Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BLOOMINGTON - Of 167 girls cross country runners participating in Saturday's state finals at Indiana Univeristy, Tippecanoe Valley freshman Laura Lash finished 60th with a time of 15:36, while Warsaw junior Jennifer Finch was 119th with a time of 16:15.
New Prairie freshman Amanda Vanwanzeele won the individual title with her time of 14:05, four seconds ahead of Lake Central sophomore Tiffany Redlarczyk.
Lash was the 12th freshman to cross the line.
"We thought she would finish about there," Valley coach Terry Screeton said. "We were really shooting for the top 50, but she ran well. She ran competitively, and that's what we were looking for. She was the 12th freshman to finish, and that looks good."
Lash ran her best time of the year at last Saturday's Manchester Semistate, a time of 14:39. Screeton said the hilly IU course was the biggest reason for the diffence in her time at the state meet.
"I think it had a lot to do with the rolling hills," Screeton said. "It was a constant up-down situation on that course. I think most of the girls were off about 30 seconds."
Finch also ran her best time of the year at the Manchester Semistate, a time of 14:38. Warsaw coach Paul Sibray says the hills were the reason for the difference in Finch's time from a week ago. "We were really hoping for the top 50, but we didn't get the race we were looking for," Sibray said. "We got down there and I told her to relax and have fun, I think she relaxed too much. If you don't get a good start there, it's rough. It's tough to catch up, especially on the hills. She's a flat-course runner. There was no place there where she could show her speed."
Valparaiso won the team title with a score of 57, 12 points ahead of runner-up Carmel.
Team Scores - 1. Valparaiso 57, 2. Carmel 69, 3. Lawrence North 110, 4. Columbus North 178, 5. Fort Wayne Northrop 218, 6. New Prairie 231, 7. Franklin Central 237, 8. Chesterton 247, 9. South Bend St. Joe 278, 10. Michigan City 279, 11. Avon 299, 12. Northridge 323, 13. DeKalb 323, 14. Martinsville 330, 15. Bloomington South 332, 16. Bellmont 342, 17. Homestead 394, 18. New Albany 395, 19. Bloomington North 455, 20. Floyd Central 455
Top 15 Individuals - 1. Amanda Vanwanzeele (New Prairie) 14:05, 2. Tiffany Redlarczyk (Lake Central) 14:09, 3. Jill Scully (Valparaiso) 14:11, 4. Robyn Detty (Lawrence North) 14:18, 5. Jessica Gail (West Lafayette) 14:27, 6. Sarah Huddleston (Carmel) 14:31, 7. Michelle Rafferty (Carmel) 14:32, 8. Lindsay Hattendorf (Chesterton) 14:34, 9. Danielle Levoit (Lawrence North) 14:35, 10. Winter Holman (Brownstown Central) 14:38, 11. Aubrey Gaffer (Fort Wayne Northrop) 14:40, 12. Temeka Kincy (Lawrence North) 14:50, 13. Katie Ziegler (Valparaiso) 14:51, 14. Nicole Hartford (Chesterton) 14:51, 15. Melody Smith (Martinsville) 14:52
Local finishers - 60. Laura Lash (Tippecanoe Valley) 15:36, 119. Jennifer Finch (Warsaw) 16:15
