Roundup: Penn girls, Northridge boys set pace at Ox Bow regional cross country in Elkhart

GOSHEN — Ryan McClane has been coaching cross country at Northridge High School for a long time.

So you can understand why he waxed a little philosophical after the IHSAA regional meet Saturday at OxBow Park.

“You don’t take for granted a season like this. You don’t know when you’re ever going to get it again,” said McClane after his Raiders claimed their first regional boys championship since 2013.

“Not only just winning stuff, but just how deep this boys team is,” said McClane. “It’s been so much fun. Building (the program) back up has been fun. Conference was fun, sectionals, at the awards ceremonies, our coaches sat in the front row with the kids because we wanted to experience what they are experiencing.”

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Placing all five scoring runners among the top 20 finishers, No. 11-ranked Northridge totaled 45 points for the win. No. 17-ranked Penn had four in the top 20, scoring 74 for second. No. 19 Goshen finished third.

It was a similar story in the girls race, but the teams were reversed. No. 14 Penn landed six finishers among the top 20 and totaled 33 points, with Northridge was second at 50.

The top five teams and top 10 individual finishers, who are not members of a qualifying team, advance to semistate competition next weekend at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion.

Adams and Elkhart complete the list of boys semistate qualifiers, while the girls teams from NorthWood, Mishawaka and Adams also advance.

Mishawaka sophomore Liam Bauschke continued his dominant running against a strong field to claim the boys individual title, clocking 15:45.51.

Bauschke was challenged by Goshen’s Tommy Claxton in the early stages of the 5,000-meter race, but opened an 80-meter gap by the halfway point and simply extended his advantage from there.

Claxton was 19 seconds behind in second. Baylor Miller of Northridge (16:06) placed third and a hard-charging Bol Agwick of Adams rushed down the homestretch for fourth, clocking 16:06.02.

“I was thinking place, just win, but the time ended up being pretty good as well,” said Bauschke. “I could kinda tell it was fast. I was running pretty close to solo, so after that, yeah, I’m excited for the semistate.”

Penn exhibited its normal tremendous pack running, with Nicholas Probst finishing eighth, Matthew Givens 13^th, Hudson Kaser 14^th and Brandon Mueller 15^th, all finishing in a 23-second span.

But Northridge had a great pack as well, and the reality is the Raiders were faster than the Kingsmen. Behind Baylor Miller, Jaxon Miller was fifth (16:13), David Gingerich sixth (16:14) and Marc Hernandez 11^th (16:31).

“Every workout, our guys are all together,” said McClane. “And the times are dropping. They race the way they train. These are tough, tough kids.”

Though the final score was a 17-point difference, the girls championship was actually a nail-biter midway through the race, as the Northridge girls went out hard — very hard — to challenge Penn.

Penn's Mary Eubank wins girls race

Nowhere was that better demonstrated than in the race for an individual title. Penn’s Mary Eubank and Tame Baylis of Northridge put on a show, with the lead exchanging hands several times and the two runners sprinting down the homestretch to the finish.

Eubank needed a personal best 18:50.67 to hold off Baylis, who placed second in 18:53.43.

Each runner threw in surges on OxBow’s hilly course. “We were both trying to do the same thing,” said Eubank. “There were a lot of parts in the race where she (Baylis) would start sprinting, and I thought, ‘OK, I guess we’re sprinting now.’ I would try to keep up with her till the pace would settle for a while, and then I would take the lead.”

Baylis kept it close to the end. “I wanted to take the lead, but every time I would try to pass her, we would play this sprinting game,” said Baylis. “At the end, I have a kick, but she did, too.”

Northridge runners finished 2-3-4, putting Penn’s girls on the ropes for a moment, but the fourth Raider finished 17^th and the No. 5 runner was 30^th.

Meanwhile, Penn’s Julia Economou finished fifth in 19:22, and Ellie Stabnik seventh in 19:49.  Arianna Balinnang was 11^th and Anabelle Rebolloso 12^th to blunt the Northridge attack.

Penn claimed its third straight girls regional title and sixth in the last seven years.

Penn coach Michael Clements looks forward to running the semistate at Indiana Wesleyan, where the course is flat as a pancake and known to be extremely fast.

“We have a lot of girls with footspeed who excel in track,” said Clements. “That kind of course can be an advantage for us.”

IHSAA ELKHART CROSS COUNTRY REGIONAL RESULTS

At OxBow Park, Goshen

BOYS

TEAM SCORES: Northridge 45, Penn 74, Goshen 88, Adams 123, Elkhart 141, NorthWood 142, Mishawaka 177, Concord 200, Saint Joseph 205, Riley 238. 

TOP 20 FINISHERS: 1, William Bauschke (Mishawaka) 15:45.51.  2, Tommy Claxton (Goshen) 16:04.82.  3, Baylor Miller (Northridge) 16:06.02.  4, Bol Agwick (Adams) 16:12.13.  5, Jaxon Miller (Northridge) 16:13.36.  6, David Gingerich (Northridge) 16:14.25.  7, Max Malloy (Elkhart) 16:14.31.  8, Nicholas Probst (Penn) 16:17.65.  9, Aaron Richter (Goshen) 16:19.32. 10, Luis Loera-Arambula (Goshen) 16:23.24.  11, Marc Hernandez (Northridge) 16:31.64.  12, Dorian Diaz (Goshen) 16:34.63.  13, Matthew Givens (Penn) 16:35.32.  14, Hudson Kaser (Penn) 16:39.80.  15, Brandon Mueller (Penn) 16:40.30. 16, Grayson Wilson (Adams) 16:42.62.  17, Jordan Burden (NorthWood) 16:45.55.  18, Owen Allen (NorthWood) 16:47.80.  19, Michael Camilleri (Adams) 16:51.71.  20, Xavier Miller (Northridge) 16:55.46.

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORES: Penn 33, Northridge 50, NorthWood 120, Mishawaka 127, Adams 154, Saint Joseph 162, Elkhart Christian Academy 177, Concord 191, Goshen 210, Riley 226. 

TOP 20 FIINISHERS: 1, Mary Eubank (Penn) 18:50.67. 2, Tame Baylis (Northridge) 18:53.43.  3, Haylee Hile (Northridge) 19:12.93. 4, Dakotah Moore (Northridge) 19:20.40.  5, Julia Economou (Penn) 19:22.70.  6, Mia Hodgson (Wawasee) 19:44.35.  7, Ellie Stabnik (Penn) 19:49.38.  8, Hanna Clyde (NorthWood) 19:55.10.  9, Koryn Flick (Mishawaka) 19:57.44.  10, Lexi Lawwill (Adams) 19:59.23.  11, Arianna Balinnang (Penn) 20:04.38.  12, Anabelle Rebolloso (Penn) 20:05.39.  13, Deirdre Tomasek (Marian) 20:09.26.  14, Leah Huber (Elkhart Christian) 20:31.38.  15, Hannah Schramm (Elkhart Christian) 20:39.52.  16, Gabrielle Smith (Penn) 20:39.99.  17, Addy Long (Northridge) 20:41.38. 18, Zoe Roberts (Concord) 20:41.92. 19, Jillian Waelbroeck (Mishawaka) 20:43.56.  20, Annika Retana (Riley) 20:44.98.

IHSAA officials:  Susan Thomas-Alspaugh, Mike Alspaugh

NOTE:  Top five teams and top 10 individual finishers who are not members of qualifying teams advance to IHSAA semistate at Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, on Saturday, Oct. 22.

ROUNDUP

New Prairie's Zelasko shines at Chesterton

New Prairie's Lilly Zelasko dipped under 18 minutes for the third week in a row, setting a meet record in the process, as she claimed the girls individual victory at Saturday’s Chesterton cross country regional.

Zelasko finished the 5,000-meter course at Sunset Hill Park in 17 minutes, 55.6 seconds, beating second place Cheyanne Stock of Valparaiso by just under 47 seconds.

She also shattered the previous regional record by 25 seconds. Valparaiso’s Logan Ferngren set the previous best of 18:20.1 in 2015.

Valparaiso claimed both boys and girls team championships. In the girls meet, however, the biggest story was a pair of very small schools, Morgan Township and Kouts, finishing second and third in the final standings.

Among the teams they eliminated was LaPorte. The top five teams and top 10 individual finishers, who are not members of a qualifying team, advance to next weekend’s semistate at New Prairie.

The Slicers were sixth and New Prairie finished seventh.

LaPorte’s Lila Gillisse advanced with a ninth-place individual finish, clocking 19:43. Faith Spain was 16^th.

In the boys meet, the Slicer team advanced with a second-place finish, scoring 60 points to Valpo’s 47.

Janan Pillai led La Porte in the boys race, finishing third in 16:06.4.  Individual champ James Dillabaugh of Valparaiso clocked 16:00.2.

Brayden Sobecki finished sixth and Hunter Quadlin was 15^th for the Slicers.

New Prairie was ninth in the boys team standings.

IHSAA CHESTERON CROSS COUNTRY REGIONAL 

At Sunset Hill Park

GIRLSTEAM SCORE: Valparaiso 41, Morgan Twp. 56, Kouts 105, Portage 109, Chesterton 123, LaPorte 137, New Prairie 175, Kankakee Valley 202, Covenant Christian (DeMotte) 254, Rensselaer Central 272. 

TOP 20 FINISHERS:  1, Lillian Zelasko (New Prairie) 17:55.6.  2, Cheyanne Stock (Valparaiso) 18:42.0.  3, Peyton Bucher (Morgan Twp.) 19:10.6.  4, Emersyn Bland (Morgan Twp.) 19:28.6.  5, Grace Thomas (Valparaiso) 19:35.3.  6, Alyssa Dunlap (Chesterton) 19:37.3.  7, Madisyn Mikels (Portage) 19:40.7.  8, Dana Abbring (Morgan Twp.) 19:40.9.  9, Lila Gillisse (La Porte) 19:43.0.  10, Elizabeth Ehrhardt (Valparaiso) 19:43.4.  11, Angela Coulopoulos (Valparaiso) 19:48.5.  12, Anyssa Heinold (Kouts) 19:50.5.  13, Brooke Byvoets (Valparaiso) 19:54.5. 14, Kassidy Gregory (Kouts) 20:07.5. 15, Emma Bell (Kankakee Valley) 20:10.9.  16, Faith Spain (LaPorte) 20:11.5.  17, Adylinee Oldham (Kouts) 20:12.7.  18, Anika Anderson (Valparaiso) 20:20.2. 19, Elise Byers (Wheeler) 20:28.8.  20, Jenna Twedt (Kouts) 20:35.4.

BOYS 

TEAM SCORE: Valparaiso 47, La Porte 60, Chesterton 70, Portage 84, Rensselaer Central 129, Morgan Twp. 157, Kankakee Valley 191, Kouts 208, New Prairie 233, West Central 294. 

TOP 20 FINISHERS:  1, James Dillabaugh (Valparaiso) 16:00.2.  2, Mason Nobles (Valparaiso) 16:05.2.  3, Janan Pillai (LaPorte) 16:06.4.  4, Shane Conroy (Portage) 16:07.2.  5, Jackson Tuck (Chesterton) 16:16.7. 6, Brayden Sobecki (La Porte) 16:25.3.  7, Josh Tuck (Chesterton) 16:27.6.  8, Evan O’Connor (Chesterton) 16:29.2.  9, Tristen Wuethrich (Rensselaer) 16:29.4. 10, Noah Bosstel (Portage) 16:36.2.  11, Ty Ivanyo (Morgan Twp) 16:39.2.  12, Nathaniel Malchow (Valparaiso) 16:46.0.  13, Bobby Berger (Chesterton) 16:48.2.  14, Riley Clark (Valparaiso) 16:48.2.  15, Hunter Quadlin (La Porte) 16:49.2.  16, Ethan Ehrhardt (Kankakee Valley) 16:50.6.  17, Hunter Drain (Covenant Christian) 16:50.8.  18, Zackery Kimmel (So Central) 16:59.0.  19, Preston Peterson (La Porte) 17:00.0.  20, Brady Cavanaugh (Valparaiso) 17:02.2.

IHSAA CULVER ACADEMIES CROSS COUNTRY REGIONAL 

At Culver Academies

BOYS

TEAM SCORE: Warsaw 33, Culver Academies 91, Rochester 125, Maconaquah 126, Lewis Cass 130, Northwestern 144, Manchester 154, Pioneer 166, Plymouth 224, Logansport 235.

TOP 20 FINISHERS: 1, Leighton Dodt (Pioneer) 16:51.  2, Isaiah Wittenberg (Maconaquah) 16:57.  3, Samuel Rohr (Rochester) 16:59.  4, Tyler Mimnaugh (Warsaw) 17:02.  5, Tyler Swartz (Warsaw) 17:06. 6, Jackson Gackenheimer (Warsaw) 17:08. 7, Kolbey Wegner (Winamac) 17:08. 8, Trey Hall (Plymouth) 17:14. 9, Ryun Hoffert (Warsaw) 17:15.  10, Hunter Miller (Culver Academies) 17:16.  11, Garrett Hall (Warsaw) 17:17.  12, William Ruszkowski (Culver Academies) 17:19.  13, Dionte Obertein (Culver Academies) 17:20.  14, Kyler Dale (Manchester) 17:23.  15, Aden Yeary (Western) 17:24.  16, Enoch Hines (Cass) 17:24.  17, Raven King (Manchester) 17:25.  18, Carson Meyer (Pioneer) 17:26.  19, Andrew Potter (Warsaw) 17:28.  20, Colin Feazel (Northwestern) 17:33.

GIRLS 

TEAM SCORE: Warsaw 51, Maconaquah 80, Western 96, Winamac 124, Manchester 146, Northwestern 147, Culver Academies 156, Plymouth 164, Carroll (Flora) 209, Triton 250. 

TOP 20 FINISHERS: 1, Josefina Rastrelli (Warsaw) 18:16.  2, Hannah Moore (Northwestern) 18:46.  3, Courtney Adams (Northwestern) 19:08.  4, Zoe Seward (Rochester) 19:12.  5, Celeste Gram (Culver Academies) 19:35.  6, Kadence Fox (Manchester) 19:42.  7, Aftin Griffin (Lewis Cass) 19:45. 8, Zoie Laber (Maconaquah) 19:45.  9, Abby Jordan (Maconaquah) 19:47.  10, Sophie Wray (Plymouth) 19:52.  11, Kendall Depoy (Western) 19:53.  12, Ayla Cashdollar (Manchester) 20:03.  13, Samantha Rastrelli (Warsaw) 20:09.  14, Violet Montgomery (Pioneer) 20:12.  15, Mikayla Mimnaugh (Warsaw) 20:22. 16, Chesnee Miller (Tippecanoe Valley) 20:26.  17, Ella Laput (Warsaw) 20:32.  18, Elizabeth Vander Bie (Warsaw) 20:34.  19, Jocelynn Faulkner (Triton) 20:38.  20, Lucy Loshnowsky (Maconaquah) 20:37.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA regional cross country: Penn girls, Northridge boys win