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October 30, 2005 No problems for BanfichCulver Academy sophomore takes
title by 10 seconds By TIM CREASON
TERRE HAUTE -- Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Alex Banfich's championship run Saturday was her competition. There wasn't any. Not in the final half-mile, at least. Not after the Culver Academy sophomore put her hammer down with about 1,000 meters remaining and surged to a 10-second victory at the 25th annual IHSAA girls state cross country finals. "Honestly, no, I didn't think it would be that easy," said Banfich, a Plymouth native who became Culver Academy's first state cross country champion when she completed 4,000-meters (2.5 miles) at Terre Haute's Lavern Gibson Championship Course in 14 minutes, 5.1 seconds. It's not that she didn't work for it. Banfich was exhausted when she reached the finish chute, sprinting a long upgrade between several thousand applauding spectators. But the fact is that when she made her move, shaking Valparaiso's Lauren Hardesty just before the 3K mark, nobody went with her. Nobody could. "My plan was to go with about 3/4 mile left. I was feeling good at that point, so I decided it was time to pick it up," she said. "I'm surprised I got away so quickly. I figured people would come with me." They didn't. Banfich went on to record the fastest winning time since New Prairie's Amanda VanWanzeele clocked 14:04.7 in 2000, when the race was held in Bloomington. Sarah Kehe of Chesterton moved up to take second in 14:15.7. Westfield's Maggie Bingham (14:18.4) was third. "Alex is a tremendously gifted runner," said Culver Academy coach Mike Chastain, who claims his first state champ in his 32nd year of coaching. "Believe me, you don't get one of those dropped in your lap very often." Chastain's comments were echoed by Westfield coach Scott Lidskin. His Shamrocks upended defending champ Valparaiso for the girls team title, 88-126. Four Westfield girls placed among the top 25 and the Shamrocks earned their first team championship since 1998. Carmel finished third with 128 and Northridge placed fourth at 136, just 10 points out of second place. "Really, I think we raced about as well as we possibly could," said Northridge coach Ryan McClane. His team has now been called onto the awards stand in three of the past four state meets. Only 47 seconds separated Northridge's No. 1 runner from No. 5 as the Raiders showed great depth. Megan Jackson led the way with an 11th place finish, clocking 14:23.6. She was running in the lead pack till Banfich broke the race open, then faded a little on the homestretch. "I feel like I did the best that I could," said Jackson. "It was tough at the end. It's been a long season; my legs felt pretty tired. I'm just glad the team got a medal." Freshman Megan Hammel and sophomore Hannah Miller -- both rookies in the state meet business -- finished 38th and 40th for Northridge, respectively. Jessie LaFree was 52nd and Vanessa Lantzer 56th to round out the Raider scoring. "We tried to stay relaxed and look out for each other," said Lantzer. "Sure, we wanted to place higher but the main thing is, we're happy to get back on the podium." "Nobody was going to beat Westfield today," said McClane. "Even at our absolute best, we would not have beat them. They were on fire out there." Speaking of runners on fire, how else to explain Marian junior Mary Cate Quiett? Running the race of her life, Quiett charged up through the field over the final 1,000 meters and finished eighth in 14:22.1. Not bad for a girl who placed 11th at last week's New Prairie semistate. Her time Saturday was almost a minute faster than her semistate clocking. "I don't know what happened, I just felt good," said Quiett. "I think part of it was because last week I was concerned about being eliminated at the semistate level, but today there was no pressure. I just ran." Bremen's Kelsey Nielsen achieved her goal of All-State recognition and an award medal, as she finished 14th in 14:28.4. The top five teams and top 15 finishers received IHSAA medals. A senior, Nielsen was selected to be a member of the Indiana All-Star cross country team after the meet. She will represent the Hoosier state at the upcoming Mid-East championships in Ohio. Similar story for Michigan City senior Anna Weber, who finished 12th in 14:23.7. "I'm happy, because it was nerve-wracking out there," said Weber. "There is never a letup. If you try to ease up for even a second, about 10 people pass you. I can't believe how fast that went." Like the other Tribune-area medal winners, Weber set a personal best. The Culver Academy girls team not only celebrated Banfich's victory, but a 15th place finish in the final team standings. GIRLS FINALS Top 25 finishers: 1, Alex Banfich (Culver Academy) 14:05.1. 2, Sarah Kehe (Chesterton) 14:15.7. 3, Maggie Bingham (Westfield) 14:18.4. 4, Kristina Krasich (Westfield) 14:18.6. 5, Amanda Hardesty (Valparaiso) 14:20.0. 6, Katy Achtien (Indianapolis Cathedral) 14:20.2. 7, Lauren Hardesty (Valparaiso) 14:21.6. 8, Mary Cate Quiett (Marian) 14:22.1. 9, Kyla Chapman (Rensselaer) 14:22.7. 10, Jenny Kulow (Brown Co) 14:23.3. 11, Megan Jackson (Northridge) 14:23.6. 12, Anna Weber (Michigan City) 14:23.7. 13, Lauren Waterman (Carmel) 14:24.1. 14, Kelsey Nielsen (Bremen) 14:24.8. 15, Rachel Hissong (DeKalb) 14:26.7. 16, Linsey Daluga (West Lafayette) 14:28.6. 17, Andrea Kent (Valparaiso) 14:29.3. 18, Shelbi Burnett (Center Grove) 14:29.9. 19, Maria Gramelspacher (Jasper) 14:31.0. 20, Theresa Schamberger (East Noble) 14:32.2. 21, Mary Ballinger (Chesterton) 14:32.8. 22, Breanne Ehrman (Westfield) 14:34.8. 23, Amber Wray (Fort Wayne North Side) 14:36.2. 24, Kaitlyn Love (Westfield) 14:39.1. 25, Rachel Ehret (Lawrence North) 14:40.1. CULVER ACADEMY FINISHERS: 1, Alexandra Banfich 14:05.1 ... 72, Kiley Trennepohl 15:20.2 ... 106, Hannah Goettle 15:51.3 ... 145, Kelly Norton 16:25.0 ... 153, Elise Hoover 16:39.3 ... 166, Marisa Gilmore 17:37.9 ... 167, Emily Thews 17:49.6. BOYS CROSS COUNTRY FINALS Top 25 finishers: 1, Brock Hagerman (Pendleton Hts) 15:13.2. 2, De'Sean Turner (Warren Central) 15:25.5. 3, Adam Martin (Chesterton) 15:31.8. 4, Adam Green (Franklin Central) 15:36.3. 5, Michael Pabody (Southport) 15:37.3. 6, Michael Disher (Southport) 15:41.1. 7, Ondraius Richardson (Warren Central) 15:41.8. 8, Robert Moldovan (FW Northrop) 15:43.1. 9, Stephen Hein (Crown Pt.) 15:43.5. 10, Andy Weatherford (Greencastle) 15:44.0. 11, Andrew Poore (Chatard) 15:44.4. 12, Adrien Dannemiller (Martinsville) 15:45.7. 13, Loren Spirito (Northridge) 15:46.4. 14, Ryan Chastain (Mitchell) 15:50.2. 15, Isaac Davis (Brownsburg) 15:50.6. 16, Tito Medrano (Lafayette Jeff) 15:51.0. 17, Neno Bellinotti (Oak Hill) 15:51.6. 18, Justin Roeder (Hamilton SE) 15:53.2. 19, Cole Hardacre (Pendleton Hts) 15:54.1. 20, Sean Jennings (Seymour) 15:54.8. 21, Jacob Laird (Rushville) 15:55.8. 22, Matt Hammersmith (Prairie Hts.) 15:57.1. 23, Eric Schulz (New Albany) 15:57.7. 24, Aaron Kremer (Chatard) 16:01.4. 25, Eric Cave (Columbus North) 16:02.4. CULVER ACADEMY FINISHER: 35, Joe Stamper 16:14.1. |
