Greencastle's strong season continues with WCC victory

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Greencastle's girls' cross country squad kept the beat going Saturday at the WCC cross country meet.

Colleen Weatherford picked up her fourth individual title as the Tiger Cubs swept away the rest of the field with a team score of 31.

South Putnam finished second with 55 points, followed by Cloverdale with 73 and Monrovia with 84. Cascade and North Putnam did not record team scores.

Weatherford was one of five all-WCC Tiger Cub racers, which included third place Kayla Cash and Hannah Brattain, Corrie Romer and Alex Stoffregen, who finished eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.

Cloverdale's Claudia Monnett was second to Weatherford, while teammate Amillia Nally finished fifth.

South Putnam's Mallory Glaze and Madie McHugh finished sixth and seventh, respectively, on the day. North Putnam was led by Katie Douglas, who finished 18th for the Cougars.

Greencastle girls' head coach Garry Anderson said the course was again a challenge, but said there was a couple of races to note.

"The girls were talking about the fact that the course was spongy and less forgiving. Two of them fell during the race, but they were able to get back up and run well," Anderson said.

"Got a good surprise today in Corrie Romer. I did not think she would be here. She came back from a foot injury this fall to be all-WCC today. That's pretty darn good for a freshman. I'm very pleased with her.

"This was Colleen's fourth time and I'm happy with that. I think she's the only one that's ever accomplished that and that's quite an honor," Anderson added.

Anderson then turned his sights toward sectional.

"Now we've got some tough work ahead of us. This sectional is tough. It was bad enough just having Avon, Brownsburg and Plainfield but then they added Decatur Central in there, so it's a little tougher getting out.

"Avon's going to win it. There's nobody in the field that can beat them and I will say followed by Brownsburg. After that, there's three spots and three or four teams that can fit in there," Anderson continued.

"I'd like to think that we're one of them. We're also going to see one of the best runners in the state from Avon, so it's going to be a tough sectional."

South Putnam head coach Brandon Welti said the girls cut into Greencastle's lead a little bit from Tuesday, which was an encouraging sign for Tuesday.

"The girls raced really well. They did a good job of moving up and we got strong performances from everybody. I'm very pleased with how we did, including closing the gap a little bit on Greencastle," Welti said.

"We know the Hendricks County schools are going to be on top on Tuesday. We've got a shot on the girls' side of that fifth spot. It's going to be tough."

"Everyone is going to have to have their best races. This is what we've been training for. This is what our focus has been all year," Welti added.

"I think that if everyone does what they are supposed to, with the time improving and everyone getting to where they need to be, especially on the girls' side.

"Decatur Central is the team to beat for that fifth spot. Their times are comparable to what Decatur Central's pack time was. I feel that on the girls' side there is a really good chance."

Cloverdale head coach Kyle Walter was again impressed with the running of his two seniors.

"Claudia and Amillia ran great again today. I couldn't expect any more out of them, so I'm really excited to see what they can do at the sectional, maybe even make it out as individuals," Walter said.

"Both of them have made it to the regional individually before, in different years. It would be nice if they could do that together this year."

"Overall, the girls ran strong. Hopefully we can finish out strong on Tuesday and build on this for next year."

North Putnam head coach Kevin Lutes added that his runners were still reaching their peak times.

"Both of the girls who ran today ran well and I think they either PR'd today or were very close to doing so. I would like to see them keep doing that into Tuesday," Lutes said.

In the middle school race, Greencastle again dominated the pack, taking five of the top six spots to carry the day on 17 points.

Cascade was second on 55, North Putnam third with 69, Cloverdale fourth with 95 and South Putnam fifth with 128. Monrovia did not record a team score.

Emma Wilson won the race in 12:50, followed by Sydney Lewis in second, Katie Haynes in third, Seelye Stoffregen in fifth and Grace Smith in sixth.

Cascade placed three in the top 10, with Chloe Whicker leading the pack in seventh, Olivia Bryant in ninth and Hannah Decker finishing 10th.

Maddie McHugh broke up the Greencastle sweep, finishing fourth. North Putnam's Abby Spencer rounded out the top 10 in eighth, while Cloverdale's Payton Lyons missed all-WCC honors in eleventh place.

Megan Haynes won the junior varsity girls' WCC race for Greencastle, followed by Hannah Jones and Alex Lesko of South Putnam.

At South Putnam

WCC Cross Country Meet

Girls' Results

1. Greencastle 31, 2. South Putnam 55, 3. Cloverdale 73, 4. Monrovia 84, Cascade INC, North Putnam INC

1. Weatherford (G) 19:45; 2. Monnett (CL) 20:21; 3. Cash (G) 20:49; 4. Hunter (M) 21:09; 5. Nally (CL) 21:28; 6. Glaze (SP) 21:36; 7. Egold (SP) 21:43; 8. Brattain (G) 21:50; 9. Romer (G) 22:01; 10. Stoffregen (G) 22:11

JV Race

1. M. Haynes (G) 23:11; 2. Jones (SP) 25:16; 3. Lesko (SP) 29:11

Middle School Results

1. Greencastle 17, 2. Cascade 55, 3. North Putnam 69, 4. Cloverdale 95, 5. South Putnam 128, Monrovia INC

1. Wilson (G) 12:50; 2. Lewis (G) 13:15; 3. Haynes (G) 13:17; 4. McHugh (SP) 13:25; 5. Stoffregen (G) 13:47; 6. Smith (G) 13:55; 7. Whicker (C) 13:59; 8. Spencer (NP) 14:05; 9. Bryant (C) 14:08; 10. Decker (C) 14:37