Penn girls sixth at state cross country; Mishawaka's Bauschke ninth in boys race
It all depends on how you want to look at it: Is the glass half-empty or half-full?
Penn’s girls finished sixth Saturday at the state cross country finals. That means they missed a spot on the IHSAA awards stand by one place. That hurts.
On the other hand, five of Penn’s seven varsity runners will return next season, including three freshmen. The Kingsmen girls finished better than their No. 8 state ranking. And, when you think about it, they only missed a spot on the IHSAA awards podium by one place.
New Prairie's Zelasko a dominant semistate champion in cross country
“I’m definitely on the ‘glass is half-full’ side,” said Penn coach Michael Clements following the 5,000-meter race at Wabash Valley Sports Center in Terre Haute.
“Really, it would have been tough for us to perform any better,” he said. “The five teams who finished ahead of us are really outstanding. All things considered, I’m ecstatic about the way the day went.”
In a slight upset, No. 2-ranked Noblesville upended No. 1 Columbus North for the girls team title, 122-153.
In an amazing display of pack running, Noblesville’s top six runners all placed among the top 50 and finished within a 28-second span. Carmel finished third and Homestead was fourth.
Penn scored 234, just ahead of Valparaiso (247).
Mary Eubank, a junior, led the Kingsmen girls with an 18th-place individual finish, clocking 18:37.0. She was the top finisher from the Tribune area, and she collected the first IHSAA award medal of her career.
The top five teams and top 20 individual finishers earned medals.
“I’m definitely going to hang this somewhere in my room,” said Eubank of her award. She ran the second-fastest time of her life, with only her 18:11.7 at last week’s New Haven semistate being faster.
“This was definitely one of my best races,” Eubank said. She ran her first 1,000 meters in 3:20 and was 3:54 in a solid last thousand, which was mostly uphill. “I wanted to start out controlled and then just pick off people till the end.”
One of the runners she passed along the way was New Prairie senior Lilly Zelasko, who was unable to duplicate her amazing performances of recent weeks. She finished 21st in 18:42.8, one place off the awards podium.
Alexa Panning of Fort Wayne Concordia edged Zelasko for the final medal by eight-10ths of a second.
Julia Economou, a senior, was Penn’s No. 2 finisher, 42nd in 19:18.4. Ellie Stabnik was 48th in a personal-best 19:25.4.
Morgan Collins (101st) and Arianna Balinnang (133rd) rounded out the Kingsmen scoring.
Lily Cridge of Indianapolis Bishop Chatard defended her individual state championship in 17:14.6. The Oregon-bound senior got a tough race from Delta’s Nicki Southerland, who finished second in 17:17.5.
Cridge’s time was the third-fastest in state finals history. Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka still holds the top two spots with 17:08.8 and 17:13.2 in 2014 and 2012, respectively.
Northridge wasn’t entered as a team but three Raider girls finished extremely well, with Tame Baylis 33rd in 19:03.7. Dakota Moore was 49th and Haylee Hile 54th. LaPorte’s Lila Gillisse, meanwhile, was 41st in 19:17.1.
Marian junior Deirdre Tomasek, a three-time state qualifier, finished 102nd in 20:01.1. She has the opportunity next season to become one of a handful of four-time individual state qualifiers.
IHSAA GIRLS STATE CROSS COUNTY FINALS
At Wabash Valley Sports Center, Terre Haute
TEAM SCORES: Noblesville 122, Columbus North 153, Carmel 177, Homestead 187, Indianapolis North Central 197, Penn 234, Valparaiso 247, Fort Wayne Concordia 274, Floyd Central 275, Zionsville 279, Guerin Catholic 332, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 334, East Central 346, East Noble 350, Hamilton Southeastern 357, Bloomington South 388, Northview 397, Princeton Community 403, Morgan Township 429, Warsaw 430, Lake Central 509, Corydon Central 511, Maconaquah 515, Crown Point 526.
TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Lily Cridge (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard) 17:14.6. 2, Nicki Southerland (Delta) 17:17.5. 3, Sophia Kennedy (Park Tudor) 17:24.4. 4, Julia Kiesler (Columbus North) 17:36.4. 5, Gretchen Farley (Park Tudor) 17:58.4. 6, Bridget Gallagher (Guerin Catholic) 17:59.8. 7, Josefina Rastrelli (Warsaw) 18:00.1. 8, Addison Knoblauch (Homestead) 18:05.2. 9, Lily Baker (Columbus North) 18:07.5. 10, Julia Score (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard) 18:17.9. 11, Heidi Meade (Princeton) 18:18.2. 12, Haley Meade (Princeton) 18:18.6. 13, Jessica Hegedus (Avon) 18:21.4. 14, Cheyanne Stock (Valparaiso) 18:22.7. 15, Libby Dowty (Indian Creek) 18:24.3. 16, Margaret Powers (Hamilton SE) 18:26.5. 17, Addison Lindsey (East Noble) 18:26.7. 18, Mary Eubank (Penn) 18:37.0. 19, Hannah Moore (Northwestern) 18:38.4. 20, Alexa Panning (FW Concordia) 18:42.0. 21, Lillian Zelasko (New Prairie) 18:42.8. 22, Maddie Rocchio (Indianapolis North Central) 18:47.6. 23, Savanna Liddle (Floyd Central) 18:49.7. 24, Lily Myers (Bloomington South) 18:51.2. 25, Peyton Bucher (Morgan Twp.) 18:51.9.
OTHER PENN FINISHERS: 42, Julia Economou 19:18.4 … 48, Ellie Stabnik 19:25.4 … 101, Morgan Collins 20:00.8 … 133, Arianna Balinnang (Penn) 20:24.7 … 136, Aubrey Morgan 20:28.7 … 185, Annabelle Rebolloso 21:34.1.
LAPORTE FINISHER: 41, Lila Gillisse 19:17.1.
MARIAN FINISHER: 102, Deirdre Tomasek 20:01.1.
NORTHRIDGE FINISHERS: 33, Tame Baylis 19:03.7 … 49, Dakotah Moore (Northridge) 19:26.9 … 54, Haylee Hile 19:29.8.
MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD: Bridget Gallagher (Guerin Catholic).
Boys: Sophomore Bauschke excels
Earlier this season, Mishawaka sophomore Liam Bauschke said he was still learning strategy for high school cross country races.
Looks like the lessons are sinking in.
In his first appearance at the IHSAA boys state finals, Bauschke raced to a ninth-place individual finish Saturday afternoon in Terre Haute.
He covered a 5,000-meter course at the Wabash Valley Sports Center in 15 minutes, 36.3 seconds, earning a spot on the IHSAA awards stand. He was the only Tribune-area boy to earn a medal.
He was also the youngest finisher among the top 10 — the eight runners ahead of him were all seniors and juniors — and he was the first finisher who wasn’t from an Indianapolis-area school.
Yes, that stuff will matter in the future.
As expected, Carmel senior Kole Mathison claimed the individual championship, clocking 15:02.8. And his teammate, Tony Provenzano, was runnerup in 15:11.2.
The 1-2 finish lifted the Greyhounds to their 17th boys team title. But it was tight, as Carmel edged Zionsville, 103-106, the second-closest margin in state meet history.
Center Grove was third and Columbus North fourth.
Northridge wrapped up its brilliant season with an eighth-place finish in the boys team standings. The Raiders scored 267, with Jaxon Miller placing 29th in 16:02.4 to lead the way.
Penn finished 14th with 361 points, while Goshen came in 15th at 370 and La Porte 19th with 444.
Penn’s pack was outstanding — five Kingsmen finished within a 21-second span. But it wasn’t far enough up in the field to earn a trip to the awards platform.
The top five teams and top 20 individual finishers earned award medals.
Nicholas Probst pulled Penn’s pack into the finish chute, clocking 16:40 for a 90th-place finish.
Hudson Kaser came home 93rd in 16:41. Then, Brandon Mueller, 112th in 16:54, William Mickelson 114th in 16:58, and Jack Ryan 119th in 17:01.
Northridge was a little more spread out than usual, but Baylor Miller collected 51st place in 16:20 and David Gingerich 86th in 16:40.
For the second straight week, La Porte’s team leader was Brayden Sobecki, who clocked 16:25.3 for 59th. Goshen’s Tommy Claxton, meanwhile, clocked 16:07.3 for 33rd place in his final high school cross country race.
IHSAA BOYS STATE CROSS COUNTRY FINALS
At Wabash Valley Sports Center, Terre Haute
TEAM SCORES: Carmel 103, Zionsville 106, Center Grove 143, Columbus North 157, Noblesville 166, Fishers 224, Bloomington North 265, Northridge 267, Chesterton 304, Franklin Central 322, Indianapolis Brebeuf 325, Floyd Central 328, Valparaiso 352, Penn 361, Goshen 370, Bloomington South 389, Fort Wayne Concordia 398, Warsaw 420, La Porte 444, Jasper 446, Lake Central 465, Hamilton Southeastern 505, Evansville Reitz 544, West Lafayette 616.
TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Kole Mathison (Carmel) 15:02.8. 2, Tony Provenzano (Carmel) 15:11.2. 3, Cameron Todd (Brebeuf) 15:11.2. 4, Ty Garrett (Center Grove) 15:31.6. 5, Matteo Rosio (Brebeuf) 15:32.4. 6, Asher Propst (Noblesville) 15:33.7. 7, Nate Killeen (Indianapolis North Central) 15:34.7. 8, Brayden Henkle (Franklin Central) 15:35.6. 9, William Bauschke (Mishawaka) 15:36.3. 10, Aaron Lord (New Albany) 15:36.5. 11, Kyle Clark (Bloomington North) 15:37.3. 12, Noah Bontrager (Westview) 15:41.0. 13, Ryan Rheam (Bloomington South) 15:42.2. 14, Caden Click (Noblesville) 15:44.6. 15, Samuel Spees (Zionsville) 15:45.1. 16, Emerson Nehring (Plainfield) 15:46.6. 17, Nathan Burns (Mooresville) 15:48.9. 18, Sam Quagliaroli (Fishers) 15:49.8. 19, Jackson Nolan (Evansville Reitz) 15:49.8. 20, Mateo Mendez (Columbus North) 15:50.0. 21, James Dillabaugh (Valparaiso) 15:51.1. 22, Jaryn Weinel (Jasper) 15:51.4. 23, Ryan York (Hanover Central) 15:54.8. 24, Clayton Guthrie (Columbus North) 15:55.2. 25, Noah Nifong (Floyd Central) 15:57.1.
NORTHRIDGE FINISHERS: 29, Jaxon Miller 16:02 … 51, Baylor Miller 16:20 … 86, David Gingerich 16:40 … 110, Will Knox 16:53 … 116, Marc Hernandez 16:59 … 125, Xavier Miller 17:09 … 141, Jonathan Spicher 17:20.
PENN FINISHERS: 90, Nicholas Probst 16:40 … 93, Hudson Kaser 16:41 … 112, Brandon Mueller 16:54 … 114, William Mickelson 16:58 … 119, Jack Ryan 17:01 … 132, Matthew Givens 17:16 … 201, Kush Grewal 18:54.
GOSHEN FINISHERS: 33, Tommy Claxton 16:07 … 48, Luis Loera-Arambula 16:19 … 103, Dorian Diaz 16:50 … 140, Alexander Lopez 17:19 … 180, Peter Moser 18:03 … 193, Lincoln Clark 18:31 … 203, Brady Abney 19:06.
LA PORTE FINISHERS: 59, Brayden Sobecki 16:25 … 81, Janan Pillai 16:38 … 130, Hunter Quadlin 17:15 … 162, Preston Peterson 17:37 … 170, Stephen Klimczak 17:47 … 171, Liam Lilly 17:50 … 173, Charles Tonagel 17:51.
MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD: Kole Mathison (Carmel).
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana High School Athletic Association state cross country meet
