JC makes semi-state (10/16/06)

DECATUR - So much of cross country comes down to desire. And the Patriots really wanted to run for at least one more week.

The Jay County girls cross country team earned another week of competition Saturday, finishing fourth at the Bellmont regional with 116 points.

It is headed to the semi-state for the second time in four seasons following its trip in 2003.

"I'm pretty pumped. When you come into regional it's really intimidating," said junior Amanda Johnson of the meet, which included No. 13 Concordia Lutheran. "We have a pretty hard sectional, but it's nothing like the competition at regional.

"I think we all just really wanted it. As a team, we all just really wanted to keep the season going on a little longer because we enjoy each other so much. We were all really determined to make sure got every girl that we could and really push ourselves."

Concordia dominated the 10-team field, taking the top four team scoring slots and totaling just 19 points. Bishop Dwenger was a distant second with 93, Homestead took third with 107 and Northrop placed fifth with 123.

Julianna Roche of Canterbury won the individual crown by six seconds over Snider's Tynae Wilson in 14-minutes, 56 seconds.

The top five teams and top 15 individuals advance to the New Haven semi-state Saturday at 11 a.m. They will be joined by advancing teams and individuals from the Delta, Elkhart Central and Marion regionals.

"I wasn't surprised today," said JCHS coach Les Bantz. "I was sure that we could move on. It's been kind of a matter-of-fact thing, just kind of taking care of business. That's what they've been doing. I think they'll run even better next week.

"There's no rocket science here. It's just a matter of hard work. And, attitude is a bunch of the battle. They wanted to move on. They wanted to run next weekend."

Johnson again led the Patriots (70-11), although in a different fashion than usual.

The junior normally runs at the front of the pack for Jay County, which has finished in the top two in nine of 11 meets this year. But against the regional competition she stayed under control early while a group of runners from the Fort Wayne-area schools set a blistering pace.

Johnson was still 18th at the one-mile mark, but then began to make her move. She picked off several competitors early in the second mile and was all the way to 12th place as the field headed to the woods on the north side of BHS for the second time.

She finished among a group of runners behind the top seven - four from Concordia, two from Canterbury and one from Snider - edging Jessica McNulty of Leo for 10th place in 15:55. Her time was one second faster than at the Bellmont sectional Tuesday, and just four seconds off of her best time of the season.

"It's the thing that I've been preaching to them since last fall - be more conservative at the front of the race," said Bantz.

"My goal was top 10, so I got what I wanted," added Johnson, saying she hopes for a faster time at the semi-state after dealing with cold and windy regional conditions. "I would be happy if I run in the 16:30s next week."

Sophomore Kylie Wellman ran a consistent race, sitting in the mid-20s most of the way. She posted the No. 2 time for the Patriots as she placed 25th in 16:29.

Jessica Mosier, a senior, was just ahead of Johnson early in the race, and settled in around 30th by the mid-point. She edged Emily McGowan at the finish line to take 32nd in the 75-runner field at 16:45.

"It was a very hard race, but I think we did good. I'm excited about (going to semi-state)," said Mosier, noting how difficult it would be to move on. "It's just nice to go there and participate and see the other teams run ..."

Senior Allison Fullenkamp and freshman Kari Hemmelgarn ran their typical race, with senior Tina Gingrasso right behind them. They all were between 40th and 50th places most of the way and were within six seconds of each other at the finish line.

Hemmelgarn caught her senior teammate at the finish line, placing 37th just one second behind Norwell's Katy Moore in 16:55. Fullenkamp was one position back in 16:57, and Gingrasso finished 42nd in 17:01.

Senior Jenna Valentine was 74th for the Patriots in 19:04.

"It's really cool that we did it our freshman year and then we do it again our senior year," said Fullenkamp, who along with Mosier was a member of the 2003 semi-state squad. "It's a good way to end our cross country career."[[In-content Ad]]DECATUR - The season came to an end for the South Adams cross country teams Saturday.

The Starfire boys placed ninth out of 10 teams at the Bellmont regional with 230 points. Northrop (40) won the title followed by Bishop Dwenger (48), Bellmont (107), Snider (108) and Homestead (125) as the top five teams earned spots in the New Haven semi-state.

Haleigh Lehman, the lone member of the girls team remaining, finished outside of the top 15 needed to advance to the semi-state meet.

Lehman had the top effort for South Adams Saturday as she ran out to a quick start. But she couldn't keep up the pace, slipping to 28th with a time of 16:35.

Nathan Rupp led the boys team, which placed fourth at the Bellmont sectional, with a 36th-place finish out of 71 runners in 17:51. He was followed by Brian Lehman in 40th at 17:56.

Rounding out the top five for the Starfires were Alex Brito (51st - 18:14), Aaron Lehman (56th - 18:28) and Sam Heckard (62nd - 19:03). Also running were Andrew Smith (65th - 19:34) and Justin Sommer (67th - 20:12).