29:14 (62), 95. Kallie Kasten – 31:58 (77), 101. Jaelyn Huddleston – 40:55 (81)

Valley results

74. Katie Sterk – 28:47

Jacob Graf Invitational at Logansport boys results (points in parentheses): Northwestern 39, Western 59, Hamilton Heights 80, Frankfort 128, Lafayette Jeff 140, Kokomo 177, Logansport 258, Clinton Central 259, Eastern (Greentown) 260, Rochester 265, Rossville 265, Peru 328, Caston 348, Twin Lakes 365, Tipton 388, Winamac 408, Maconaquah 452, Tippecanoe Valley 470, Pioneer (incomplete team)

Rochester results (265 points, 10th place)

13. Warner DuBois – 18:10 (12), 45. Leandro Javier – 19:07 (44), 61. Tyson Wachtmann – 19:57 (59), 73. Caden Biernacki – 20:27 (71), 81. Parker Smith – 20:43 (79), 83. Lucas Scorsone – 20:46, 123. Tommy Schwenk – 25:53

Caston results (348 points, 13th place)

36. Daulton Oaf – 18:57 (35), 46. Malakai Clayton – 19:10 (45), 76. Jack Brumett – 20:36 (74), 101. Drew Douglass – 21:49 (96), 105. Isaac Albright – 21:55 (98), 107. Reuben Helt – 22:12, 124. Armando Garcia – 26:14

Winamac results (408 points, 16th place)

17. Brody Bonnell – 18:22 (16), 96. Ethan Showley – 21:38 (92), 104. Austin Pratt – 21:54 (97), 108. Evan Burgess – 22:15 (101), 109. Braylen Becker – 22:21 (102), 122. Joel Showley – 25:06

Valley results (470 points, 18th place)

72. Andrew Wise – 20:24 (70), 91. Adric Shock – 21:13 (89), 92. Aaron Babbitt – 21:14 (90), 115. Everest Lipsey – 24:02 (108), 120. Wyatt Whetstone – 24:28 (113), 126. Darryn Miller – 28:37

Pioneer results

10. Dane Bowditch – 18:03, 93. Eli Hines – 21:17, 102. Braylon Jamerson – 21:52