Valley frontrunners include Lowe, Marquez at Manchester Invite

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Cross-country

The Tippecanoe Valley boys cross-country team finished 18th out of 20 complete teams while the Valley girls had an incomplete team at the Manchester Invitational Saturday.

Valley finished with 456 points in the boys race. Christopher Marquez was 43rd in the field of 172 runners in 18:22, a time four seconds off his personal best, according to coach Eric Hudson. Other Valley runners included freshman Colin Hammon, who was 47th in 18:24; Adric Shock, who was 134th in 21:43.4; Aaron Babbitt, who was right behind Shock in 135th in 21:43.5; Eli Shewman, who was 162nd in 24:42; and Simeon Skippers, who was 167th in 26:23.

Valley’s girls team consisted of three runners. McKenna Lowe was the frontrunner in 23:42 and finished in 102nd place out of 169 runners while Katie Sterk was 119th in 24:37 and Ava Minix was 133rd in 25:20. Sterk’s time was a personal best.

Valparaiso won the girls team title with 48 points. Fort Wayne Blackhawk’s Hannah Suvar was the individual girls champion in 18:32. Five girls broke 19 minutes, and three others broke 20.

In the boys race, Fort Wayne Northrop claimed the team title with 76 points. Lakewood Park’s Zander Ritenour was the individual champion in 15:36. The top nine boys runners broke 17 minutes.

MANCHESTER INVITATIONAL GIRLS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES, SATURDAY): Valparaiso 48, Chesterton 85, East Noble 109, Fairfield 137, Wawasee 175, Huntington North 180, Penn 203, South Bend Adams 205, Fort Wayne Northrop 232, Bluffton 293, Plymouth 315, Maconaquah 347, Culver Academy 352, Garrett 381, Lakewood Park 400, Manchester 428, Northfield 453, Woodlan 456, Appleseeds Youth Running Program 559

Incomplete teams: TIPPECANOE VALLEY, Eastside, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, North Miami, Whitko, Fort Wayne North Side, Peru

VALLEY RESULTS

102. McKenna Lowe – 23:42, 119. Katie Sterk – 24:37, 133. Ava Minix – 25:20

MANCHESTER INVITATIONAL BOYS RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES, SATURDAY): Fort Wayne Northrop 76, Wawasee 91, Lakewood Park 98, South Bend Adams 118, Fairfield 192, Bluffton 218, Manchester 230, Plymouth 239, Huntington North 248, Culver Academy 252, Woodlan 281, Eastside 286, Northfield 315, Garrett 354, East Noble 363, Maconaquah 396, South Bend Career Academy 453, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 456, Peru 473, Appleseeds Youth Running Program 602

Incomplete teams: Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Whitko, Portage School of Leaders, North Miami

VALLEY RESULTS (456 POINTS, 18TH PLACE)

43. Christopher Marquez – 18:22 (43), 47. Collin Hammon – 18:24 (47), 134. Adric Shock – 21:43.4 (116), 135. Aaron Babbitt – 21:43.5 (117), 162. Eli Shewman – 24:42 (133), 167. Simeon Skippers – 26:23