Cross country regional outlook
October 11, 2012 11:48PM
Updated: November 13, 2012 6:39AM
Crown Point Regional
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Lemon Lake County Park
Boys teams: Crown Point, Hobart, Andrean, Lowell, Merrillville, Munster, Lake Central, Highland, Bishop Noll, West Side
Girls teams: Crown Point, Hebron, Hobart, Merrillville, Andrean, Lake Central, Munster, Highland, Calumet, West Side
Individual qualifiers: BOYS — Hanover: Nick Zak; Calumet: Kevin Miller; GIRLS — Taylor Austin; Lowell: Sarah Edwards, Sarah Wieser
Runners to watch: BOYS — Bishop Noll: Salvador Cordova; Highland: Zach Glick; LC: Zach Bencur, Zach Hupp; Munster: Tom Bolanowski, Ryan Kritzer; Andrean: Lucas Kalbfell; CP: Alex Ray, Daniel Walters, Tom Cierniak; Hobart: John Petroskey, Alex Cordova, Brent Dunn; Lowell: Kyle Eller, Brian Blaylock, Jeff Potat; Merrillville: Tyler Gray, Conor Hill. GIRLS — Andrean: Becca Conley. Calumet: Danielle Smar. CP: Kayla McGurk, Allison Carpenter, Allison Wortel. Hebron: Payton Schatz, Lexie Schatz, Abby Getautas. Highland: Amber Przyborski; Fanny Davalos. Hobart: Celena Guerrero, Mindy Whidden; LC: Megan Zajac, Sarah Hudi, Jade Tazbir; Merrillville: Victoria Collins, Kara Phillips; Munster: Colleen Ogren, Emily McNicholas
The skinny: The CP boys defended their home turf with a sectional championship on Tuesday, while Munster captured the Gavit sectional title. Lowell’s Kyle Eller is the reigning individual champion, and Hobart is the defending team champ. The LC girls are the defending team champion, while Andrean’s Conley is the defending individual champ, seeking a second straight regional title. With Conley, Austin, who was second last year, and Hobart’s Guerrero, who was fifth last year, the race should be exciting.
New Prairie Regional
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Where: New Prairie High School
Boys teams: Valparaiso, Portage, Wheeler, Chesterton, LaPorte, Morgan Township, Kankakee Valley, LaCrosse, Rensselaer Central, North Newton
Girls teams: Valparaiso, Chesterton, Portage, New Prairie, LaPorte, Kankakee Valley, West Central, Rensselaer Central, North Judson, LaCrosse
Individual qualifiers: BOYS — Boone Grove: Jon Hogg; Kouts: Mike Ferrell; GIRLS — North Newton: Kaila Moskalick; South Central: Kyleigh Werner; Wheeler: Kelly O’Shea
Runners to watch: BOYS — Chesterton: Kevin Kenney, Mitch Wilborn; LaPorte: Anthony Didion, Kevin Hucksted; Portage: Anthony Best, David Clegg, Dustin Balboa; Valparaiso: Taylor Bissachi, Ari Coulopoulos, Peyton Reed, Xavier Reed; Wheeler: Joel O’Shea; LaCrosse: Nate Rhodes; Morgan Twp.: Alec Kostelnik, Ben Savage; KV: Bryce Gawronski, Mike Nava, Brandon Hazlett; GIRLS — Chesterton: Hannah Hoffman, Haley Cushway, Cassidy Scott, Rosie Biehl; Kankakee Valley: Michelle Kent; Brittany Stepp, Kaylin Orsburn; LaCrosse: Taylor Guse. LaPorte: Elena Lancioni; Portage: Kyra Ball, Paige Pizer; Rensselaer: Riley Hickman, Morgan Garrity; Valparaiso: Alison Mundell, Aurora Bonner, Elizabeth Joll
The skinny: For the boys, Valparaiso and Morgan Township are riding the momentum of sectional championship performances on Tuesday. Coulopoulos, Kostelnik, and Peyton Reed finished 2-3-4, respectively, in the 2011 version of this race. Valparaiso is the defending girls champion, while LaPorte’s Elena Lancioni, who was runner-up to former Vikings’ star, Katelyn DeVries, last year. Lancioni, Alison Mundell, who was third a year ago, and New Prairie’s Mary McBride, who placed fourth, are among the favorites in the race.
Note: The top 15 individuals and the top five teams advance to the Oct. 20 New Prairie Semistate
