Stichter Wins Fourth Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
GOSHEN - Like Tom Hanks' character in the motion picture Forrest Gump, Wawasee High School senior Rachel Stichter can run like the wind blows.
And on a cold and windy morning Saturday at Ox Bow Park, Stichter won her fourth consecutive cross country regional championship, running with, through and against the wind as she easily distanced herself from the competition.
Stichter, who last week won her fourth straight Northern Lakes Conference championship and fourth consecutive sectional championship at Ox Bow Park, won Saturday's 4,000-meter regional in a time of 14:08.
Her time, which was the same sectional-record time she ran last week in good weather, was 33 seconds better than runner-up Megan Jackson of second-ranked Northridge.
Stichter's time was also 15 seconds better than her winning regional time of a year ago.
"Rachel ran really well," said Warrior girls coach Grace Stichter, Rachel's aunt. "To win four regionals is pretty impressive. I don't know if that's been done before. She's been consistant over the years. Her goal is to win state, and that's what she worked hard for over the summer. She's been dedicated and done everything right. Everything from eating right to sleep, everything."
The top five teams and top 15 individuals from the boys and girls races at the Elkhart Central Regional advanced to Saturday's New Haven Semistate, which will be run on the campus of IPFW.
Stichter is the only local competitor that advanced to the semistate state, as she seeks her fourth trip to the state finals. Competing in the New Haven Invitational, Stichter ran a time of 14:03 on the course that will be used for the semistate.
"I'd be very surprised if she has a bad race," said Grace Stichter. "She's been so consitent. She hasn't peaked yet."
Wawasee's girls team finished seventh out of 10 teams at the regional with 166 points, missing the cut by 48 points.
Warsaw sophomore Lindsay Houvener competed as an individual and finished 21st in a time of 16:31, missing the semistate cut by 11 seconds.
Northridge won the girls team championship for the third straight year, scoring 29 points as its top five runners placed in the top nine.
Angola finshed second with 93 points, followed by East Noble (104), Elkhart Central (105), DeKalb (118), Concord (158), Wawasee (166), Goshen (170), West Noble (221) and Garrett (240).
Catherine Giltner was the second Wawasee competitor to cross the finish line, doing so in a 26th-place time of 16:49. Other scoring runners for Wawasee included Havilah Rensberger (39th, 17:29), Ashlee Pollen (46th, 17:42) and Katie Hasse (62nd, 18:30).
In the 5,000-meter boys race, Wawasee freshman Ryan Smythe led all local competitors with a 17-place time of 16:57, missing the semistate cut by five seconds.
Kyle McNulty led Warsaw with a 38th-place time of 17:27.
Neither the Warriors nor Tigers will be represented at the New Haven Semistate.
Wawasee finished ninth out of 10 teams with 222 points, while Warsaw was 10th with 234 points.
"We just haven't run well for three weeks," said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills, whose Tigers advanced to the semistate last year. "I don't know what it is. I thought we could get seventh today, and we would be happy with that. We just didn't run well."
From last year's team that advanced to the semistate, Warsaw had its top three runners back, and Mills said he thought this year's squad was a better team from top to bottom.
Others who were counted in Warsaw's five-person score included Baxter Burnworth (47th, 17:48), Matt Campbell (51st, 18:25), David Compson (56th, 18:29) and Jeremy Blackburn (57th, 18:34).
For Wawasee, Doug Slabaugh was the second to cross the line, finishing 45th in a time of 17:46. John Adams was next, finishing 58th in a time of 18:37, followed by Austin Hasse (59th, 18:40) and Scott Gingerich (61st, 18:47).
In the team competition, fourth-ranked Northridge scored 39 points, and like its girls team, won its third straight regional crown.
Tenth-ranked Elkhart Memorial was second with 59 points, followed by East Noble (98), West Noble (101), DeKalb (123), Goshen (163), Garrett (166), Lakeland (208), Wawasee (222) and Warsaw (234).
East Noble's Tony Krock won the boys race in a time of 16:05, four seconds ahead of Northridge's Braxton Fritz.
ELKHART CENTRAL REGIONAL
Girls team scores - Northridge 29, Angola 93, East Noble 104, Elkhart Central 105, DeKalb 118, Concord 158, Wawasee 166, Goshen 170, West Noble 221, Garrett 240
Top 15 individuals - 1. Rachel Stichter (Wawa) 14:08, 2. Megan Jackson (NR) 14:41, 3. Jessie LaFree (NR) 15:17, 4. Ina Thiel (Ang) 15:18, 5. Leslee Getts (DeK) 15:22, 6. Theresa Schamberger 15:23, 7. Aimee Gingerich (NR) 15:32, 8. Stephanie Swendsen (NR) 15:59, 9. Lynn Pezzanite (NR) 16:04, 10. Erin Zimmerman (Gosh) 16:09, 11. Katelynd Wagner (Ang) 16:10, 12. Aubree Draper (NR) 16:11, 13. Alisha Getts (DeK) 16:14, 14. Dora Walterhouse (Elk. Memorial) 16:18, 15. Julian Kristin (Ang) 16:20
Wawasee finishers - 1. Rachel Stichter 14:08, 26. Catherine Giltner 16:49, 42. Havilah Rensberger 17:29, 46. Ashlee Pollen 17:42, 62. Katie Hasse 18:30, 63. Abby Gilbert 18:42, 67. Danyl Wallace 19:02
Warsaw finisher - 21. Lindsay Houvener 16:31 (competed as an individual)
Boys team scores - Northridge 39, Elkhart Memorial 59, East Noble 98, West Noble 101, DeKalb 123, Goshen 163, Garrett 166, Lakeland 208, Wawasee 222, Warsaw 234
To 15 individuals - 1. Tony Krock (EN) 16:05, 2. Braxton Fritz (NR) 16:09, 3. Ken Collins (NR) 16:21, 4. Brett Mravec (EM) 16:23, 5. Jaurice Dye (EM) 16:26, 6. Corey Koch (Lak) 16:27, 7. Joel Liechty (EN) 16:32, 8. Bob Jacobs (WN) 16:33, 9. Loren Spirito (NR) 16:35, 10. Randy Placencia (Gar) 16:36, 11. Ladd Mercer (NR) 16:43, 12. Austin Lucas (Fremont) 16:44, 13. Bryce Matteson (EM) 16:47, 14. Matt Hammersmith (Prairie Heights) 16:50, 15. Clayton Downer (EN) 16:52
Wawasee finishers - 17. Ryan Smythe 16:57, 45. Doug Slabaugh 17:46, 58. John Adams 18:37, 59. Austin Hasse 18:40, 61. Scott Gingerich 18:47, 64. Jared Wurtzel 19:01, 65. Seth Blakeslee 19:09
Warsaw finshers - 38. Kyle McNulty 17:27, 47. Baxter Burnworth 17:48, 55. Matt Campbell 18:25, 56. David Compson 18:29, 57. Jeremy Blackburn 18:34, 66. Steve Robinson 19:13, 71. William Olds 20:05 [[In-content Ad]]
GOSHEN - Like Tom Hanks' character in the motion picture Forrest Gump, Wawasee High School senior Rachel Stichter can run like the wind blows.
And on a cold and windy morning Saturday at Ox Bow Park, Stichter won her fourth consecutive cross country regional championship, running with, through and against the wind as she easily distanced herself from the competition.
Stichter, who last week won her fourth straight Northern Lakes Conference championship and fourth consecutive sectional championship at Ox Bow Park, won Saturday's 4,000-meter regional in a time of 14:08.
Her time, which was the same sectional-record time she ran last week in good weather, was 33 seconds better than runner-up Megan Jackson of second-ranked Northridge.
Stichter's time was also 15 seconds better than her winning regional time of a year ago.
"Rachel ran really well," said Warrior girls coach Grace Stichter, Rachel's aunt. "To win four regionals is pretty impressive. I don't know if that's been done before. She's been consistant over the years. Her goal is to win state, and that's what she worked hard for over the summer. She's been dedicated and done everything right. Everything from eating right to sleep, everything."
The top five teams and top 15 individuals from the boys and girls races at the Elkhart Central Regional advanced to Saturday's New Haven Semistate, which will be run on the campus of IPFW.
Stichter is the only local competitor that advanced to the semistate state, as she seeks her fourth trip to the state finals. Competing in the New Haven Invitational, Stichter ran a time of 14:03 on the course that will be used for the semistate.
"I'd be very surprised if she has a bad race," said Grace Stichter. "She's been so consitent. She hasn't peaked yet."
Wawasee's girls team finished seventh out of 10 teams at the regional with 166 points, missing the cut by 48 points.
Warsaw sophomore Lindsay Houvener competed as an individual and finished 21st in a time of 16:31, missing the semistate cut by 11 seconds.
Northridge won the girls team championship for the third straight year, scoring 29 points as its top five runners placed in the top nine.
Angola finshed second with 93 points, followed by East Noble (104), Elkhart Central (105), DeKalb (118), Concord (158), Wawasee (166), Goshen (170), West Noble (221) and Garrett (240).
Catherine Giltner was the second Wawasee competitor to cross the finish line, doing so in a 26th-place time of 16:49. Other scoring runners for Wawasee included Havilah Rensberger (39th, 17:29), Ashlee Pollen (46th, 17:42) and Katie Hasse (62nd, 18:30).
In the 5,000-meter boys race, Wawasee freshman Ryan Smythe led all local competitors with a 17-place time of 16:57, missing the semistate cut by five seconds.
Kyle McNulty led Warsaw with a 38th-place time of 17:27.
Neither the Warriors nor Tigers will be represented at the New Haven Semistate.
Wawasee finished ninth out of 10 teams with 222 points, while Warsaw was 10th with 234 points.
"We just haven't run well for three weeks," said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills, whose Tigers advanced to the semistate last year. "I don't know what it is. I thought we could get seventh today, and we would be happy with that. We just didn't run well."
From last year's team that advanced to the semistate, Warsaw had its top three runners back, and Mills said he thought this year's squad was a better team from top to bottom.
Others who were counted in Warsaw's five-person score included Baxter Burnworth (47th, 17:48), Matt Campbell (51st, 18:25), David Compson (56th, 18:29) and Jeremy Blackburn (57th, 18:34).
For Wawasee, Doug Slabaugh was the second to cross the line, finishing 45th in a time of 17:46. John Adams was next, finishing 58th in a time of 18:37, followed by Austin Hasse (59th, 18:40) and Scott Gingerich (61st, 18:47).
In the team competition, fourth-ranked Northridge scored 39 points, and like its girls team, won its third straight regional crown.
Tenth-ranked Elkhart Memorial was second with 59 points, followed by East Noble (98), West Noble (101), DeKalb (123), Goshen (163), Garrett (166), Lakeland (208), Wawasee (222) and Warsaw (234).
East Noble's Tony Krock won the boys race in a time of 16:05, four seconds ahead of Northridge's Braxton Fritz.
ELKHART CENTRAL REGIONAL
Girls team scores - Northridge 29, Angola 93, East Noble 104, Elkhart Central 105, DeKalb 118, Concord 158, Wawasee 166, Goshen 170, West Noble 221, Garrett 240
Top 15 individuals - 1. Rachel Stichter (Wawa) 14:08, 2. Megan Jackson (NR) 14:41, 3. Jessie LaFree (NR) 15:17, 4. Ina Thiel (Ang) 15:18, 5. Leslee Getts (DeK) 15:22, 6. Theresa Schamberger 15:23, 7. Aimee Gingerich (NR) 15:32, 8. Stephanie Swendsen (NR) 15:59, 9. Lynn Pezzanite (NR) 16:04, 10. Erin Zimmerman (Gosh) 16:09, 11. Katelynd Wagner (Ang) 16:10, 12. Aubree Draper (NR) 16:11, 13. Alisha Getts (DeK) 16:14, 14. Dora Walterhouse (Elk. Memorial) 16:18, 15. Julian Kristin (Ang) 16:20
Wawasee finishers - 1. Rachel Stichter 14:08, 26. Catherine Giltner 16:49, 42. Havilah Rensberger 17:29, 46. Ashlee Pollen 17:42, 62. Katie Hasse 18:30, 63. Abby Gilbert 18:42, 67. Danyl Wallace 19:02
Warsaw finisher - 21. Lindsay Houvener 16:31 (competed as an individual)
Boys team scores - Northridge 39, Elkhart Memorial 59, East Noble 98, West Noble 101, DeKalb 123, Goshen 163, Garrett 166, Lakeland 208, Wawasee 222, Warsaw 234
To 15 individuals - 1. Tony Krock (EN) 16:05, 2. Braxton Fritz (NR) 16:09, 3. Ken Collins (NR) 16:21, 4. Brett Mravec (EM) 16:23, 5. Jaurice Dye (EM) 16:26, 6. Corey Koch (Lak) 16:27, 7. Joel Liechty (EN) 16:32, 8. Bob Jacobs (WN) 16:33, 9. Loren Spirito (NR) 16:35, 10. Randy Placencia (Gar) 16:36, 11. Ladd Mercer (NR) 16:43, 12. Austin Lucas (Fremont) 16:44, 13. Bryce Matteson (EM) 16:47, 14. Matt Hammersmith (Prairie Heights) 16:50, 15. Clayton Downer (EN) 16:52
Wawasee finishers - 17. Ryan Smythe 16:57, 45. Doug Slabaugh 17:46, 58. John Adams 18:37, 59. Austin Hasse 18:40, 61. Scott Gingerich 18:47, 64. Jared Wurtzel 19:01, 65. Seth Blakeslee 19:09
Warsaw finshers - 38. Kyle McNulty 17:27, 47. Baxter Burnworth 17:48, 55. Matt Campbell 18:25, 56. David Compson 18:29, 57. Jeremy Blackburn 18:34, 66. Steve Robinson 19:13, 71. William Olds 20:05 [[In-content Ad]]