Post-Tribune girls cross-country preview

Updated: August 22, 2011 9:31PM

DAC

Despite the graduation of some prominent runners in the Duneland, there will still be plenty of talent to go around among girls runners. And a large chunk of that talent will be wearing the green and white of Valparaiso, which is ranked No. 3 in the state by Indianarunner.com.

The Vikings look poised to make another deep postseason run and improve upon their sixth-place finish at the state finals with senior Katelyn Devries back after finishing 32nd at state and fourth at semistate, as well as junior Tiffany Fortney, who was 29th in Terre Haute and third at semistate.

Lake Central will be a formidable foe for the Vikings, whether it be in the DAC regular season or tourney, or at semistate at which the Indians finished fourth before a 17th-place effort at state. The goal is for that second number to improve despite losing Anna Kacius, who is now at Purdue. LC has senior sectional champion Shelby Carroll back, as well as talented sophomore Tatiana Lazic. Also look for freshman Tara Zlotkowski to make an immediate impact.

Crown Point had a banner year, finishing seventh at state after winning sectional and regional titles. Those are all attainable goals this season despite graduating Laicee Pierce. Her sister, sophomore Lyndie, should step up behind new No. 1 Lauren McCarroll. Senior Carly Kiran and junior Ally Carpenter will contribute to the Bulldogs success.

LaPorte could be the surprise team in the DAC with one of the top young runners in Northwest Indiana. Sophomore Elena Lancioni placed 28th at state in her first high school campaign. The future is bright after she also took home second at regional and fourth at semistate. For the record, the runners ahead of her in those two meets are gone. She’ll have seniors Halie Hajek and Lynndsey Swanson to help with team goals.

Portage was projected to be a powerhouse before last season. By the end, due to multiple runners being dismissed from the team, the Indians were a Cinderella story, making the state finals after a sixth-place semistate finish with a group of inexperienced girls. They won’t sneak up on anybody this year — they’re ranked No. 22 in the state by Indianarunner.com — led by another sophomore sensation, Paige Pizer, who placed 14th at semistate. They also return seniors Megan Cassidy and Abby Trader.

Chesterton should be better after finishing seventh at semistate last season. The Trojans will look to improve that by at least one spot with junior Melanie Buckmaster, sophomore Haley Cushway, junior Hannah Hoffman and seniors Linda Graff and Nora Schultz.

Michigan City almost got a freshman runner to semistate last year in Christine Brennan. She was 16th, just five seconds behind the last qualifying spot. She’ll be back to improve on that effort, along with seniors Kristina Parrish (26th at regional, Holly Higdon and Lindsay Smith. The Wolves were last in the DAC, but shined in the postseason by advancing to semistate.

Merrillville finished third in the sectional last year. With senior Cyerra Sims and junior Victoria Collins, both regional qualifiers, back, the Pirates look to advance further in the postseason.

NCC

Last year the NCC was on the cusp of sending a bunch of girls to the state finals with three less than 20 seconds of the top 15 at semistate. The one girl to make it through was Hobart’s Celena Guerrero, who was 11th as a freshman. She went on to place 19th at state and looks to improve on both of those finishes. She didn’t run during the summer while recovering from an injury suffered in track season. But she’s already off to a good start with a second at the Woodland Trails Hokum-Karem. Mindy Whidden, Harley Sutton and Carrie Buhman look to help carry the team to new heights.

Andrean junior Becca Conley was 20th at semistate last year. She will look to qualify for state for the first time while Alyson Janiga, Angelique Barthel and Carmen Ruiz will look to help the 59ers advance in the postseason as a team.

Griffith junior Taylor Austin was just ahead of Conley at semistate in 19th. The two have gone back and forth the last two years in beating each other, and that should continue this season. Joining Austin are seniors Alyssa Robertson and Sam Aguilar and junior Anna Steinhubel.

Lowell is already off to a good start win a victory in the Andrean Invite. Sarah Wieser made an impact as a freshman last year. She’ll look to keep getting better with juniors Mackenzie Nichols and Sarah Edwards.

Munster advanced to semistate as a team last year, finishing a quiet 14th place. The Mustangs will look to get back to New Prairie with senior Allison Boyle, junior Colleen Ogren and sophomore Emily McNicholas, who is the top-finishing returner.

Highland also reached semistate, but finished 17th. The Trojans’ top finisher back is senior Nicole O’Malley (57th) with senior Kristina Hayes and Jessica Grzymski back to help the team try to reach state.

Kankakee Valley was the best of the NCC last year, winning conference and sectional titles and finishing ninth at semistate. Despite losing top runner Kristin Fritts, now at Purdue, and Breanne Chevrette, the Kougars look to stay among the best with young talented runners to carry the torch. Among those youngsters are sophomores Kaylin Orsburn (seventh at sectional), Allison Rockey (eighth at sectional) and Brittany Stepp.

PCC

After the graduation of two of the top girls runners in conference history in Jordan Chester and Jordan Hanaway, Kouts senior Tara Hamstra is the top returning runner in the PCC. She’ll try to carry her postseason advancement one more step after reaching semistate last season. As for the team, she’ll get help from fellow seniors Nicole DeFries and Jacqui Corrigan as the Fillies look to advance to regional again.

Boone Grove will look to rebuild momentum after the graduation of Chester. Senior Gabby Salas and sophomores Sarah Steinhilber and Mariah Rodriguez, all three of whom did well at regional last year to help the Wolves finish seventh.

Hebron lost one of its best runners of all time in Hanaway, who is now at IUPUI, but the defending PCC champs will still have loads of talent. The group that hopes to improve on its eighth-place regional finish includes senior Christy Reick, junior Emily DeFries and sophomore Natalie Kaczmarski.

Hanover Central has its top two girls back in senior Taylor Hillegonds (20th at regional) and sophomore Sammie Hun, as well as junior Emily Furman, about whom coach Steve Foulds said she has logged “a lot of miles” during this past summer.

Morgan Township has its top four runners back for this season, leading to some optimism from coach Kellee Hitz. She has two seniors returning in Ellen Turman and Lindsey Bornmann, as well as junior Elly Johansen and sophomore Kaylee Sheets.

South Central, LaCrosse and Washington Township are all looking to get at least one runner out of sectional after not being able to last year. The Senators have the best chance with senior Brittany Talley and junior Molly Evans back. The Tigers return junior Taylor Guse, who finished 29th at sectional.

GSSC

Wheeler just missed advancing to regional as a team, finishing sixth in the sectional, eight points behind Michigan City for he final qualifying spot. The Bearcats chances are much better this season with sophomore Kelly O’Shea back after she made it out of sectional last season. She’s joined by senior Abby Zeitler, who made state two years ago, and junior Carey Ganz.

Whiting will not only look to challenge Wheeler, but return to the regional after finishing fifth in the sectional last season. Back for the Oilers are senior Sayra Jiminez, who placed 24th at regional, and sophomore Citali Lopez, who had a 10th-place effort at the Andrean Invite over the weekend.

North Newton returns senior Jennifer Madrigal after she just missed advancing to regional (16th at sectional). The goal is to finish her high school career with at least one more postseason meet that last season.

River Forest hasn’t been able to qualify as a team in recent years, and it doesn’t get much better after its top runner Mary Salinas graduated. But the Ingots do return sophomore Caridad Ramos, who finished 29th in the sectional last year as a freshman.

Calumet returns the school record holder in the 5K in senior Andrea DeGard, who helped the team finish sixth at sectional. She will be joined by junior Danielle Smar and freshman Ashley Redd.

Others

West Side placed four runners in the top 30 last year at sectional to advance to regional as a team. Junior DeAushania Wheeler also placed 10th at the regional to reach semistate and she’s back to try to go further. Can the Cougars carry that momentum over to this season? Cougars’ coach Veronica Williams thinks so, especially with 20 runners out for the team this season.

“Our kids are excited about the season, and I’m excited too,” coach Veronica Williams said. “We’ve learned from our past. We’re looking at the present. And we’re going to plan for our future. We’re going to do better than last year.”

Among the other returning runners are Zhane Nolan, Kortney Mabone and Trey Nesha Sage.

Rensselaer will have the challenge of trying to improve on a sixth-place finish at sectional while losing its top runner, Casey Boose, to graduation. The Bombers will have juniors Haley Tow, Reanna Ohlund, Maria Walter and Rachael Dobson back, along with a group of three freshmen who should make an immediate impact.

Lew Wallace returns the team’s top finisher at sectional last year in junior Denisha Golston (44th).

North Judson returns regional qualifier junior Kendall Gardner, who was 13th at sectional last year. Senior Esmeralda Ramos was 21st in the sectional.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.