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Conley, Austin stay together; Valpo second
Updated: October 22, 2011 10:35PM
They may run for schools that are rivals in some sports, but Andrean’s Becca Conley and Griffith’s Taylor Austin sure don’t act like rivals.
“I’m happy she made it,” Austin said about her Northwest Crossroads Conference friendly rival after Conley finished sixth and Austin finished seventh in the New Prairie Semistate. “I’m happier I made it.”
And it seems like they always finish right next to each other. At last year’s semistate, both missed the top 15 — Austin was 19th and Conley 20th. At the NCC meet earlier this month Austin was first and Conley second.
They were in different sectionals, but both finished first — Conley at the Crown Point Sectional and Austin at Gavit. But at the regional, you guessed it — Conley first and Austin second. Just a coincidence?
“It just kind of works out that way,” Conley said with a smile.
It’s Conley’s first trip to state while Austin returns after reaching state as a freshman. As for the teams headed to Terre Haute, Valparaiso finished second, just four points behind West Lafayette. But Vikings coach Karen DeVries was happy with the effort.
“We were strong through four (runners), and our fifth was right behind West Lafayette’s fifth,” she said. “Winning is always nice, but when you don’t win but still compete with a good team, it’s a good thing.”
Right behind Valparaiso were Duneland Conference foes Crown Point (third), Portage (fourth) and Lake Central, which snuck into the sixth spot, just eight points better than Chesterton. LC was led by Shelby Carroll, who finished eighth with a time of 18:46.
“For the most part I was happy with my race,” said Carroll, who will advance to state with LC for a fourth straight year. “Eighth isn’t bad for me — I was 12th last year. I also wanted a PR (personal record) today and I did.”
The Crown Point girls had a pair of runners in the top 15 — Lauren McCarroll in fifth and Lyndie Pierce in 15th.
“They’re well-rested and have come together right when we wanted to,” CP coach Patty Begley said. “With all the other good teams — Eastern (fifth), Chesterton, Portage — we knew it would be tough. But I couldn’t be happier with our top four.”
LaPorte sophomore Elena Lancioni was the top local finisher in third, reaching state for the second year.
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