Senior Alex Banfich set a course record while winning the Girls Open division of the Culver Invitational Saturday. (Jan Garrison photo)
Article published Sept. 23, 2007

LaPorte sets records in loss

TIM CREASON
Tribune Correspondent

CULVER -- LaPorte coach Tim Beres isn't bald, but that day may be coming soon.

After the things his No. 4-ranked Slicer boys cross country team has experienced the past two weeks, he may be ready to pull his hair out.

A week ago, the Slicers took No. 2-ranked McCutcheon down to the wire at New Prairie, only to lose the invitational championship on a tie-breaker.

Then Saturday, at the Culver Academies Invitational, LaPorte ran possibly its greatest race in school history. Team leader Mike Fout broke the course record by 13 seconds. Four Slicers finished among the top 14 in the boys open (large school) race, including three who broke the 16-minute barrier.

And yet, they all lost"Holy cow, it's like, what more do you have to do?" said Beres, who could only shake his head as his Slicers gathered up all sorts of runner-up awards. "I can't complain; most of our guys ran great. It's just hard to fathom how good the competition is here."

In a feature race matching two of the nation's best high school runners, Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley, Ill., handed LaPorte's Fout his only loss of the season in an exciting 5,000-meter battle that had thousands of spectators cheering along the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee.

Derrick, a senior, is the No. 7 ranked high school runner in the nation, according to Dyestat.com, an Internet site devoted to high school track and cross country. Fout, also a senior, is ranked No. 13.

The two frontrunners ran stride-for-stride through a 4:46 opening mile. Only one other competitor, from Bloomington North, attempted to keep pace. But when they hit the two-mile mark at 9:31, it was only the lead pair remaining.

"I wasn't thinking about times, I was just concentrating on Fout," said Derrick later. "I'm not really a fast starter, so I had to crank it down at the end."He did. And with 1,500 meters to go, Fout had let go. Derrick finished first in 14:47.9, becoming the first runner ever to break 15 minutes on the historic Culver course.

Fout came home in 15:05.2. Both of them shattered the previous course record of 15:18 set by Lawrence North's Nef Araia in 2002.

"Obviously, I'm not happy with the way the race came out, but I'm not discouraged, either," said Fout. "I just ran out of gas. I'll get another shot at him during the Foot Locker series. And in college, I hope."

Behind Fout, Slicer junior Matt Miller finished seventh in 15:44. Kiel Lovekin was 11th in 15:58. And Tyler Toll ran 16:04 for 14th.

However, LaPorte's No. 5 runner, Corbin Slater, didn't arrive until 59th place. Neuqua Valley -- ranked No. 2 in the Midwest on Dyestat.com -- won this battle as well, edging the Slicers 71-93 for the team title.Northridge placed fourth in boys open, lifted by Ladd Mercer's sixth-place effort.

The Raiders were fifth in girls open, the only area team to make the top 10. Defending state champ Westfield held off No. 2-ranked Lake Central, 69-75, for the girls open title. The individual championship went to -- guess who? -- Culver Girls Academy senior Alex Banfich, who set a new course record of 18:05.7.

Caitlyn Koscielski placed fourth to lead Marian to a runner-up finish in the girls closed (small school) race, scoring 95 points to finish just ahead of Culver Girls Academy and Fairfield.

The boys closed division championship went to Wawasee, with Ross Stichter (fifth), Ryan Smythe (sixth) and Jose Mejia (ninth) forming a tight pack to lead the way.

"Something like 80 percent of our team got personal bests," said Wawasee coach Jerid Stoffel. "This is a huge lift for us."

At Culver, Indiana

BOYS OPEN (Large schools)

Team scores: Neuqua Valley (Ill.) 71, LaPorte 93, Carmel 110, Northridge 149, Bloomington North 166, Columbus North 220, Hamilton Southeastern 268, Chesterton 269, Warren Central 298, Westfield 302, Lawrence North 308, Fort Wayne Northrop 310, Indianapolis North Central 312, Sylvania Northview (Ohio) 324, Crown Point 341, Hilliard Darby (Ohio) 359, Michigan City 380, Valparaiso 433, Lake Central 465, South Bend Clay 503, Northview 540, Lawrence Central 579, Portage 629, Logansport 710, South Bend Adams 816. Martinsville no score.

Top 20 finishers: 1, Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley) 14:47 (COURSE RECORD). 2, Mike Fout (LaPorte) 15:05. 3, Danny Pawola (Neuqua Valley) 15:38. 4, Michael Hoffman (Bloomington No) 15:39. 5, Tim Schoch (Bloomington No) 15:40. 6, Ladd Mercer (Northridge) 15:44. 7, Matt Miller (LaPorte) 15:44. 8, Joseph Jackson (Hilliard Darby) 15:46. 9, Sam Bird (FW Northrop) 15:49. 10, Zach Gates (Hamilton SE) 15:50. 11, Kiel Lovekin (LaPorte) 15:58. 12, Aaron Beattie (Neuqua Valley) 16:01. 13, Andrew Buzzelli (Bloomington No) 16:03. 14, Tyler Toll (LaPorte) 16:04. 15, John Pence (Columbus No) 16:05. 16, Nick Esbin (Sylvania Northview) 16:08. 17, Zach Gates (Columbus No) 16:09. 18, Logan Rosenberg (Carmel) 16:10. 19, David Osborn (Chesterton) 16:13. 20, Daniel Porter (Carmel) 16:14.

BOYS CLOSED (Small schools)

Team scores: Wawasee 94, West Lafayette 107, Oak Hill 139, South Bend St. Joseph's 172, New Prairie 212, Christian Academy of Louisville (Ky.) 254, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 260, Hanover Central 272, Fairfield 281, Indianapolis Brebeuf 294, Kouts 296, Blackford 305, Hamilton Heights 356, John Glenn 402, NorthWood 433, Morgan Township 446, Bremen 480, Mishawaka Marian 498, Pioneer 516, North Miami 522, Carroll-Flora 523, Rochester 526, Lafayette Central Catholic 600, Triton 628, Brown County 650, Winamac 655, Fort Wayne Concordia 692, South Central-LaPorte 698, North Judson 757, Fort Wayne Wayne 804, Caston 842, South Bend Washington 844. These teams had no score: Culver Community, Culver Military Academy, Lewis Cass, Maconaquah, Oregon-Davis, University School of Carmel.

Top 20 finishers: 1, Cameron Balser (Oak Hill) 16:00. 2, Michael Bradley (St. Joseph's) 16:15. 3, Derek Daluga (West Lafayette) 16:17. 4, Kyle Smiley (New Prairie) 16:24. 5, Ross Stichter (Wawasee) 16:27. 6, Ryan Smythe (Wawasee) 16:30. 7, Austin O'Connor (Glenn) 16:34. 8, Jake Carden (Kouts) 16:43. 9, Jose Mejia (Wawasee) 16:43. 10, David Gladys (Hanover Central) 16:52. 11, Mark Sklorenko (Chatard) 16:56. 12, Eric Linn (North Miami) 16:56. 13, John Krasich (Brebeuf) 16:57. 14, Jason Hoard (Brebeuf) 16:57. 15, Jackson Webber (Chatard) 16:58. 16, Matt McClain (Oak Hill) 17:01. 17, Austin Wenger (NorthWood) 17:02. 18, Blair Bryant (Oak Hill) 17:02. 19, Julian Jimenez-Corredo (West Lafayette) 17:04. 20, Ben DeTrempe (St. Joseph's) 17:09.

BOYS FRESHMAN-SOPHOMORE

Team scores: Neuqua Valley (Ill.) 76, Carmel 87, Fort Wayne Northrop 104, Culver Military Academy 153, Columbus North 156, Lawrence North 159, Martinsville 191, Crown Point 272, LaPorte 285, Chesterton 302, Warren Central 310, Lake Central 348, South Bend Adams 349, Valparaiso 362, Lawrence Central 386, Maconaquah 389, Bloomington North 459, South Bend St. Joseph's 476, Wawasee 478, Indianapolis North Central 501, Northridge 526, Hamilton Southeastern 544, New Prairie 595, Portage 743.

Top 20 finishers: 1, Alejandro Arroyo (Culver Military) 16:26. 2, Luke Verbus (Neuqua Valley) 16:38. 3, Taylor Lowry (Martinsville) 16:49. 4, Chris Walden (Carmel) 16:56. 5, Griffin Brunk (Carmel) 17:02. 6, Zach Miller (Lawrence No) 17:03. 7, Ian Smith (Chesteton) 17:04. 8, Coleman Zimmerman (Culver Academy) 17:06. 9, Cedrick Hannah (FW Northrop) 17:08. 10, Michael Hudecek (Columbus No) 17:14. 11, Jordan Lagomarcino (Neuqua Valley) 17:15. 12, Zach Grese (Lawrence No) 17:16. 13, Cyrus Brinegar (FW Northrop) 17:19. 14, Erin Milton (FW Northrop) 17:21. 15, Connor Clafin (Lawrence Central) 17:22. 16, David Wing (Neuqua Valley) 17:23. 17, Jace Lowry (Martinsville) 17:24. 18, Nathan Payne (Adams) 17:24. 19, Sam Morris (Carmel) 17:25. 20, Nick McGrew (Martinsville) 17:26.

GIRLS OPEN (Large schools)

Team scores: Westfield 69, Lake Central 75, Hinsdale Central (Ill.) 106, Carmel 126, Northridge 165, Bloomington North 264, Hilliard Darby (Ohio) 266, Columbus North 268, Valparaiso 297, Lawrence North 310, Fort Wayne Concordia 313, Terre Haute North 344, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 381, Warren Central 397, Fort Wayne Northrop 412, Portage 416, Crown Point 427, Lawrence Central 440, Chesterton 501, Hamilton Southeastern 508, Northview 548, Indianapolis North Central 561, Sylvania Northview (Ohio) 580, LaPorte 615, South Bend Adams 647, Michigan City 716, Logansport 835, South Bend Clay 875.

Top 20 finishers: 1, Alex Banfich (Culver Girls Academy) 18:05. 2, Megan Ranegar (Valparaiso) 18:22. 3, Elaine Kuckertz (Hinsdale Central) 18:24. 4, Erika Alpeter (Hilliard Darby) 18:26. 5. Dana Payonk (Lake Central) 18:32. 6, Kaitlyn Love (Westfield) 18:41. 7, Maggie Bingham (Westfield) 18:44. 8, Megan Plenus (Lake Central) 18:50. 9, Kelly McCurdy (Carmel) 18:58. 10, Rosemary Hines (Hinsdale Central) 18:59. 11, Kayla McCurdy (Carmel) 19:02. 12, Alex Daugherty (Lawrence No) 19:02. 13, Kylee Thacker (Northview) 19:04. 14, Rachel Zajac (Lake Central) 19:05. 15, Waverly Neer (Westfield) 19:05. 16, Carly Sobelewski (Chatard) 19:06. 17, Karissa Cominator (Northridge) 19:06. 18, Molly Hirt (Bloomington No) 19:09. 19, Anna Bona (Lake Central) 19:10. 20, Laicee Pierce (Crown Point) 19:11.

GIRLS CLOSED (Small schools)

Team scores: West Lafayette 44, Mishawaka Marian 95, Culver Girls Academy 129, Fairfield 137, New Prairie 155, South Bend St. Joseph's 186, Indianapolis Brebeuf 217, Carroll-Flora 259, Wawasee 276, Bremen 318, Winamac 342, NorthWood 348, Hanover Central 353, Pioneer 383, Oak Hill 43, Lafayette Central Catholic 453, Christian Academy of Louisville (Ky.) 464, Maconaquah 471, Hamilton Heights 478, Rochester 520, Kouts 525, Lewis Cass 552, Blackford 594, North Judson 625, Morgan Township 682, John Glenn 689, South Bend Washington 785, Caston 831. These teams had no score: Brown County, Culver Community, Oregon-Davis, South Central-LaPorte, Triton, University School of Carmel.

Top 20 finishers: 1, Kaisa Goodman (West Lafayette) 19:23. 2, Linsey Daluga (West Lafayette) 19:23. 3, Hope Jordon (Bremen) 19:45. 4, Caitlyn Koscielski (Marian) 19:53. 5, Caity Murdock (Hamilton Heights) 20:02. 6, Kelsey Lewark (West Lafayette) 20:08. 7, Diamond Setterberg (Fairfield) 20:09. 8, Mary Gamble (New Prairie) 20:11. 9, Courtney Bennett (Kouts) 20:13. 10, Katie Deatherage (Hanover Central) 20:17. 11, Brenda Swift (West Lafayette) 20:18. 12, Molly Winters (Brebeuf) 20:19.1. 13, Kaye Sitterley (CGA) 20:22. 14, Elizabeth Majewski (Marian) 20:34. 15, Liz Marquardt (Marian) 20:35. 16, Joanne Almond (Lafayette Central Catholic) 20:36. 17, Jordan Dittmann (Fairfield) 20:44. 18, Lindsey Roe (NorthWood) 20:48. 19, Rachel Whitman (Brebeuf) 20:50. 20, Christie Nurkowski (St. Joseph's) 20:51.