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Rochester’s Conliff sets PR in 20:55, will join Hayes at regional
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
NORTH MANCHESTER — Rochester senior cross-country runner Leandro Javier cannot exactly explain why he was nervous for the Three Rivers Conference meet at Manchester Oct. 3, but he was nervous, and he ran his slowest time of the year.
Two weeks later, he woke up getting ready for another trip to Manchester, this time for the sectional. He said he felt calmer, and he followed with one of the best races of career.
Left: Rochester sophomore Lucas Scorsone finished in 55th place in 20:02 at the Manchester sectional Saturday. Rochester finished ninth in the 11-team field
Middle: Valley senior Aaron Babbitt ran a 19:51 in his final high school race at the Manchester sectional Saturday. His team’s frontrunner, Babbitt finished 51st in the field of 78 runners in 19:51.
Right: Argos' Emry Stackhouse
Javier ran an 18:10 and was Rochester’s frontrunner for the first time this season and advanced as an individual along with freshman Warner DuBois Saturday.
Meanwhile, Rochester also had two runners advance to the regional from the girls meet when freshman Katelyn Conliff and junior Adison Hayes both advanced.
The top five teams and top 15 individuals on non-advancing teams advanced to the regional, which Manchester will again host at 10:30 a.m. this Saturday.
Rochester finished ninth in both meets.
Wabash won the boys meet with 32 points, ending Warsaw’s run of 15 consecutive titles. Warsaw (38), Culver Academy (104), Plymouth (116) and Columbia City (134) also advanced.
Rochester had 218 points.
Tippecanoe Valley was the other area school to have a complete team, and they finished 11th.
The only other area runner to advance beside Javier and DuBois was Argos sophomore Emry Stackhouse.
Argos and North Miami had incomplete teams, and Culver did not have a team.
Columbia City won the girls meet with 48 points, and Warsaw (59), Huntington North (65), Plymouth (96) and Culver Academy (148) also advanced.
Rochester had 210 points.
Valley, Argos, Culver and North Miami had incomplete teams.
Boys
Javier took 28th place, and DuBois placed 34th in 18:26 to earn their regional spots.
Javier was fourth and DuBois 10th among individuals on non-advancing teams.
Other Rochester times included Tyson Wachtmann, who was 47th in 18:59; Lucas Scorsone, who was 55th in 20:02; Caden Biernacki, who was 57th in 20:08; Tommy Schwenk, who was 67th in 22:44; and Parker Smith, who was 74th in 23:44.
Javier improved his conference time on the same course by 74 seconds in two weeks.
“For conference, it was definitely one of my worst races, not necessarily time-wise but just in general,” Javier said. “It was a rough race. I think what it came down to was the nerves. At conference, I had these big nerves or expectations that I needed to really start picking it up because it was closing out, and because of that, it just led to me, I guess, not getting to my right mental space. But today, I just woke up, and it was more calm and more relaxed ready for this just to move on, and it led to a much more clear head throughout the race and a clear way to run.”
This was the first time all season that DuBois was not Rochester’s No. 1 runner. His sectional time was 52 seconds slower than his TRC time.
“I think he’d be the first to tell you that he wasn’t where he typically is,” Rochester coach Troy Pryor said. “For Warner, I think the biggest thing was just the pace early got to him. I don’t think he was maybe as a freshman quite ready for what that first half-mile would look like, and I think that took that out of him in miles two and three. Tyson, I think may have been very similar where he’s a sophomore, and he’s been here before, but he’s running times that are faster than he’s ever run before, and the people he’s competing with are people he’s never competed with before, so I think just that fast early pace may have gotten to some kids as young as they are. And they fell off a little bit. I feel like as a team we could have been stronger on the boys side, and a lot of it was just things like that where a couple of younger kids where we count on to perform really well maybe got out a little too hot and fell back in the latter half of the race and cost us some points.”
DuBois was philosophical about his time.
“This was one of my worst races, but you have them,” he said. “It happens. I didn’t feel my best today, and you’ve just got to hang your head high and keep moving on.”
Schwenk was the lone Zebra to set a personal record.
Senior Aaron Babbitt was the Valley frontrunner. He finished in 51st in the field of 78 runners in 19:51.
Other Valley runners included Adric Shock, who was 59th in 20:26; Andrew Wise, who was 63rd in 21:13; Wyatt Whetstone, who was 68th in 22:47; Everest Lipsey, who was a step behind Whetstone in 69th in 22:48; and Darryn Miller, who was 73rd in 23:39.
Stackhouse negotiated traffic through the middle portion of the race and emerged from the middle of the pack to finish in 18:43, good for 41st place overall and 14th among individuals on non-advancing teams.
Jude Keller, the other Argos runner, was 77th in 26:26.
Honor Haynes was North Miami’s lone runner, and he placed 75th in 25:07.
Girls
Conliff was 25th overall in 20:56, and Hayes was 35th overall in 21:35 to advance as individuals. Both made the all-TRC team from the Manchester course two weeks earlier.
Conliff was fifth and Hayes eighth among the individuals on non-advancing teams.
Other Rochester times included Vivian Miller, who was 48th in 23:00; Daniela Ochoa, who was 56th in 23:54; Jane Gottschalk, who was 64th in 25:58; Addisyn Zimmerman, who was 65th in 26:12; and Chloie Tyler, who was 67th in 27:33.
Left:Argos sophomore Eden Rakoczy runs at the Manchester sectional Saturday. She finished 55th in the field of 72 runners in 23:34. Argos had an incomplete team.
Right:North Miami junior Leah Shafer finished in 57th place in 23:54 at the Manchester sectional Saturday. North Miami had an incomplete team.
Miller finished nine seconds out of the final regional spot.
Freshman Addisyn Malone was not with the team Saturday after making honorable mention all-TRC, and Pryor said her absence “really hurt.”
But Conliff and Hayes continued to shine. Conliff’s time was a personal best, and Hayes’ time was her second best after her conference run.
“Katelyn and Adison Hayes obviously ran really well,” Pryor said. “I felt like Viv, even though she didn’t make it out, had a really strong race. She ran a season best, not quite a PR (personal record), but a really good effort. She did everything she could to get out as an individual. I just think without Malone, we were missing the depth to really perform as a team. We showed what we were capable of at conference, where we were right behind Wabash, but I felt like the individuals we had really ran well and put themselves in a position to move on, and a couple of them did, so that’s good.”
Conliff described her time, which was a seven-second improvement from conference, as a “really good PR.” She said she wanted to get “in a good position” from the start, but she said she started a little too fast and “died off” before kicking it in at the end.
“It’s just been different,” Conliff said of the freshman experience. “Going from last year, just the training’s a lot different. The meets are a lot different. The community’s a lot different. But it’s been really fun to just actually do more things. I’ve been pretty successful with how I’ve been running, and it’s just nice to have a good full team of all the people that are supporting us.”
As for Hayes, in her three career sectional races, she has gone from 24:23 as a freshman to 23:36 as a sophomore. This year, she has cut another two minutes off her time.
She said she discovered a race strategy of starting conservatively and moving past runners as they slow down in between the first and second miles. Still, she was self-critical afterwards.
“I felt pretty terrible in the race, but I was just trying to get through it,” Hayes said. “Usually, I can kick it more after the first mile, but I just for some reason felt terrible, and then mentally, I felt like crap then, so I just did not go and get as many girls as I should have.”
Pryor said Ochoa had a “rough second mile” but called Gottschalk’s PR run “an excellent breakthrough race for her” and added that she is showing a lot of potential for next year. Pryor also complimented the potentials of Zimmerman and Tyler.
Valley’s lone runner, junior Katie Sterk, was 62nd in 25:50.
Argos’ lone runner, sophomore Eden Rakoczy, claimed 55th place in 23:34.
The North Miami pair of Leah Shafer and Sydney Lane finished in 57th and 59th in 23:54 and 25:25, respectively.
Culver’s Savanna Harrington was 69th in 30:40, and teammate Lilly Kuykendoll was right behind her 31:29.
Columbia City’s Kenya Leitch won her third straight sectional individual title in 17:51.
MANCHESTER GIRLS CROSS-COUNTRY SECTIONAL RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): Columbia City 48, Warsaw 59, Huntington North 65, Plymouth 96, Culver Academy 148, Wabash 152, Triton 191, Manchester 196, ROCHESTER 210
Rochester results (210 points, ninth place)
25. Katelyn Conliff – 20:56 (24), 35. Adison Hayes – 21:35 (33), 48. Vivian Miller – 23:00 (46), 56. Daniela Ochoa – 23:54 (51), 64. Jane Gottschalk – 25:58 (56), 65. Addisyn Zimmerman – 26:12, 67. Chloie Tyler – 27:33
Valley results
62. Katie Sterk – 25:50
Argos results
55. Eden Rakoczy – 23:34
Culver results
69. Savanna Harrington – 30:40, 70. Lilly Kuykendoll – 31:19
North Miami results
57. Leah Shafer – 23:54, 59. Sydney Lane – 25:25
Top 15 individuals on non-advancing teams: 1. Teresina Cordes (Wabash) – 18:04, 2. Kaleigh Rice (Northfield) – 19:58, 3. Evelyn Gaphart (Triton) – 20:41, 4. Sutton Stoffel (Wabash) – 20:51, 5. KATELYN CONLIFF (ROCHESTER) – 20:56, 6. Emersyn Sarber (Manchester) – 20:59, 7. Shelia Smith (Northfield) – 21:34, 8. ADISON HAYES (ROCHESTER) – 21:35, 9. Mya Golliher (Wabash) – 21:53, 10. Tenley Metzger (Manchester) – 21:54, 11. Lilly Miller (Manchester) – 21:59, 12. Ainsley Metzger (Manchester) – 22:02, 13. Kensie Schuh (Triton) – 22:20, 14. Chloe Cooper (Wabash) – 22:49, 15. Kailyn Schuh (Triton) – 22:51
Individual champion: Kenya Leitch (Columbia City) – 17:51
MANCHESTER BOYS CROSS-COUNTRY SECTIONAL RESULTS (POINTS IN PARENTHESES): Wabash 32, Warsaw 38, Culver Academy 104, Plymouth 116, Columbia City 134, Huntington North 163, Manchester 173, Northfield 215, ROCHESTER 218, Lakeland Christian 246, Valley 301
Rochester results (218 points, ninth place)
28. Leandro Javier – 18:10 (28), 34. Warner DuBois – 18:26 (34), 47. Tyson Wachtmann – 18:59 (46), 55. Lucas Scorsone – 20:02 (54), 57. Caden Biernacki – 20:08 (56), 67. Tommy Schwenk – 22:44, 74. Parker Smith – 23:44
Valley results (301 points, 11th place)
51. Aaron Babbitt – 19:51 (50), 59. Adric Shock – 20:26 (58), 63. Andrew Wise – 21:13 (62), 68. Wyatt Whetstone – 22:47 (65), 69. Everest Lipsey – 22:48 (66), 73. Darryn Miller – 23:39
Argos results
41. Emry Stackhouse – 18:43, 77. Jude Keller – 26:26
North Miami results
75. Honor Haynes – 25:07
Top 15 individuals on non-advancing teams: 1. Oliver Fitzpatrick (Manchester) – 17:28, 2. Caleb Thieme (Huntington North) – 17:34, 3. Preston Moore (Northfield) – 17:44, 4. LEANDRO JAVIER – 18:10, 5. Rogan Fox (Lakeland Christian) – 18:11, 6. Jet Thomas (Manchester) – 18:15, 7. Cole Ellet (Huntington North) – 18:17.4, 8. Noah Crittendon (Huntington North) – 18:17.6, 9. Kourtland Pratt (Northfield) – 18:18, 10. WARNER DUBOIS (ROCHESTER) – 18:26, 11. Micah Fick (Lakeland Christian) – 18:31, 12. Bode Sorg (Northfield) – 18:38, 13. Matthew Fishley (Huntington North) – 18:42, 14. EMRY STACKHOUSE (ARGOS) – 18:43, 15. Gabe Selleck (Manchester) – 18:48
Individual champion: Kamden Oswalt (Wabash) – 16:25
