Elkhart runner shocks boys cross country state meet .... almost
At the New Prairie boys cross country regional on Oct. 21, Elkhart’s Aaron Richter surprised everyone when he bolted into the lead at the halfway point.
In hindsight, maybe he was just making a dry run.
Midway through Saturday’s state championship race in Terre Haute, a familiar-looking runner wearing an Elkhart uniform worked his way into the lead pack, then surged to the front.
“I was more nervous than anything,” said Richter, a junior, who appeared out of nowhere, led until the last 500 meters, and ended up finishing fifth overall in a brilliant state finals effort at the Wabash Valley Sports Center.
Mishawaka’s Liam Bauschke, one of the pre-meet favorites to win, struggled to finish the 5,000-meter course thanks to a knee injury suffered in the week before the regional. In pain the entire time, he nevertheless ran with the leaders through the first half of the race, then fell back to finish 17th.
Carmel, as expected, claimed the boys team title with 76 points. Fishers was second at 185. But the best effort of the day may have belonged to Penn, ninth overall at 290.
Never ranked among the state’s top 10 at any point this season, the Kingsmen nevertheless had five runners break the 16:30 mark and ended up just 48 points out of fifth place … not a big gap where the state finals are concerned.
Northridge ended up 12th with 356 points, while La Porte was 16th at 378.
Cameron Todd of Indianapolis Brebeuf, who didn’t pass Richter till 500 meters remained, pulled away for the individual championship in 14:55.5. Officials said it was the seventh fastest high school time ever run on that course, despite wet, sloppy conditions.
Floyd Central’s Will Conway was second in 15:03.3. Then a few steps back was Richter, whose 15:15.3 is the fastest cross country time ever recorded in the history of Elkhart schools. Elkhart Central’s Damian Sherck clocked 15:20 at Manchester back in 1996.
“The kid (Richter) is a mudder, that’s for sure,” said Elkhart coach Adam Homo. “We told him that if he was going to make a run at it, he had to be in position by the 2K mark, and that’s exactly what he did.”
Richter’s well-known running mate, Max Malloy, was suffering from illness. So, essentially on his own, Richter made a slow start and was in the back third of the field after 1,000 meters.
But, then, he started a huge drive to the front, steadily passing other runners.
When he moved into the lead, it took a moment for the IHSAA’s TV announcers to figure out who he was. But by the time they did, Richter had opened a 10-meter gap.
“I didn’t think I would get into the lead, but once I got there, I just tried to hang on and keep people from passing me,” said Richter.
He continued leading through the 4,000-meter point, answering a pair of challenges, until Todd finally got around him with 800 to go.
“I just did the best I could after that,” he said.
One of the runners Richter passed was Bauschke, who was in fourth place after 2,000 meters, but couldn’t hold on.
“I was in pain from the start,” said the Caveman junior, who was undefeated until Saturday. “It was a battle the whole time and I was worn down at the end.”
It cannot be overlooked that — injury or not — Bauschke still earned a place on the IHSAA awards podium, still got a medal, and still earns All-State honors for his performance.
Penn senior Brandon Mueller had possibly the best cross country race of his life, finishing 42nd overall and clocking 15:53.0.
But, as always, the pack was key for the Kingsmen, who last broke into the state’s top 10 in the year 2000.
Matt Givens was 64th in 16:01, Hudson Kaser 98th (16:14), Kush Grewal 136th (16:27) and Jack Ryan 145th (16:28). Only 34 seconds separated the Penn scoring runners.
Northridge was led by Baylor Miller, a sophomore, who finished 52nd in 15:57.2.
La Porte’s charge was led by senior Brayden Sobecki, 70th in 16:05.5.
Bol Agwick of Adams placed 99th overall in 16:14.
IHSAA BOYS STATE CROSS COUNTRY FINALS
At Wabash Valley Sports Center, Terre Haute
TEAM SCORES: Carmel 76, Fishers 185, Brownsburg 218, Zionsville 232, Hamilton Southeastern 242, Columbus North 244, Fort Wayne Concordia 253, Floyd Central 254, Penn 290, Bloomington North 299, Warsaw 307, Noblesville 309, Northridge 356, Valparaiso 362, Center Grove 364, La Porte 378, Evansville Reitz 381, Franklin Central 383, Bloomington South 388, Avon 419, Lake Central 446, Indianapolis North Central 456, Angola 536, Wabash 538, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 594.
TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Cameron Todd (Indianapolis Brebeuf) 14:55.5. 2, Will Conway (Floyd Central) 15:03.3. 3, Sam Quagliaroli (Fishers) 15:06.0. 4, Tony Provenzano (Carmel) 15:06.6. 5, Aaron Richter (Elkhart) 15:15.3. 6, Shane Conroy (Portage) 15:15.6. 7, Kyle Grove (Carmel) 15:18.6. 8, Samuel Spees (Zionsville) 15:21.0. 9, Calvin Zeitz (Jasper) 15:23.1. 10, Ian Baker (Brownsburg) 15:24.3. 11, Ryan Rheam (Bloomington So) 15:25.1. 12, Neal White (Columbus North) 15:25.7. 13, Noah Bontrager (Westview) 15:28.8. 14, Landon Miller (Greencastle) 15:29.3. 15, Luca Cirincione (Floyd Central) 15:29.8. 16, Matthew Kim (Fishers) 15:30.0. 17, Liam Bauschke (Mishawaka) 15:30.7. 18, Jack Turnbull (Zionsville) 15:31.6. 19, Jackson Nolan (Evansville Reitz) 15:32.4. 20, Vaughn Hendrickson (FW Concordia) 15:33.1. 21, Thomas Biltimier (Carmel) 15:34.3. 22, Martin Barco IV (Martinsville) 15:34.8. 23, Jack Hearld (Danville) 15:35.6. 24, Alexander Pinckney (Christian Academy of Indiana) 15:38.4. 25, Joseph Lapatra (Griffith) 15:39.7.
PENN FINISHERS: 42, Brandon Mueller 15:53 … 64, Matthew Givens 16:01 … 98, Hudson Kaser 16:14 … 136, Kush Grewal 16:27 … 145, Jack Ryan 16:28 … 178, Tanner Mammolenti 16:41 … 186, Mikel Cox 16:48.
NORTHRIDGE FINISHERS: 52, Baylor Miller 15:57 … 90, Marc Hernandez 16:12 … 123, Xavier Miller 16:22 … 128, Joe Keyser 16:23 … 196, Brady Hicks 16:54 … 197, David Gingerich 16:54 … 221, Trevin Schlabach 17:12.
LA PORTE FINISHERS: 70, Brayden Sobecki 16:05 … 102, Preston Peterson 16:14 … 108, Hunter Quadlin 16:17 … 144, Liam Lilly 16:28 … 199, Charles Tonagel 16:55 … 241, Jack Miskowicz 17:51 … 248, Evan Howes 18:52.
GOSHEN FINISHERS: 41, Dorian Diaz 15:52 … 163, Lincoln Clark 16:35.
ADAMS FINISHER: 99, Bol Agwick 16:14.
OTHER ELKHART: 135, Max Malloy 16:27.
MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD: Vaughn Hendrickson (Fort Wayne Concordia)
GIRLS MEET: Plymouth runner saves best for last
Save your best for last.
Apparently, the message got through to Plymouth senior Sophie Wray, who ran the best race of her life during the IHSAA girls state cross country finals Saturday in Terre Haute.
A week after Wray finished 13th at the New Haven regional in Fort Wayne – that’s 13th – she bounced back with a 17th-place effort during the state meet at Wabash Valley Sports Center.
Wray’s time — 18:15.6 over 5,000 meters — was good for All-State recognition and a spot on the IHSAA awards podium.
She was one of two local athletes who could make that claim. The other, Penn senior Mary Eubank, finished 21st overall in 18:17.3.
As a team, Penn finished 16th, scoring 429 points.
At the front of the field, Homestead claimed its first state championship in girls cross country, edging Fort Wayne Concordia by seven points, 108-115.
Despite soggy conditions, the course was in decent shape, which led to a blistering race for the individual title.
Indian Creek sophomore Libby Dowty unleashed a withering kick in the final 100 meters to pass pre-meet favorite Nicki Southerland of Delta and claim the championship.
Dowty’s time, 17:06.7, broke the previous state meet best of 17:13.2 set by Mishawaka’s Anna Rohrer in 2012. Rohrer was a two-time national champion.
Southerland, who won the Mental Attitude Award, was state runnerup in each of the last three seasons.
While the time recorded by Penn’s Eubank was not a personal record, like Wray, it may have been her best high school effort ever, according to Penn coach Michael Clements.
Eubank paced just behind the lead pack throughout the race, moving up as high as 12th place at times. She clocked 3:40 over her last thousand meters.
“She wanted to finish higher, but that was the best race she’s ever run,” said Clements. “The quality of the field was unbelieveable.”
Ari Balinnang, a sophomore, was the only other Kingsman to break the 20-minute barrier, clocking 19:22.7 for 105th place.
A week after All-State senior Ellie Stabnik was back into the lineup, following an injury, the Kingsmen lost her again for Saturday’s race thanks to a bout of COVID.
Aubrey Morgan finished 167th for Penn, clocking 20:03.6. Gabby Smith was 190th and Lila Van Hoveln 215th.
Northridge sophomore Dakotah Moore, the surprise runnerup at last week’s New Prairie regional, finished 28th in 18:27.3. She missed a spot on the Top 25 awards podium by less than five seconds.
La Porte’s Faith Spain was 45th overall.
IHSAA GIRLS STATE CROSS COUNTRY FINALS
At Wabash Valley Sports Center, Terre Haute
TEAM SCORES: Homestead 108, Fort Wayne Concordia 115, Valparaiso 146, Indianapolis North Central 152, Franklin Central 178, Hamilton Southeastern 179, Carmel 187, Noblesville 226, Zionsville 290, Westfield 291, Brownsburg 352, Columbus North 353, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 379, Bloomington South 384, Warsaw 387, Penn 429, Lake Central 430, Morgan Township 430, East Noble 431, Harrison (West Lafayette) 458, Guerin Catholic 461, Corydon Central 497, Edgewood 559, Jasper 614, Portage 615.
TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Libby Dowty (Indian Creek) 17:06.7 (STATE MEET RECORD. Previous record 17:13.2 by Anna Rohrer, Mishawaka, 2012). 2, Nicki Southerland (Delta) 17:15.8. 3, Julia Score (Indianapolis Chatard) 17:23.7. 4, Addison Knoblauch (Homestead) 17:37.6. 5, Whitney Anderson (Valparaiso) 17:46.1. 6, Mallory Weller (FW Concordia) 17:47.9. 7, Lexi Panning (FW Concordia) 17:50.6. 8, Kaitlyn Stewart (Floyd Central) 17:51.6. 9, Kylie Cline (Franklin Central) 17:56.8. 10, Jessica Hegedus (Avon) 17:57.9. 11, Josefina Rastrelli (Warsaw) 18:02.7. 12, Margaret Powers (Hamilton SE) 18:03.4. 13, Alice Friesen (Huntington No) 18:07.3. 14, Hannah Moore (Northwestern) 18:07.9. 15, Elizabeth Butler (Hamilton SE) 18:13.7. 16, Ellia Hayes (Northview) 18:15.3. 17, Sophie Wray (Plymouth) 18:15.6. 18, Sadie Foley (Carmel) 18:15.6. 19, Maddie Rocchio (Indianapolis No Central) 18:15.7. 20, Elizabeth Rocchio (Indianapolis No Central) 18:16.7. 21, Mary Eubank (Penn) 18:17.3. 22, Hadessah Austin (Seeger) 18:17.9. 23, Callie Bentley (East Central) 18:19.3. 24, Nola Somers Glenn (Bloomington No) 18:21.0. 25, Elizabeth Ehrhardt (Valparaiso) 18:22.7.
OTHER PENN FINISHERS: 105, Ari Balinnang 19:22.7 … 167, Aubrey Morgan 20:03.6 … 190, Gabby Smith 20:17.3 … 215, Lila Van Hoveln 20:45.8 … 224, Janine Mbianda 20:59.9 … 241, Sia Grewal (Penn) 21:39.4.
NORTHRIDGE FINISHER: 28, Dakotah Moore 18:27.3.
LA PORTE FINISHER: 45, Faith Spain 18:51.4.
GOSHEN FINISHER: 68, Kassandra Ortega 19:03.7.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY FINISHER: 120, Chesnee Miller 19:31.0.
MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD: Nicki Southerland (Delta).
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA Boy & Girls State Cross Country Meet at Wabash Valley Sports Center
