.png)
Winamac girls, Pioneer boys win team titles
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
FULTON — Runners at the Caston Invitational grieved with and for Lewis Cass sophomore Aftin Griffin before, during and after she won the girls title Saturday.
Meanwhile, Winamac won the girls team title with 37 points. Pioneer was fourth in the 10-team field with 137 points, Caston was ninth with 195, and Rochester, Argos and Culver had incomplete teams.
The boys team title went to Pioneer, who had three of the top five individuals and scored 49 points to top a 13-team field. Rochester was third with 130, Winamac was sixth with 184, Caston was ninth with 188, and Argos and Culver had incomplete teams.
Aftin Griffin was running just five days after her twin brother Gavin, a member of the Lewis Cass boys team, died and one day after his funeral.
There was a balloon release in Gavin’s honor just prior to the start of the girls race. Aftin Griffin, who finished seventh among individuals at last year's sectional and regional, broke out to a big early lead and won in 19:58.
Pioneer’s Violet Montgomery was second in 21:05, and there was another 34-second gap to Lakeland’s Reggie Sutherland, who was third.
At the postrace awards ceremony, Griffin received a standing ovation from her fellow competitors in the infield and the adults in the stands. The top 10 runners received either a ribbon or a medal, and each of the other nine runners embraced her in an act of sportsmanship.
Pioneer coach Dakota Williams said the compassion with which Griffin was treated was typical of a tight-knit cross-country community, especially within Cass County.
“You won’t find another sport like cross-country where everybody just loves each other,” Williams said. “It’s just one big happy family. Our Cass County community, we all band together in this time of need. But regardless, you saw Delphi, I saw Rochester, all kinds of schools that were here for Aftin and for Gavin. But just a community atmosphere, (and) that’s why I love cross-country. You can’t get better kids than that, and you’re just one big happy family.”
A memorial service for Gavin Griffin was held at United in Faith Church in Galveston Thursday. Caston coach Blair Zimmerman said all of his runners attended the memorial service. In fact, he said his runners approached him about going together as a group.
Girls
As for the girls team competition, Winamac had their fifth runner cross the finish line before any other team’s second runner crossed.
Winamac’s pack included Maggie Smith, who was fourth in 21:54; Kadence Hoover, who was sixth in 22:03; Kelsey Wegner, who was ninth in 22:29; Kandace Kroft, who followed Wegner across in 10th in 22:38; and Claire Goodman, who took 12th in 22:52.
The next Pioneer runner to cross after Montgomery was Ellie Hines, who took 27th place in 24:34. Avery Haselby, who was 32nd in 25:07, also placed in the top 50.
The first Caston runner to cross was Camila Hernandez-Rios, who was 31st in 25:06. Alexa Lowe, who was 36th in 25:18, and Myli Rude, who was 44th in 26:05, were not far behind.
Zimmerman said Rude was battling illness during the week but also said that it’s not atypical for Hernandez-Rios, Lowe and Rude to appear in any order crossing the line.
All three are sophomores.
Sophomore Allyson Calloway was the fastest of Rochester’s team of four girls with a 22:27, which was good for eighth place. Kadence Bradley, who was running for the first time this year, was 20th in 23:53, and Brooklyn Chandler was 37th in 25:20.
“Even with the conditions, with having her run on pavement and it being close to 80 (degrees) today, Allyson was still 30 seconds faster than she was two weeks ago,” Rochester coach Alex Gudeman said. “She mentioned today that if you look back at this time last year, she’s a minute faster. So she’s definitely getting better, and we’re going to keep trending up.”
Lexi Gibson was the fastest of two Argos runners, taking 43rd place in 25:58.
Savanna Harrington, the only Culver runner, was 83rd in 33:49.
Boys
The only two runners to break 17 minutes in the boys race were from Pioneer – Carson Meyer, who won in 16:43, and Leighton Dodt, who was second in 16:57. Jackson Baker rounded out Pioneer’s speedy trio, taking fifth in 17:45. Other Pioneer scoring runners included Dane Bowditch, who was 20th in 18:43, and Jack Nance, who followed Bowditch home in 21st in 18:54.
“They push each other all the time,” Williams said of the Pioneer boys runners. “They're always together at practice pushing. Our top three really bring in our freshmen to keep working on closing our gaps. They just really work well as a team. They group-run together, so they’re always challenging each other.”
Rochester’s frontrunner was sophomore Grant Bailey, who missed a personal best by just 19 seconds in taking sixth in 17:47. Other scoring runners included Wes Steininger, who was 11th in 18:09; Reece Johnson, who was 24th in 19:06; Lane Shank, who was 38th in 20:00; and Hayden Shuck, who was 53rd in 21:04.
“He’s put in a lot of work,” Gudeman said. “He’s doing soccer and cross-country. He did that all summer. He’s doing that right now. Grant’s going to be a beast. It’s just a matter of keeping him healthy. … He’s going to go as far as he wants to in this sport.”
Winamac’s top three of Logan Fredel, Nathan Pierzchalski and Dylan Guilford all placed in the top 17, but no other Winamac runner finished in the top 60.
As he did for Caston’s previous two meets at Logansport, Edison Byrum led the Comet pack by taking 12th in 18:15. Kane Finke was 29th in 19:29, Reed Sommers was 32nd in 19:42, Maxwell Sommers was 48th in 20:33, and Curt Shaffer was 71st in 22:08.
Culver’s lone runner was Adam Peterson, who took 63rd place in 21:31. Argos’ lone runner was BatOcher EnhkOrgil, who was 73rd in 22:15.
Junior high
Morgan Township won the junior high girls race with 35 points. Pioneer was fifth with 139, and Caston was sixth with 168. Rochester, Culver and Winamac had incomplete teams.
Winamac’s Addyson Hines was the top area individual, taking eighth in 12:41.
Morgan Township also won the junior high boys title with 17 points. Rochester was sixth out of 12 teams with 162 points, Winamac was seventh with 173, Caston was eighth with 199, and Pioneer was ninth with 215.
Rochester’s Caden Biernacki was the top area finisher, placing sixth in 11:25.
CASTON INVITATIONAL GIRLS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): WINAMAC 37, Lewis Cass 63, Carroll (Flora) 110, PIONEER 137, North White 142, Lakeland 154, Triton 158, West Central 171, CASTON 195, Frontier 219
Incomplete teams: ROCHESTER, ARGOS, CULVER
Winamac results (37 points champions)
4. Maggie Smith – 21:54 (4), 6. Kadence Hoover – 22:03 (6), 9. Kelsey Wegner – 22:29 (8), 10. Kandace Kroft – 22:38 (9), 12. Claire Goodman – 22:52 (10), 21. Avery Wegner – 23:55, 33. Lily Bennett – 25:10
Pioneer results (137 points, fourth place)
2. Violet Montgomery – 21:05 (2), 27. Ellie Hines – 24:34 (23), 32. Avery Haselby – 25:07 (27), 51. Kylie Jamerson – 26:37 (40), 62. Laylynn Malchow – 28:12 (45)
Caston results (195 points, ninth place)
31. Camila Hernandez-Rios – 25:06 (26), 36. Alexa Lowe – 25:18 (30), 44. Myli Rude – 26:05 (35), 66. Jaded Aguilar – 28:42 (47), 87. Breana Amezquita – 36:41 (57)
Rochester results
8. Allyson Calloway – 22:27, 20. Kadence Bradley – 23:53, 37. Brooklyn Chandler – 25:20, 90. Carol Swanson – 41:20
Argos results
43. Lexi Gibson – 25:58, 91. Cloey McMicheal – 54:07
Culver result
83. Savanna Harrington – 33:49
CASTON INVITATIONAL BOYS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): PIONEER 49, Lewis Cass 71, ROCHESTER 130, Lakeland 144, Carroll (Flora) 153, WINAMAC 184, West Central 186, Tri-County 187, CASTON 188, Delphi 201, Frontier 256, Triton 268, South Newton 319
Incomplete teams: ARGOS, CULVER
Pioneer results (49 points, champions)
1. Carson Meyer – 16:43 (1), 2. Leighton Dodt – 16:57 (2), 5. Jackson Baker – 17:45 (5), 20. Dane Bowditch – 18:43 (20), 21. Jack Nance – 18:54 (21)
Rochester results (130 points, third place)
6. Grant Bailey – 17:47 (6), 11. Wes Steininger – 18:09 (11), 24. Reece Johnson – 19:06 (24), 38. Lane Shank – 20:00 (37), 53. Hayden Shuck – 21:04 (52), 55. Leandro Javier – 21:15
Winamac results (184 points, sixth place)
7. Logan Fredel – 17:49 (7), 15. Nathan Pierzchalski – 18:28 (15), 17. Dylan Guilford – 18:31 (17), 67. Corbin Holehan – 21:48 (64), 98. Joel Showley – 26:33 (81)
Caston results (188 points, ninth place)
12. Edison Byrum – 18:15 (12), 29. Kane Finke – 19:29 (29), 32. Reed Sommers – 19:42 (32), 48. Maxwell Sommers – 20:33 (47), 71. Curt Shaffer – 22:08 (68), 76. Josiah Helt – 22:32, 86. Jace Rentschler – 24:03
Argos results
73. BatOcher EhnkOrgil – 22:15
Culver results
63. Adam Peterson – 21:31
Top Left: Rochester’s Grant Bailey, left, and Allyson Calloway received medals after finishing in the top 10 of their respective races at the Caston Invitational Saturday. Bailey was sixth in the boys race in 17:47. Calloway was eighth in the girls race in 22:27.
Top Right: Caston’s Maxwell Sommers runs during the Caston Invitational Saturday. Sommers was 48th overall in 20:33, and the Caston team placed ninth out of 13 complete teams. Caston will run at the Tippecanoe Valley Invitational at 9 a.m. this Saturday.
Bottom Left: Argos’ Lexi Gibson, left, and Pioneer’s Kylie Jamerson run at the Caston Invitational Saturday. Competing as an individual, Gibson was 43rd overall in 25:58. Jamerson was 51st overall in 26:37, helping Pioneer to a fourth-place finish out of 10 teams.
Bottom Right: Winamac’s Avery Wegner nears the finish line at the Caston Invitational Saturday. Wegner finished 21st overall out of 91 runners in 23:55. Winamac won the girls team title with 37 points.
Comments