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Drabo
All-State; four others toughen up in tough situations
To be a successful high school athlete
means a lot. It means having a competitive spirit, a strict work
ethic, self-discipline, and, at times, the ability to keep your chin
up in the most trying of times. On Friday and Saturday, down in
Bloomington at the IHSAA Track & Field State Finals, each and every
one of the five state qualifiers for the Vikings and Lady Vikings
track teams personified each one beautifully.
Rex Drabenstot capped off a wonderful
senior season that saw him go undefeated until state with a 4th
place finish, improving upon his 7th place finish a year ago with a
throw of 57 feet, 1 inch. At one point he was in second.
Josh Graham was seeded 19th going
into the 1600-meter run. He ran a smart and gutsy race to finish 9th
and grab the last All-State spot in 4:22. Ecstatic with his
performance after being doubted all season by message board critics,
he relaxed for the first time in months. Within ten minutes of
finishing, Huntington North coach Clark Chambers and the Westfield
coach were called to the official's tent and informed that their
athletes in the 1600-meter run had been disqualified for what
appeared to be intentionally touching another runner. The call was
controversial because the entire race was full of people being
pushed and elbowed; it was the most physical race of the night
without a shadow of a doubt. An hour later, he was wiping the tears
from his eyes and toeing the line for the first heat of the
800-meter run. With the fight taken out of him and the emotional
battle he fought with himself for the last sixty minutes, he had
nothing in him and finished dead last in 2:03. However, at the end
of the meet, he could be seen laughing and joking around, for by
then he had come to realize that everyone in the state saw him
finish 9th, and no one could take his new PR or the knowledge of his
All-State performance away from him, even if they could take the
medal.
Rob Sands was in the first of three
heats for the 300 hurdles. He impressed himself and his teammates by
going out in the 76-degree heat and running 39.96, about two-tenths
of a second off of his own school record. What made it even more
impressive, however, is that IHSAA officials had left an entire row
of hurdles at the height used for 110 hurdles, and on the wrong
marks. The first heat had to be run again, much later, and after the
second and third heats had already gone. After four years of work,
Rob Sands would never get to run a fresh and fair 300 hurdles race
at the state track meet. Such injustice was infuriating, but Rob
went out and ran a 40.22 in his second attempt to finish 14th
overall. It's not what he was hoping for heading down, but it was a
fitting way to end such a classy and gifted athlete's senior year.
Going into the state meet, Ross Ochs had
not yet bettered his 3200-meter personal best from his sophomore
year (9:30.07). He had not bettered his conference or Regional
placing (2nd, 3rd). However, none of this bothered him, not only
because Ross is a wonderful sportsman, but he is a team player. Ross
backed it off a little on the training load this track season in
order to be fresh and ready for a tough summer of training for his
senior year of cross in which he hopes to win both individual and
team state championships. With this knowledge, he went fearlessly
into the 3200-meter state final, and placed 14th in 9:29, improving
three spots and 12 seconds from the year before. The third and final
one of his teammates to narrowly miss All-State honors that day, he
took it in stride, just like the others, and knows that he very well
lives to fight another day.
 Alyssa
Hurlburt, finally making a state finals after several years of
mishaps at the Regional, finished 9th in the long jump with a jump
of 17-4 to claim the last All-State spot. So it seemed. She was tied
for 9th with Benton Central's Ayren Cobb, in which case they go to
the second jump. Alyssa's second best jump was a 16-2, whereas Cobb
had jumped 17-3. However, as you can see from her picture, she did
not let this get her down and spent the rest of the day enjoying the
track meet and her last real day of being in high school with her
long-time friend Mariah Town.
Each of these high school athletes
competed hard for themselves and individual honors, yet they all
proved that they knew they were representing something larger than
themselves and did not let any technicalities bog them down. There
is a lesson to be learned by everyone here from this group of 17-18
year old kids. The sport is about more than a medal.
Vikings send
four of six to state finals
Graham has career day
The Huntington North boys' track team
was off to a shaky start on Thursday at the FW Wayne Regional as
senior Rob Sands placed sixth in the long jump to miss qualifying
for state by three spots.
It was probably the last thing in the
meet that went wrong.
Josh Graham strolled out onto the track
for the 1600 with full confidence but a belly full of nerves. He
told assistant coach Joel Childs before the race that he felt he
lacked the speed necessary if it came down to it due to the shortage
of speed work he had been focusing on in practice. Joel told him to
relax, that he was naturally fast and had built up quite a bit of
strength this winter, and he was ready for anything that could be
thrown his way. Boy, was he right.
Graham's fear was confirmed when the
field of sub-4:30 milers went out in a pedestrian pace for the first
lap, all jogging together to put the leaders through in 67. Running
two across in the lead, Graham and Kleber took the field around in a
relaxed trot once more in a second lap of 71 seconds. A 2:18 split
through 800 meters is not usually what you look for at the Regional
level. With 600 to go, it was still anyone's race, with the entire
field bunched within a second of each other. Finally, coming up the
homestretch for the second-to-last time, Graham broke away from the
field, and was soon followed by Kleber. The move was so sudden and
so strong that only sophomore Matt Perkins from Prairie Heights had
time to react.
Blazing through the 1200-meter mark in
3:25, Graham led around the first bend of the last lap with Kleber
right on his shoulder. Immediately with 300 to go, Graham tore away
down the backstretch, still looking relaxed but definitely putting
the chips on the table. Kleber responded, yet kept his distance. All
the while Perkins lay in their wake, waiting to strike, and about
twenty meters behind him, the pack fought for any last hope they
might have.
As Graham rounded the final turn and
shot onto the homestretch into the lead, his muscles tightened up
and he began to swim as he usually does near the end of his races.
The two runners behind him gained ground, and Kleber passed him for
the second year in a row with 50 meters to go. Graham held off the
Prairie Heights runner and finished second in 4:26. He had run his
last lap in 61 seconds to complete a 2:07 second half.
Rob Sands added to the fire by placing
second in the 300 hurdles in 40.44. Heading into the homestretch
around sixth place, Rob moved up slowly hurdle after hurdle,
capitalizing on other runners tieing up and tripping. With a tangle
of guys falling at the finish, Rob toppled over them and landed in a
heap, but earned a state berth for the first time in his track &
field career. It was a beautiful sight indeed.
Graham hopped back out on the track less
than an hour after his 1600 performance to try and qualify for the
800 as well. Sharing the lead once again with Carroll senior Robby
Kleber and Dekalb senior Zeth Baker, he came through his first lap
in 57 seconds, well ahead of the rest of the field. Down the
backstretch, the three leaders took off and spread out, making it
almost a guarantee that they were the three qualifers. As Kleber and
Baker took off into a battle down the homestretch, Graham began to
tie up again and his arms were swimming. Gavin Hisner of Bellmont
was closing very quickly, but Graham threw in a mighty surge with 75
meters to go and finished third, grabbing the final qualifying spot
in a PR of 1:58.6.
 Juniors Ross Ochs and Austin Roberts
toed the line in the 3200 near the end of the meet, fired up from
watching Josh and Rob qualify for the state meet, and with the full
belief that Rex Drabenstot and Ches McClure would continue to
dominate the throws. They did not want to let the team down.
Ross took the early lead from Homestead
sophomore Kodi Mullins, splitting a 65 for the first 400 meters.
After two or three laps, Carroll sensation and No. 1 seed James
Martin played his usual card of sitting right on the leader. Coming
through the mile in roughly 4:50, Ochs still held the lead. A pack
of himself, Martin, Mullins, and two seniors in Alex Stoltie and
Jacob Phillips broke away from the rest of the pack. It was clear
that the three qualifiers would come from this group.
With three laps remaining, Martin broke
away so fast and so strong that it was apparent he was going to win,
and no one was going to challenge him. Ochs faded to fourth behind
Stoltie and Mullins with a lap to go. Throwing in his usual kick of
determination and sheer will, he was able to overcome Mullins by a
second in the homestretch, finishing third behind Stoltie in 9:39.
After the 3200, Drabenstot finished off
the Regional field with a toss of 55-09.75, hitting the
auto-qualifying mark and beating out second by nearly two feet. He
remains unbeaten this season, which is very exciting heading into
next week's state meet. Unfortunately, Ches McClure and Austin
Roberts ended their season with a fifth place finish in the shot put
and a 15th place finish in the 3200, respectively.
The Vikings finished sixth overall with
25 points.
HNHS girls
send one to state
Alyssa Hurlburt was five inches from
going to the state finals in the long jump her freshman year. As a
sophomore, she struggled with injuries and coaching staff changes
and finished a disappointing 11th at the Regional.
With a new coach her junior year, her
form was being changed constantly throughout the season, and was
never able to work on distance over technique, which resulted in a
7th place finish at the tough FW Northrop Regional.
This year, however, proved different.
Jumping 17 feet, 2 inches, Hurlburt finished third in a competitive
Regional that saw five girls meet the standard, which she met and
surpassed by 1.75 inches. She also beat her seed jump by 5.25
inches, surprising all but herself.
Hurlburt was the only Lady Viking to
advance, but there were several other notable performances.
Mariah Town finished 15th in the open
400 in 62.42.
Olivia Eckert finished 14th in the open
800 and beat her seed time.
Molly King ran an outstanding final
race, just missing the last qualifying spot by finishing fourth in a
12-second 3200m PR with an impressive 11:36.99. Things look great
heading into her senior year of cross country. Her teammate Gretchen
Spahr finished 15th.
Tayah Kline finished her successful high
school track campaign with a 7th place finish in the 100 hurdles and
a 5th place finish in the 300 hurdles.
The 4x100 team of Cora Frame, Town,
Emilie Jamison, and Kline finished sixth.
The 4x400 team of Eckert, Town, Hurlburt,
and Kayla Schenkel finished 12th.
The 4x800 team of Eckert, Becca Goodman,
Cassie Hacker, and Natalie Spahr finished seventh.
Freshman Kaitlyn Teusch finished 13th in
the pole vault.
Keila Clore finished 7th in the shot put
with a throw of 35-11 and teammate Alli Harris also scored with a
ninth-place finish and a throw of 35-00.
Liesl Davenport finished eighth in the
discus with a throw of 106-08.
The girls, as a team, finished eighth
with 25 points.
Boys slightly
disappointed at Marion Sectional
Led by victories in the 1600, 3200, 300
hurdles, and shot put, the Vikings finished second to Marion by a
score of 147-121, only 13 days after beating them for the NCC title
at the same site.
Indiana Wesleyan's track was a lot
hotter this time around, with the temperature at the start of the
meet hovering around 85 degrees. The 4x800 team of Sean Lewis, Lucas
Hanson, Sam Doughty, and Justin Glancy got the meet off to a rough
start by finishing fifth, missing a Regional berth by 1.19 seconds.
Rex Drabenstot continued his undefeated
season by winning the shot put with a toss of 56-06, hitting the
state qualifying standard.
Rob Sands and Ross Ochs were the two to
watch on the track tonight. Ochs ran down Graham in the second half
of the 1600 for the upset victory in 4:31.96. The two studs hung
with the slow pace for the first 400 before Graham tore down the
backstretch of the second lap, separating himself from the pack by
about forty meters. Ochs caught him before the gun lap, put some
separation down, and held off Graham in the kick. He later went on
to win the 3200 by .21 seconds over Marion senior Michael Waymire in
a time of 9:45, closing his last lap in 65 seconds to complete a
4:47 second mile.
 Rob
Sands, after winning the 110 Hurdles, set out to win the 300s.
Coming into the homestretch, he was fourth behind Nick Smith of
Mississinewa, John Jones of Marion, and Jordan Hamilton of
Churubusco. He passed Hamilton and Jones with about seventy meters
to go, and was about to pass Smith, until he stumbled over the last
hurdle. Leaning and diving face first at the line, he pulled off the
victory by .01 of a second.
Overall, the night was a disappointment,
as the boys set out on the busride down with the intention of
bringing back a sectional trophy. However, with a few advancing to
the Regional meet next Thursday night, they got about all they could
ask for.
Regional Qualifiers:
800m
2. Josh Graham, 2:02.02
1600m
1. Ross Ochs, 4:31.96
2. Josh Graham, 4:32.14
3200m
1. Ross Ochs, 9:45.68
4. Austin Roberts, 10:02.81
110 Hurdles
4. Rob Sands, 15.69
300 Hurdles
1. Rob Sands, 40.75
Long Jump
2. Rob Sands, 21-09.50
Shot Put
1. Rex Drabenstot, 56-06.00
3. Ches McClure, 51-09.00
Discus
2. Ches McClure, 153-10.00
Lady Vikings pull
off close sectional victory
Tuesday night the Lady Vikings set out
to avenge last year's sectional loss to Columbia City, fresh off of
winning the NCC title not two weeks earlier.
The Lady Vikes got off to a good start,
getting a win in the 4x800 meter relay with the team of Becca
Goodman, Natalie Spahr, Cassie Hacker, and Olivia Eckert, in a time
of 10:07. Tayah Kline then won the 100 meter hurdles in a sectional
record of 15.44. These two early victories really set the tone of
the meet.
Although they didn't advance, Elaine
Yahne and Heidi Blocker went out fearlessly in the 1600, running in
the top four until the last lap before they were passed by Whitko
and Columbia City runners, but they held on for a solid 6-7 punch
that would prove necessary later on
.
A loss in the 4x100 and a surprise upset
in the open 400, along with three scratches in the discus, however,
put the Lady Vikes in a bind, with Columbia City scoring well in the
open 800.
Late in the game, Coach Don Cotton could
be seen pacing up and down behind the fence at the bottom of the
homestretch with only a few events to go.
Molly King and Gretchen Spahr went out
and got second and fourth in the 3200, respectively,
both setting huge PR's, with Molly going under 12 minutes for the
first time in her career, posting an 11:48 and beating her
fifth-seed by three spots. It was a much needed 14 points for the
Vikings.
After a victory in the 4x400 (Alyssa
Hurlburt, Mariah Town, Olivia Eckert, Kaylan Schenkel), the stage
was set for an exciting finish. The Lady Vikings needed a victory in
the shotput out of Alli Harris in order to win the meet. After
scratching from the discus, she mustered a monster throw and a huge
PR of 38-01.75 feet, winning the event and ultimately the meet,
131-130. There was quite the celebration and many coolers of ice
were dumped over Coach Cotton's head.
Regional Qualifiers:
4x800m
1. Gretchen Spahr, Becca Goodman, Cassie
Hacker, Olivia Eckert - 10:07.68
400m
5. Mariah Town - 63.51
800m
3. Olivia Eckert - 2:29.13
3200m
2. Molly King - 11:48.85
4. Gretchen Spahr - 12:05.47
100 Hurdles
1. Tayah Kline - 15.44
300 Hurdles
2. Tayah Kline - 48.63
4x100
2. Cora Frame, Mariah Town, Emilie
Jamison, Tayah Kline - 51.87
4x400
1. Olivia Eckert, Mariah Town, Alyssa
Hurlburt, Kaylan Schenkel - 4:12.43
Pole Vault
4. Kaitlyn Teusch - 8-00.00
Long Jump
1. Alyssa Hurlburt - 16-08.75
Shot Put
1. Alli Harris - 38-01.75
3. Keila Clore - 36-06.50
Discus
1. Liesl Davenport - 116-04.00
Lewis has big day at Freshman/Sophomore meet
Sean Lewis had a career day for the Vikes at the 9/10 Invitational
at Kriegbaum Field—in the rain and wind, nonetheless. He began the
day with a win in the 1600—he led the first three laps in an intense
rain and pushed the last one hard in less than 70 seconds for the
victory in 4:53. Then, less than an hour later, with hardly any time
to change shoes, he came back for the open 800 and almost finished
second, fading in the homestretch to take third in 2:09.
 Freshman Darius Vogleman took his
second attempt this week at the sub-5 barrier, finishing 7th
in 5:01. He will try again to break the mark on Monday in a
inter-squad max mile.
Jake Crosley ran the first 3200 of his high school career, finishing
2nd in 10:55 after running a 2:13 leg for the 4x8.
Teammate Garrett Humbert finished third in 11:05.
Interesting results at Bellmont/North Side double dual
JV
1600 proves most eventful race of the night
The
Huntington Vikings’ boys’ distance team had an odd showing Thursday
night in some intense wind coming towards them on—of course—the
backstretch. They were led by winning performances from Ross Ochs in
the 1600 and 800 (4:45 and 2:04) and Josh Graham in the 3200
(10:17).
But the bigger stories were the smaller guys. The junior varsity
1600, which had several guys hoping to go under 5:00, went out at a
pedestrian pace for any high school event—74—frustrating the likes
of Josh McIntyre, Darius Vogleman, and Garrett Humbert. Halfway down
the backstretch of the second lap, the wind and the tight pack
showed to be too much as it knocked Humbert and Vogleman into each
other and they rolled onto the ground. Vogleman’s shoulder popped
out of place and he was spiked in the hand. Humbert was able to run
himself back into the race somewhat and finish in a respectable
5:18, however it was far from what he was expecting.
McIntyre, with about 500 to go, made a move up the homestretch and
took the race until the final straight. He was third in 5:06, but
it’s safe to say no one in the race would have made it under 5:10
without his final push.
Sean Lewis also ran a big PR in the open 800, finishing second
in 2:05 behind Ochs.
Lady Vikes win second consecutive NCC title; guys win first in
school history
The Huntington
North girls' and guys' track teams came away with two victories
tonight.
The ladies were
led by victories from Tayah Kline in the 100 and 300 hurdles, all
three relays, and the shot put. The meet was somewhat close near the
middle, but they put a large gap on Kokomo once the 3200 and 4x400
came around, and eventually got the huge win in 150-111.
The boys' meet
was a different story. The Vikings got two early victories in the
meet from Rob Sands in the 110 hurdles (15.37) and long jump
(22-0.5). The 4x800 team of Sean Lewis, Lucas Hanson, Sam Doughty,
and Justin Glancy all ran PR's to finish second behind Marion in
8:34.89.
The Marion
Giants are always very solid in the sprints, where the Vikings tend
to lack as much natural talent, and they always end up having to
rely on hurdles, throws, and distance, which really came through
tonight.
Rex Drabo and
Ches McClure, as always, went 1-2 in the shot with throws of 56 and
52 feet. McClure and Jordan Beaver finished second and fourth in the
discus.
Juniors Josh
Graham and Ross Ochs did their part by going 1-2 in the 1600 in 4:30
and 4:34. Graham then doubled back in the open 800m to finish third
in 2:03.
However, Marion
scored 50 points in the sprints alone, plus 17 in the mid-distance
events, making the last few very pivotal. As night settled onto the
track and stadium lights began to turn on, things got a little more
intense.
Rob Sands got
things going by setting a new school record in the 300 hurdles with
a winning time of 39.77.
The 3200 went
off, and so did Ochs and Logansport sophomore Kyle Overway. Running
a 4:42 first mile, fresh Overway began cutting the pace. After
finishing second in the 1600, it was a little too much for Ochs to
handle, and he faded back to finish second in 9:55. The real story,
however, was Austin Roberts, who passed and gapped Marion senior
Michael Waymire with three laps to go to finish third in 10:03. It
was a very defining moment in the meet.
Needing only to
get seventh, the 4x400 team of David George, Doug Baker, Austin
Shoemaker, and Dylan Gray stepped out onto the track. The young
relay team did three better, placing fourth in 3:36.82 to secure the
five-point win over Marion.
It was a very
special night for many of the guys, actually bringing Coach Chambers
to tears.
Ngure Ngigi and
Yoder-Myers to be Inducted into HU HOF
This Saturday November 15th two Forester track
and cross country greats will be honored by the athletic department with
induction into the HU Hall of Fame. John Ngure Ngigi and Starlet
Yoder-Myers will join other program inductees Coach Tom King, James Arnett,
Jo Ellen Karst Earhart and Shannon Egbert.
Ngure Ngigi, was a 2-time national champion in
the 10,000 and Marathon in 2003, Named Most Outstanding Athlete of the NAIA
Track National Championships in 2003 and was an 11 time NAIA All-America.
John was a freshman on the 1999 cross country team that finished 6th at that
National Championship, the highest national finish by any HU athletic team
up to that point.
Starlet Yoder-Myers was a member of several
NCCAA national championship track teams between 1990 and 1993 when
Huntington College won 4 straight titles. Yoder was also the star
runner for the 1991 and 1993 MCC champion cross country teams.
The HUTFXC Alumni will have a reception for the
two at 1:30 in the Classroom overlooking the pool in the Merillat Athletic
Complex. During half-time of the HU men's basketball game, a
brief induction will ceremony is planned.
Girls run to
outstanding; Guys disappointed in Terre Haute
Today, the girls of HN's pack running strategies
proved to work better than the guys with their front-running style of play.
Finishing 40-46-53-66-94 in team scoring for a score of 299 points, the Lady
Vikes capped off the school's best season in history with a 10th place
finish at the state finals. The best part about it--no seniors. The benefits
of having twins as frontrunners showed as Natalie Spahr had a somewhat
off-day and it didn't show as sister Gretchen Spahr went right on ahead to
cross the line in 19:44. Fifty-nine seconds later, fifth runner Becca
Goodman crossed the line and the score was settled. All season the Lady
Vikes have had the blessing of "interchangeable parts" as boys coach Curtis
Hines would say. The 1-5 is usually in the same place each race, but the
names may be a little different. In fact, if you take out the girls 5 &
6 runners, they still finish 10th. They don't mind one bit, they enjoy
competing together and not against each other. Since June, Cotton's 40th
girls cross country squad has worked as a unit and it has finally paid off.
55. Gretchen Spahr, 19:44
69. Natalie Spahr, 19:55
76. Molly King, 20:00
91. Cassie Hacker, 20:17
124. Becca Goodman, 20:43
144. Heidi Blocker, 21:03
145. Olivia Eckert, 21:03
 In
front of essentially the entire lineup of guys, save a few, that finished
4th at the 2003 cross country
state championships in Bloomington, the team that had outdone them at
every meet all season did not live up to their own expectations. Up front,
Ross Ochs and Josh Graham
did not get their goal of top 15, and although they still had very
respectable finishes for two juniors, they did not come close to what they
knew they could do. Josh ran at the front of the race for the first half
with the likes of individual champ Drew Shields of Fishers and top returner
James Martin of FW Carroll. The pace proved too tough and his lack of
experience on the statewide level showed as he dropped to 44th in 16:22.
Ochs's strategy was a bit better, as he was a few seconds off the leaders at
the start but it was too much ground to make up, and although he was passing
without mercy at the end, he ran out of course and finished 23rd in 16:03.
Austin Roberts once
again had the race of the day, running 69 spots and 54 seconds better than
he did last year, placing 59th in 16:33. He ran in the top 70 the entire
race. Sam Doughty, battling a cough and some back problems, tried to gut it
out for the second week in a row for his team, but came up short, finishing
137th in 17:24, five seconds and 26 places worse than when he was a
freshman. Sean Lewis improved by a lot year-to-year (45 spots, 1:27 time)
but still ran relatively sub-par.
Isaiah Laatsch ran his final high school cross country race, placing 175th
in 18:17 to improve from last year's finish by two places. Jake Crosley
dealt with a foot injury in the race and had to shut it down halfway in, a
disappointing way to end a breakout sophomore season, finishing dead last in
19:42.
23. Ross Ochs, 16:03
44. Josh Graham, 16:22
59. Austin Roberts, 16:33
137. Sam Doughty, 17:24
151. Sean Lewis, 17:37
175. Isaiah Laatsch, 18:17
194. Jake Crosley, 19:42
Vikings finish 2nd at
Semi-State to Advance
The Coach Hines had the Vikings running there
best at the most opportune time. On Saturday the seventh ranked Vikes
squared off at the New Haven Semi-state that included #2 ranked FW Carroll
and #20 ranked FW Northside for the right to advance to the state meet in
Terre Haute for the third straight year. Lead by a trio of Juniors,
the Vikes came in posed to test themselves against a senior laden FW Carroll
squad.
Josh Graham and Ross Ochs surged into the lead
after a 4:52 first mile. The
Vikings 1-4 was spread apart by only nine seconds as Austin Roberts
came through in 4:59 and Sam Doughty in 5:01 in about 50th place. Carroll
sophomore and defending semistate champion
James Martin surged at the two mile (9:58) and closed in under 4:58
for his last full mile to win the race in an incredible 15:25. Pendleton
Heights' junior Nathan Hendershot, the only other unbeaten runner in the
field, tried to go with him and hung on for second in 15:43.
Ochs and Graham came in
behind for a very powerful 1-2 punch in third and fourth. Carroll's Austin
Kilmer, Robby Kleber, and Nick Card provided the pack that Carroll needed to
secure the win. Austin Roberts
outkicked Carroll's fifth scorer Brad Hess for the coveted 15th spot
that individually qualifies for next week's state meet.
Doughty ran another gutsy Semistate race, going out in 5:01 and
making up a lot of ground in the second woods portion, going from 50th to
38th. The MIB got an excellent performance out of Sean Lewis (17:05) and
Isaiah Laatsch (17:35) as well. The way Sean has been consistent and the way
Laatsch has really come on this month has been a huge boost. The Vikes
scored 103 points for second, and advanced to next weeks state finals where
they are looking for a top 10 finish.
New Haven Semi-State
Results
(team scoring)
3. Ross Ochs, 15:44
4.
Josh Graham, 15:49
11.
Austin Roberts, 16:14
31. Sam Doughty, 16:40
56. Sean Lewis, 17:05
92. Isaiah Laatsch, 17:36
134. Jake Crosley, 18:48
Foresters Square Off
with #1 Malone
In the final regular season meet before the
Mid-Central Conference Championships that will determine the conference
representative at the NAIA National Championships, the 9th ranked Foresters
tested themselves against defending national champion and current #1 Malone
on their home course in Canton, OH. In the 4 team meet, the Forester
got to see what they may face if they are able to advance to the National
Championships.
Malone lived up to there #1 billing against the
Foresters putting 7 in the top 13, compared to Huntington's 3 in the top 12
on the 6k short course. The race showed just how deep the Pioneers are
and demonstrated why they are ranked #1. But the Foresters also showed
that they are rapidly improving. Dan Lindbloom has finally begun to get his
legs under him and finish 3rd for HU while freshmen Joseph Herber and Alec
Rosario continue to improving with every race finishing 19th and 27
respectively to round out HU's scoring. Absent from the race was Luke
Diehl.
Results
Vikings Sweep
Sectional
The Vikings returned to
Marion a second week in a row with different intentions--instead of trying
to win with PR's across the board, Coach Hines's goal was to win and save a
little emotion and leave some in the tank for the Regional on Saturday. The
Vikes did just that, setting a new Sectional record of 18 points, by going
1-2-3-5-7.
Juniors Ross Ochs and
Josh Graham went through the mile with Marion senior Michael Waymire,
at a seemingly pedestrian pace for the two frontrunners. Immediately at the
mile, where Hines's reins were lifted, they took off and gapped him by about
thirty seconds. Trading surges the rest of the race, they sprinted down the
homestretch together, both leaned at the line, and collapsed on each other
in the chute, both coming in at 15:45, and Ochs getting the win. Nearly 40
seconds later,
Austin Roberts completed the second consecutive 1-2-3 sweep in a time
of 16:24, trailing Waymire by alot at the mile but gapping him considerably
by the two. Roberts said before the race he didn't want to let it come down
to a kick--and he didn't. His mile splits were just as impressive as last
week's: 5:17, 5:13, 5:21. Waymire was 4th (16:40) ahead of sophomore Sam
Doughty (16:59). Doughty said his legs just weren't there at all and hopes
they can be Saturday and on.
Sean Lewis had the best race of his career, finishing 7th in 17:07. Junior
Josh McIntyre was 21st in 18:03 and senior Justin Glancy ran his final high
school cross country race in 18 minutes, 12 seconds, finishing as the
Vikings' seventh man. Some career highlights from Mr. Glancy:
-
17:12 at the Flash Rock
Invitational '07
-
10:38 for 3,200 meters this
last spring after spending most of the winter in rehab
-
Winning the NCC JV meet his
sophomore year and staying on as an alternative during the post-season for
the '06 team that finished 14th at State
-
Finishing 14th in 17:50 at
the DeKalb Conditioner and finishing as HN's 4th man, a great start before
he got injured
On the Lady's side, HN used a 58 second spread
to out distance Columbia City in the annual battle for a sectional title.
Last year HN defeated Columbia City 36-38. This year Columbia City's
Renee Menzie ran away from the field to win in 19:14 over the 5k course. But
Huntington's pack quickly slammed the door on any threat by Columbia City.
Natalie Spahr lead the Lady Viking's charge with a 3rd place finish. She was
followed closely by her teammates Gretchen Spahr in 5th, Olivia Eckert and
Becca Goodman in 7th and 8th, and Cassie Hacker finishing up the scoring
with a 12th place. That pack allowed HN capture it's second
consecutive title by a score of 31-47.
Regional is this Saturday at Indiana Wesleyan at
10:30.
Residents Fair
Well At Chicago Marathon
10.12.08-The
following Huntington area residents made the trek to the Windy City to
compete in the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Name
Place Time
Austen Davenport
521
3:04.36
Steve Ochs
16423
4:46.52
Rae Ann Kern
21892
5:12.01
Jeffery Shoup
28630
6:02.49
Lynnette Underwood 9846
4:18.05
Candace Evans
21891
5:12.01
Kenneth Steiner
10412
4:20.39
Marilyn Bradford
21445
5:09.45
Others of interest are former HU standout Eric
Ade finished in 2:41.33 good for 113th and former IWU standout Luke Baker
finished in 3:06.04 good form 579th.
Congratulations to all finishers.
HN Reserves Take
Center Stage
Boys Results
Girls Results
 We've
all heard about the HN varsity teams that are both highly ranked, with both
the Lady Vikings and the Vikings ranked 11th in the latest poll heading into
sectional this Tuesday. But Saturday, was all about the runners who are
rarely mentioned in any article and will become cheerleaders for the rest of
the season. But more important it was about getting an opportunity to put it
all on the line and see what a season of hard work can accomplish. So as the
runners made their way to the starting line at the Huntington University
Cross Country Course, there was only one thing on their minds...to run fast.
Vikes Release
Tournament Roster
The post-season roster was released to the team
and parents the day after the meet, as is tradition, and, as also is
tradition, it was comprised completely using season averages by
who-beat-who, just "simple math, no favoritism." The boys earned their
spots, and the order goes:
1. Ross Ochs, 11
2. Josh Graham, 11
3. Sam Doughty, 10
4. Austin Roberts, 11
5. Sean Lewis, 10
6. Isaiah Laatsch, 12
7. Jake Crosley, 10
8. Justin Glancy, 12
9. Josh McIntyre, 11
The #8 and #9 guys, Glancy and McIntyre, will run the sectional meet on Oct.
14, in hopes of not only saving the legs of the 6-7 Laatsch and Crosley, but
also getting a likely final race in and providing some post-season
experience in case one of them has to step in at Semi-State or State, as the
case was last year.
The 10-22 men will run their final meet this Saturday at the HNHS Reserve
Invite at the HU XC Course against Northrop and Snider, and after that, the
locker room will clear out but for 9 guys and the real action will begin.
The stage is set for an exciting post-season in NE Indiana, and the Vikings
look to make an unforgettable mark on history.
Roberts Has
Breakthrough at NCC
10.7.08-Austin Roberts had the day that changes
a runners life, he had a breakthrough race helping the Vikings to another
1-2-3 finish at NCC. The Vikes won with 25 points. Ochs and Graham separated
themselves right away and the pack of 5 guys behind them came through
isolated from the rest of the field through the mile all between 5:08 and
5:12. Austin Roberts took off at the mile and began chasing down Waymire,
Overway, and Spurlock.
Graham made a deadly move with half a mile to go and put nine seconds on
Ochs. Roberts crept up past Overway and Spurlock during the second mile,
then threw in a surge to move into third with 1.1 to go and closed in 5:17
for his last mile to hold off a hard-charging Marion senior in Michael
Waymire.
1.
Josh Graham, 15:45 (1 second off Josh Foss course record) (#3 HNHS
individual of all-time)
2. Ross Ochs, 15:54 (#4 HNHS individual of all-time)
3.
Austin Roberts, 16:17
4. Michael Waymire, 12, Marion, 16:20
5. Kyle Overway, 10, Logansport, 16:31
6. Tim Spurlock, 12, New Castle, 16:37
7. Sam Doughty, 16:47
12. Sean Lewis, 17:16
20. Jake Crosley, 17:50
Ngure Ngigi Wins Portland
Marathon
See article
here
Foresters
Ranked 9th in Latest Poll
After a strong showing at last weeks University
of Minnesota Griak Invitational and romping a competitive St. Xavier team at
the E. DeWitt Baker Invitational. The Foresters find themselves maintaining
their spot in the NAIA Top 10.
Defending champion Malone maintains the top spot
as there were no changes in the top 7 spots. The largest movers seem to come
from the Northwest (again). With Southern Oregon moving up from 11th to 8th,
Lewis-Clark State moving up from 20th to 11th, and College of Idaho moving
from 24th to 15th.
Of area interest, Indiana Tech remains 7th after
not competing this past weekend, Indiana Wesleyan falls to 19th after
defeating Taylor to win its home invitational. An under performing Taylor
team remains just out of the rankings with the 26th most votes. Marian
enters the rankings this week with 10 votes.
Vikes 2nd Team
has strong showing
 The
Viking coaching staff decided to showcase the teams depth today at the
Wabash Invitational by holding their top 5 out of the line-up. This
gave Jake Crosley, Josh McIntyre, Justin Glancy, Nick Yarger, Isaiah Laatsch,
Garrett Humbert, and David Sober a chance to shine at the varsity level in
the
Wabash Invitational. Over a tough course which saw mostly road and
some ten-foot straight dropoffs, Isaiah Laatsch led the
Vikes to a third place finish by placing 11th in 18:00. Josh McIntyre
seized the 7th varsity spot for Logansport next week by finishing 13th
overall in 18:03. Next was Jake Crosley in 21st, Justin Glancy in 29th, and
Nick Yarger rounded out the Vikings' scorers with another top 40 finish.
For Laatsch to run 18:00 on this course is a PR (17:19) effort, which is a
huge step in the right direction. The only other senior, Justin Glancy
(18:45), said his fitness just isn't there yet after having to take several
weeks off nursing his hip.
Another big performance for the MIB was Justin Miller, placing third in the
junior varsity race and
tying his PR of 19:14, which he set at Marion, the fastest 5k course that
isn't 12.5 laps around a track. The fact that he ran this time today at
Wabash hints at huge things to come for him.
Johnson Takes
Prestigious Griak Invite Title
See FloTrack Interview
Here See FloTrack Race Footage
Here See Griak Results
Here
HN Has good
showing at Flashrock
Forester Kick
off Season with Johnson Win
HN Knocks off
Noblesville
MARION-
Led by outstanding efforts by Ross Ochs and Josh
Graham the 13th ranked Vikes used their 2nd and 3rd place finishes to knock
off the 5th ranked Noblesville squad and winning the Marion Invitational
65-86.
Michael
Waymire, a senior from Marion, led the race through the mile in 5:08. At the
mile mark, Graham used his new found strategy of pushing the pace on the
second mile to gap the entire field by the end of the second mile.
Teammate Ochs and Noblesville Senior Blake Dircksen began closing the gap on
Graham early in the third mile and eventually were able to pass the fading
Graham. Dircksen was able to bring home the victory in 15:48, while Ochs was
second and Graham third. The Viking sealed the victory with Sam Doughty and
Austin Roberts finishing in front of Noblesville's three man, while Sean
Lewis rounded out the scoring in a 26-second lifetime PR to help the #13
Vikes beat the #5 Noblesville Millers.
In the JV race Jake Crosley finished 5th in 17:40, a 53-second lifetime PR,
and Garrett Humbert broke 18:00 for the first time, placing 11th in 17:56.
Freshman Darius Vogelman made a large improvement as well, PR'ing by over a
minute in 18:59.
Boys Varsity Race
1. HNHS 65
2. Noblesville 86
3. Snider 115
4. Bishop Dwenger 137
5. FW Northrop 150
VIKING VARSITY
2. Ross Ochs, 11, 16:08
3.
Josh Graham, 11, 16:11
13. Sam Doughty, 10, 16:38
15.
Austin Roberts, 11, 16:39
32. Sean Lewis, 10, 17:04
59. Isaiah Laatsch, 12, 17:44
72. Josh McIntyre, 11, 18:00
HU Opens At
Goshen H-K
Results
Goshen, Ind.-
The Foresters opened the season once
again with the Goshen Hokum-Karom. And the question on everyone's mind was
will the Men's team be able to replace the loss of Tobias Sauter, their
indoor All-American in the 5000m who returned to Germany. Everyone new
the remaining members of the team improved significantly over the previous
Spring with four cross runners making it to Outdoor nationals and two of
them scoring in the top 8 in their respective events.
So we know we would see good improvement in
those four. The question mark was, could the two incoming freshman
provide enough depth to help the Forester Men advance to and improve on
their 12th place finish at last years NAIA National Championships.
For this year, advancing is the biggest key.
The NAIA has returned to a conference qualifier, which means you either have
to win your conference or be ranked high enough to get on of the very few
at-large births, which is always a precarious spot to put yourself in.
 At least some of the answers to the Foresters
questions were hinted at on Saturday. Freshman Joseph Herber, from
Fremont HS, was teamed with Joseph Njeri, were out front for almost the
entire race, with Herber putting together 5 x 1 miles in around 5:00 pace.
Although they did not end up winning, that honor goes to teammates Nick
Johnson and Freshman Alec Rosario, of Valparasio, they did help pace the
Foresters to a 1-2-4 finish to win the team title. Johnson and Rosario
averaged 4:50 and 5:15 respectively for the controlled 5 x 1 miles.
Definitely, a good showing out of the freshman
to start off the year. Now its just a matter of time before they learn how
to run an 8k.
HNHS Invite
Results
Boys Varsity
Boys Reserve
Girls Varsity
Girls Reserve
Vikes Season Preview
MIB are looking for another strong year in 2008.
Coming off of a 13th place finish last year, the Vikings are looking to make
it 3 straight trips to the state finals and 4 out of the last 6 years.
And the Vikes have a real good shot at doing that and more, possibly a top
10 finish.
 They
return 6 of 7 from last years team, as well as a couple of younger guy that
are ready to step in to scoring positions. The Viking are led by
juniors Ross Ochs and Josh Graham. Last season Ochs showed everyone that he
would be a force to be reckoned with and a potential all-state candidate,
while Graham wasn't quite prepared yet to make that jump from freshmen to
front runner. This year Graham has to be one of the most improved runner
coming into this season. With a strong track season and a Huntington Open
win, Graham should find himself consistently in the front of most races.
The Vikes aren't just a couple of front runner, they maybe as deep as they
have ever been. Seniors Justin Glancy and Isaiah Laatsch are running VERY
well right now and sophomore Sam Doughty is returning from a freshman year
that saw him show remarkable dependability to run his best against the best
competition. Rounding out the top 7 early in the year will likely be
Austin Roberts and Sean Lewis a couple of guy who could on the right
day, easily brake the top 5.
But should something happen to any of the top 7, HN has one of its largest
cross country teams in recent history having outfitted 23 runner this year.
Coach Hines has reworked his schedule some this year in hopes of running in
smaller meets and compete in only a few large invitationals before
tournament. Hines wants to stay away from racing pre-semi-states every
weekend as could be the case with such a strong area. But that isn't to say
HN is shying away from competition. They open up the season this weekend
facing highly ranked FW Carroll at the HNHS Invite at the HU cross country
course. After this weekend the next big meet will be a meet called
Flashrock in Carmel, which features some of the top teams in the
Indianapolis area. "It is our hope that we can build up some momentum
heading into the tournament...and a little hunger" for one of the top 3
spots at semi-state and a top 10 finish at state.
Hines feels the New Haven Semi-State is going to be a lot more competitive
than last year. Homestead, with retiring coach Dick Shenefield, FW Snider
and FW Bishop Dwenger are all much improved.
Northridge and FW Carroll will be very strong. FW Northrop is always
competitive.
6th Annual Open Has New
Champ
After having been dominated by Warsaw's James
Kennedy for the past 3 years, a new champ has emerged at the Huntington Open
on Saturday. HNHS's Junior Josh Graham out sprinted HU's Nick Johnson
for top honors in the 5k. Graham's efforts prevented Johnson from a clean
sweep of the days events.
 Earlier in
the day Johnson controlled the 3k winning the warmup in a time of 10:19 with
former HN teammate Austin Davenport right behind in 10:20. In the
Pre-High School division Columbia City's Michael Gatton easily won in a time
of 10:43 over Berne's Brett Affolder and Huntington's Kyle Jolas who
finished second and third respectively. For the Pre-High School girls
division, Larwill's Carlee Hearld finished just ahead of Kelsey Hollowell
and Huntington's Kayla Patrick.
In the feature event, the pace was slowed by wet
and humid conditions. The race quickly showed that Graham was going to
challenge the elder Johnson for this years title. Johnson seemed
content to let the race come down to a final kick. Coming off the
final turn Johnson was holding off Graham. But Graham, the middle distance
specialist, utilized the down hill at the finish to get a run and ultimately
pass Johnson just meters from the line for the win.
Huntington Open Results Results
Heritage Days Results...Results
HU's King Recognized for Character
Over the years, HU's Coach Tom King has been
recognized for the athletic achievements of his team, and his efforts as an
administrator. But finally the NAIA has developed an award that recognized
the root of Tom King...his ability to conduct him and his program with the
utmost integrity and dignity, and expected no less from his athletes.
See the
press
release.
Congratulation,
Coach!
Vikes Have
Mixed Results at State
 Bloomington,
IN - After years of being burned by the
athletes competing in the IHSAA state track meet, the track got its revenge.
Being helped by air temperatures in the mid 80s, the track proved too hot
for typical state meet performances. And this proved true for HN distance
runners Josh Graham and Ross Ochs. The one performer that found he liked the
heat of state finals competition was HN shot putter, Rex Drabenstot.
Drabenstot was able to uncork a 55 ft 2 in put
on his second to last throw to capture 7th in the event. Drabenstot was in
7th heading into the final round of throws with a 54-2, just behind Decatur
Central's Robert Beldon at 54-5, and just ahead of Bloomington South's Ben
Stancombe at 53-9 and Belmont's Chadd Keller at 53-7. On the second of
three throws in finals, Stancombe bettered his previous mark by over 3 feet
with a heave of 57-1 moving him into 4th place. Keller immediately followed
with an improved mark of 54-11 which dropped Drabenstot into 9th place.
The HN Junior shot putter responded with the 55-2 to reclaim 7th place.
Which is the how the even ended up. Lawrence North senior Brandon
Pounds won event with a mark of 63-9.
The HN distance crew didn't fair as well in the
hot Bloomington sun. After peaking to escape the difficult Fort Wayne
Regional the week before, the young Vikes couldn't hang on to that peak
level to mount much of a run at the podiums in the sweltering temperatures.
Graham finished the 1600m in 13th place in a
time of 4:30 after having run a 4:25 at the FW Regional, while Ochs finished
the 3200m in 17th place with a time of 9:41 after having run 9:30 the week
before.
HN Sends Three to Bloomington
Fort Wayne, IN-
The youths of Hunt. North continue to surprise the Fort Wayne Regional crowd
that have consistently overlooked the Vikes. Lead by a perfectly set
up race by sophomore Josh Graham in the 1600m the Vikings advanced three
individuals out of one of the toughest track regionals in the state.
Graham, nephew of former HN great Brad McDonald,
was able to hang with the areas best in the mile long enough to have a
chance at one of the 3 automatic births. Unfortunately, Graham missed 3rd
place by just over a second to finish in the dreaded 4th position with a
time of 4:25. Graham's heroics did help spur on 2 other Vikes.
Ross Ochs took inspiration from Graham to put on
a show of his own in the 3200m. In a race that was dominated by state title
contender Andy Bayer, Ochs stuck with cross country all-state runner James
Martin through 6 laps, before charging past him and into the 3rd position.
The move was so dramatic that Martin dropped was also over taken by Joseph
Herber of Fremont.
Rex Drabenstot was the only winner for the Vikes
on the day. The junior squeaked out a 1.5" victory over Concordia's Robert
Alderman with a put of 53-5.
After the meet Josh Graham got one of the 3
callbacks to fill out the state meet field of 27.
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