Beckham, Howett Advance To State Meet
October 23, 2017 at 4:00 p.m.
Beckham, Howett Advance To State Meet
By Dale [email protected]
One girl. One boy.
One going for the fourth time, the other for the first time.
In a personal-best time of 18:20, Mia Beckham finished third among 180 runners in the 5K girls race at Saturday’s New Prairie Semistate, advancing to this weekend’s state meet in Terre Haute.
Beckham has qualified for the state meet all four years of her running career at WCHS, though this is the first time she’s going as an individual.
Lucas Howett crossed the finish line in a time of 16:02, finishing 13th among 179 runners in the boys 5K race.
Howett qualified for the state meet as an individual as well, and will run on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course for the first time.
“Ever since my freshman year, and we didn’t make it out that first time, I’ve wanted to make it down to Terre Haute, or Terra-dice as we call it,” said Howett. “This will be my first time racing at state, but I’ve been down there three times to watch it. I’ve really wanted to run on that course, and it’s been a big goal of mine.
“My biggest goal has been to make it to state. I’ve got this little white board and I just put one word on it – state. That’s been my main goal. Today, thank the Lord, that happened.”
Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills talked about the heart that Howett runs with.
“What can you say, he just runs with a lot of heart,” Mills said of Howett. “He was worried the last few weeks, his legs felt heavy, and we told him he was fine. I think today proved his legs weren’t too heavy.
“I didn’t have a watch on him, but when he finished 13th I knew he ran well, but I didn’t realize he came close to getting in the 15-minute range. I didn’t think it was a particularly fast day, but that’s booking. What can you say? He’s got a big heart.”
The top six teams, as well as the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team, qualify for the state meet.
Warsaw’s boys squad, looking for its first trip to state as a team since 2013, finished eighth among the 20 teams with 249 points.
Lowell was the boys team champion with 80 points, followed in the top six by Valparaiso (91), West Lafayette (126), Crown Point (140), McCutcheon (172) and Chesterton (194).
Morgan Township (240), Warsaw (249), Harrison (257) and Lake Central (263) rounded out the top 10 boys teams.
The Manchester Squires finished 20th with 578 points.
The problem for the Warsaw boys Saturday was a huge gap between Howett and 63rd-place finisher Taylor Mills, the team’s second runner to cross the stripe.
Other Tigers in the boys race included Justin Fleming (73rd, 17:09), Nathaniel Gottschalk (75th, 17:12), Xavi Ramirez (79th, 17:17), Sam Lechlitner (93rd, 17:26) and Tanner Stiver (107th, 17:37).
All five of Warsaw’s scoring runners in the boys race are seniors and will leave a huge void.
“I’ll tell you right now, all the sports at Warsaw Community High School, there isn’t five harder working athletes than these five seniors,” said Mills.
“We desperately wanted them to make it down to Terre Haute. Not just this year, but for four years they’ve had their eye on this and we’ve come up short. It’s kind of crushing for the four seniors that aren’t going.”
Lance Bennett led Manchester with a 130th-place time of 17:59.
Other Squires in the boys race included Carter Bedke (137th, 18:06), Ethan Davis (158th, 18:41), Reece Adamiec (163rd, 18:57), Montgomery Pattison (166th, 19:15), Ben Reichenbach (167th 19:15) and Kaden Dillon (178th, 17:37).
Tippecanoe Valley senior Jordan Owens competed as an individual and finished 140th in 18:10.
Lowell senior Alec Fleming won the boys race 15:25, finishing six seconds ahead of Chesterton senior Jakob Kintzel and 18 seconds ahead of third-place William Person, a senior from McCutcheon.
Beckham’s fourth berth to the state meet also came in impressive fashion, as she ran her best time and was the fastest senior in the girls race.
Lowell junior Jordyn Bowyer won in 17:58, while Valparaiso sophomore Ava Gilliana was second in 18:13.
“She killed it today,” Warsaw girls coach Matt Campbell said of Beckham, who finished fourth in the semistate last year. “I’m so proud of her. That was awesome seeing her come around the corner.
“That’s a PR for her. We think she can go under 18 (minutes), she’s right there. Today was a huge step forward. It’s a hard course.”
Beckham’s third-place finish at the semistate comes after she won sectional and regional championships in convincing fashion.
“I felt pretty calm through it, and I just trusted my training, that’s basically what got me through,” said Beckham. “I knew after the first mile that if that whole pack stays together there’s nobody that’s going to catch them. I knew I had to stay in that pack
“Through the 2K to 3K everyone kind of stays together. Once you get out of the woods people start to go, and I knew that I had to go. I basically told myself through the whole race ‘you train for this, you can do this.’”
The Lady Tigers finished ninth among the 20 teams with 264 points and missed out on a seventh consecutive trip to Terre Haute.
Emma Bohnenkamper was the Lady Tigers’ second finisher, crossing the line in a 36th-place time of 19:46.
There was another big gap between Bohnenkamper and Angie Sanchez-Vigil, who was 101st in 21:02.
Other Warsaw runners in the girls race were Carmen Yoder (103rd, 21:03), Remi Beckham (105th, 21:03), Taylor Gunter (122nd, 21:22) and Adree Beckham (157th, 22:28).
“We had a big race today with Emma Bohnenkamper, she PRed, but our 3-4-5 were just too far back,” said Campbell. “I don’t know how to describe it, but we didn’t have the best summer we’ve had in years past. There’s so many different factors, and our confidence has been kind of low.
“Bummed to see our streak of going to state as a team end, but it is what it is. The girls worked hard today.”
Manchester had two individuals in the girls race – Jaelyn Webb finished 69th in a time of 20:20, while Torina Runkel finished 101st in 21:01.
Lowell’s Jordyn Bowyer won in a time of 17:58.
Valparaiso won the girls team championship with 72 points, while Lowell (116), West Lafayette (138), LaPorte (143), Crown Point (164) and Chesterton (164) all advanced to state.
NEW PRAIRIE SEMISTATE
Note – Top 6 teams, as well as top 10 individuals not on an advancing team, qualify for the state meet.
(Boys)
Team Scores – Lowell 80, Valparaiso 91, West Lafayette 126, Crown Point 140, McCutcheon 172, Chesterton 194, Morgan Township 240, Warsaw 249, Harrison 257, Lake Central 263, New Prairie 264, Highland 300, Hobart 309, Culver Academies 336, Portage 350, Fountain Central 412, Crawfordsville 434, Caston 455, Plymouth 479, Manchester 578
Race Winner – Alec Fleming (Lowell) 15:25
Warsaw – 13. Lucas Howett 16:02, 63. Taylor Mills 17:02, 73. Justin Fleming 17:09, 75. Nathaniel Gottschalk 17:12, 79. Xavi Ramirez 17:17, 93. Sam Lechlitner 17:26, 107. Tanner Stiver 17:37
Manchester – 130. Lance Bennett 17:59, 137. Carter Bedke 18:06, 158. Ethan Davis 18:41, 163. Reece Adamiec 18:57, 166. Montgomery Pattison 19:15, 167. Ben Reichenbach 19:15, 178. Kaden Dillon 21:35
T. Valley – 140. Jordan Owens 18:10
(Girls)
Team Scores – Valparaiso 72, Lowell 116, West Lafayette 138, LaPorte 143, Crown Point 164, Chesterton 164, Lake Central 257,?Twin Lakes 259, Warsaw 264, Munster 296, Renssalaer Central 296, Hobart 327, McCutcheon 333, Benton Central 343, Harrison 346, Rochester 367, Maconaquah 382, Portage 393, Culver Academies 471, Western 551
Race Winner – Jordyn Boyer (Lowell) 17:58
Warsaw – 3. Mia Beckham 18:20, 36. Emma Bohnenkamper 19:46, 101. Angie Sanchez-Vigil 21:02, 103. Carmen Yoder 21:03, 105. Remi Beckham 21:03, 122. Taylor Gunter 21:22, 157. Adree Beckham 22:28
Manchester – 69. Jaelyn Webb 20:20, 100. Torina Runkel 21:01
One girl. One boy.
One going for the fourth time, the other for the first time.
In a personal-best time of 18:20, Mia Beckham finished third among 180 runners in the 5K girls race at Saturday’s New Prairie Semistate, advancing to this weekend’s state meet in Terre Haute.
Beckham has qualified for the state meet all four years of her running career at WCHS, though this is the first time she’s going as an individual.
Lucas Howett crossed the finish line in a time of 16:02, finishing 13th among 179 runners in the boys 5K race.
Howett qualified for the state meet as an individual as well, and will run on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course for the first time.
“Ever since my freshman year, and we didn’t make it out that first time, I’ve wanted to make it down to Terre Haute, or Terra-dice as we call it,” said Howett. “This will be my first time racing at state, but I’ve been down there three times to watch it. I’ve really wanted to run on that course, and it’s been a big goal of mine.
“My biggest goal has been to make it to state. I’ve got this little white board and I just put one word on it – state. That’s been my main goal. Today, thank the Lord, that happened.”
Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills talked about the heart that Howett runs with.
“What can you say, he just runs with a lot of heart,” Mills said of Howett. “He was worried the last few weeks, his legs felt heavy, and we told him he was fine. I think today proved his legs weren’t too heavy.
“I didn’t have a watch on him, but when he finished 13th I knew he ran well, but I didn’t realize he came close to getting in the 15-minute range. I didn’t think it was a particularly fast day, but that’s booking. What can you say? He’s got a big heart.”
The top six teams, as well as the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team, qualify for the state meet.
Warsaw’s boys squad, looking for its first trip to state as a team since 2013, finished eighth among the 20 teams with 249 points.
Lowell was the boys team champion with 80 points, followed in the top six by Valparaiso (91), West Lafayette (126), Crown Point (140), McCutcheon (172) and Chesterton (194).
Morgan Township (240), Warsaw (249), Harrison (257) and Lake Central (263) rounded out the top 10 boys teams.
The Manchester Squires finished 20th with 578 points.
The problem for the Warsaw boys Saturday was a huge gap between Howett and 63rd-place finisher Taylor Mills, the team’s second runner to cross the stripe.
Other Tigers in the boys race included Justin Fleming (73rd, 17:09), Nathaniel Gottschalk (75th, 17:12), Xavi Ramirez (79th, 17:17), Sam Lechlitner (93rd, 17:26) and Tanner Stiver (107th, 17:37).
All five of Warsaw’s scoring runners in the boys race are seniors and will leave a huge void.
“I’ll tell you right now, all the sports at Warsaw Community High School, there isn’t five harder working athletes than these five seniors,” said Mills.
“We desperately wanted them to make it down to Terre Haute. Not just this year, but for four years they’ve had their eye on this and we’ve come up short. It’s kind of crushing for the four seniors that aren’t going.”
Lance Bennett led Manchester with a 130th-place time of 17:59.
Other Squires in the boys race included Carter Bedke (137th, 18:06), Ethan Davis (158th, 18:41), Reece Adamiec (163rd, 18:57), Montgomery Pattison (166th, 19:15), Ben Reichenbach (167th 19:15) and Kaden Dillon (178th, 17:37).
Tippecanoe Valley senior Jordan Owens competed as an individual and finished 140th in 18:10.
Lowell senior Alec Fleming won the boys race 15:25, finishing six seconds ahead of Chesterton senior Jakob Kintzel and 18 seconds ahead of third-place William Person, a senior from McCutcheon.
Beckham’s fourth berth to the state meet also came in impressive fashion, as she ran her best time and was the fastest senior in the girls race.
Lowell junior Jordyn Bowyer won in 17:58, while Valparaiso sophomore Ava Gilliana was second in 18:13.
“She killed it today,” Warsaw girls coach Matt Campbell said of Beckham, who finished fourth in the semistate last year. “I’m so proud of her. That was awesome seeing her come around the corner.
“That’s a PR for her. We think she can go under 18 (minutes), she’s right there. Today was a huge step forward. It’s a hard course.”
Beckham’s third-place finish at the semistate comes after she won sectional and regional championships in convincing fashion.
“I felt pretty calm through it, and I just trusted my training, that’s basically what got me through,” said Beckham. “I knew after the first mile that if that whole pack stays together there’s nobody that’s going to catch them. I knew I had to stay in that pack
“Through the 2K to 3K everyone kind of stays together. Once you get out of the woods people start to go, and I knew that I had to go. I basically told myself through the whole race ‘you train for this, you can do this.’”
The Lady Tigers finished ninth among the 20 teams with 264 points and missed out on a seventh consecutive trip to Terre Haute.
Emma Bohnenkamper was the Lady Tigers’ second finisher, crossing the line in a 36th-place time of 19:46.
There was another big gap between Bohnenkamper and Angie Sanchez-Vigil, who was 101st in 21:02.
Other Warsaw runners in the girls race were Carmen Yoder (103rd, 21:03), Remi Beckham (105th, 21:03), Taylor Gunter (122nd, 21:22) and Adree Beckham (157th, 22:28).
“We had a big race today with Emma Bohnenkamper, she PRed, but our 3-4-5 were just too far back,” said Campbell. “I don’t know how to describe it, but we didn’t have the best summer we’ve had in years past. There’s so many different factors, and our confidence has been kind of low.
“Bummed to see our streak of going to state as a team end, but it is what it is. The girls worked hard today.”
Manchester had two individuals in the girls race – Jaelyn Webb finished 69th in a time of 20:20, while Torina Runkel finished 101st in 21:01.
Lowell’s Jordyn Bowyer won in a time of 17:58.
Valparaiso won the girls team championship with 72 points, while Lowell (116), West Lafayette (138), LaPorte (143), Crown Point (164) and Chesterton (164) all advanced to state.
NEW PRAIRIE SEMISTATE
Note – Top 6 teams, as well as top 10 individuals not on an advancing team, qualify for the state meet.
(Boys)
Team Scores – Lowell 80, Valparaiso 91, West Lafayette 126, Crown Point 140, McCutcheon 172, Chesterton 194, Morgan Township 240, Warsaw 249, Harrison 257, Lake Central 263, New Prairie 264, Highland 300, Hobart 309, Culver Academies 336, Portage 350, Fountain Central 412, Crawfordsville 434, Caston 455, Plymouth 479, Manchester 578
Race Winner – Alec Fleming (Lowell) 15:25
Warsaw – 13. Lucas Howett 16:02, 63. Taylor Mills 17:02, 73. Justin Fleming 17:09, 75. Nathaniel Gottschalk 17:12, 79. Xavi Ramirez 17:17, 93. Sam Lechlitner 17:26, 107. Tanner Stiver 17:37
Manchester – 130. Lance Bennett 17:59, 137. Carter Bedke 18:06, 158. Ethan Davis 18:41, 163. Reece Adamiec 18:57, 166. Montgomery Pattison 19:15, 167. Ben Reichenbach 19:15, 178. Kaden Dillon 21:35
T. Valley – 140. Jordan Owens 18:10
(Girls)
Team Scores – Valparaiso 72, Lowell 116, West Lafayette 138, LaPorte 143, Crown Point 164, Chesterton 164, Lake Central 257,?Twin Lakes 259, Warsaw 264, Munster 296, Renssalaer Central 296, Hobart 327, McCutcheon 333, Benton Central 343, Harrison 346, Rochester 367, Maconaquah 382, Portage 393, Culver Academies 471, Western 551
Race Winner – Jordyn Boyer (Lowell) 17:58
Warsaw – 3. Mia Beckham 18:20, 36. Emma Bohnenkamper 19:46, 101. Angie Sanchez-Vigil 21:02, 103. Carmen Yoder 21:03, 105. Remi Beckham 21:03, 122. Taylor Gunter 21:22, 157. Adree Beckham 22:28
Manchester – 69. Jaelyn Webb 20:20, 100. Torina Runkel 21:01
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