NORTH MANCHESTER — The 24th-ranked Whitko High School boys cross country team may not have had the fastest runner at Thursday's Three Rivers Conference meet in North Manchester, but it did have the best team. While Northfield's Caleb Augustus was finishing first in a time of 16:25, Whitko's Trapper Mize, Dylan Cozad, Jude Stieglitz and Brody Wilson finished second through fifth, respectively, helping Whitko win its third-straight TRC title with 25 points, while Northfield was a distant second with 51. "It's really enjoyable because it's led by a group of seniors," Whitko coach Mike McKeighen said. "It just makes it all the more fun for them to have a season like this. We came into the conference knowing we were the favorites, so the guys just worked their way up. They work hard, they know they have to show up and they have to race. Nobody gives them anything. It's a lot of fun to watch them, and they run well as a team." Mize led the pack of senior Wildcats with a time of 16:39, followed by Cozad's 16:41, Stieglitz's 16:48 and Wilson's 16:50. Fellow Whitko senior Dallas Asher finished 11th (17:36), freshman Derek Miller was 14th (17:54) and senior Josh Busenbark crossed the finish line in 25th (18:48). With six of seven Wildcats being seniors, McKeighen has been looking forward to this year for quite some time. "I felt this year's team would be our best one for four years — after seeing these guys in middle school," he said. "Watching them and knowing when they'd graduate together, I knew that would be the best team we'd have." In the girls race, the Manchester Lady Squires had won the TRC championship the previous three years, but with the graduation of last year's champion, Andy Sharfman, the team finished fourth this year. "I was proud of our girls tonight," Manchester cross country coach Jody Sarber said. "The last three years we were strong and fortunate to win, but we did graduate a couple and had a couple seniors not return for one reason or another. So, we knew we were down, but the girls fought hard and I'm happy with our fourth place." The Northfield Lady Norsemen won the girls race with 41 points, followed by Rochester's 58, Southwood's 80, Manchester's 97 and Whitko's 120, to round out the top five. One of Northfield's four freshmen won the TRC championship, as Jenna Halderman ran the course in 20:05, while Manchester junior Kelsi Custer earned all-conference honors with a fifth-place finish (21:09). And despite the Manchester boys team not having enough runners for a qualifying score, Squires freshman Matthew Fahs-Brown was named all-TRC by finishing eighth in a time of 17:13. For Tippecanoe Valley, the boys and girls teams each finished sixth, with senior Brandon Tolson placing 23rd (18:40) for the boys and sophomore Robyn Erklin finishing 14th in 22:44 for the girls. The Whitko girls finished fifth in their race, led by freshman Abby Smith's 22nd-place finish in 23:33. Tuesday's sectionals are up next for area cross country teams, as Manchester and Tippecanoe Valley head to Culver Academies and Whitko travels to Marion to defend its 2010 title. "We're going to take it one race at a time, so we have sectional next," McKeighen said. "Hopefully, we can repeat at sectional champs next week, and if we can, move on to the next race and do well there. Obviously, these guys have had their big goal of reaching Terre Haute (for the state finals), but a lot of good teams have that goal."
BOYS — WHITKO 25, NORTHFIELD 51, ROCHESTER 67, SOUTHWOOD 112, WABASH 128, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 166, NORTH MIAMI 176, MANCHESTER (NS) Top 8 (All-Conference) - 1. Caleb Augustus (Northfield) 16:25, 2. Trapper Mize (Whitko) 16:39, 3. Dylan Cozad (Whitko) 16:41, 4. Jude Stieglitz (Whitko) 16:48, 5. Brody Wilson (Whitko) 16:50, 6. Johnny Mendez (Southwood) 17:06, 7. Devin Tracy (Northfield) 17:09, 8. Matthew Fahs-Brown (Manchester) 17:13 Whitko — 2. Mize 16:39, 3. Cozad 16:41, 4. Stieglitz 16:48, 5. Wilson 16:50, 11. Dallas Asher 17:36, 14. Derek Miller 17:54, 25. Josh Busenbark 18:48 Valley — 23. Brandon Tolson 18:40, 32. Brandon Maull 20:12, 34. Maverick Wagley 20:31, 35. Adam Solano 20:43, 42. Noah Clampitt 21:34, 43. Patrick Hughes 21:38, 44. Brody Cook 21:49 Manchester — 8. Matthew Fahs-Brown 17:13, 32. Justin Heeter 19:42, 46. Andrew Longanecker 21:43, 52. Jeremy Herrmann 25:15 JV — Northfield 35, Rochester 36, Whitko 57, Tippecanoe Valley 106, North Miami (NS), Southwood (NS), Wabash (NS) Whitko JV — 3. Jon Crosson 19:02, 8. Evan Cozad 20:08, 12. Bryce Kolwicz 20:38, 13. Jonathan Johnson 20:46, 21. Cole Eberly 22:45 Valley JV — 18. Diego Gutierrez 22:07, 19. Mark Hicks 22:21, 22. Cody Runyon 23:52, 23. Robert Devore 25:45, 24. Keaton Bell 26:58
