Saturday, October 19, 2013 was a great day for racing at Lemon Lake. The course was in much better condition than it was Tuesday for Sectionals, when everyone was slipping on the course’s signature hairpin turn.
The boys’ race was first on the agenda with several runners were capable of making it to the finish line first. Among those expected to finish first were Crown Point’s Tyler Gray, Munster’s Ryan Kritzer and Tom Bolanowski and Brian Blaylock from Lowell, just to name a few.
As the gun went off, Kritzer had a slight lead at the start. Making it around the corner and down the first hill, he already had widened the gap. “Tom and Tyler were pushing the pace and I knew I had to have the lead by the second mile, so my strategy was to sprint down the hills to gain a lead on the pack. I sprinted down the first hill out of the woods and I gained a lead and did the same thing on the second hill,” said Kritzer.
Ryan was happy with his race today, as he became the Regional Champion by crossing the finish at 16.06. Tom Bolanowski from Munster came in at 16.25 placing fourth, leading their team to the Regional Championship for the Boys Team.
Bolanowski said he felt good through the race. “I went out a little slow and just wanted to stay with the lead pack and when they fell back I would catch up and stay with them,” he said.
Top five finishers for the boys’ race were Ryan Kritzer of Munster 16.06, Tyler Gray of Crown Point 16.14, Brian Blaylock from Lowell coming in 3rd with a 16.21, Tom Bolanowski of Munster 4th with 16.25 and Ryan Kepshire of Crown Point 5th with 16.31.
The boys’ team title went to Munster followed by Crown Point, Lake Central, Lowell and Hobart.
Up next was the Girls race. Celena Guerrero and Mindy Whidden of Hobart and Sarah Hunsely and Megan Zajac were the runners to watch. Lake Central took the lead off the start and down the hill, but when they emerged from the woods Guerrero was in front, followed by teammate Whidden. The Brickies continued race 1 and 2 throughout the remainder of the race, with Guerrero finishing first and capturing the Regional title with a time of 19.18 and Whidden following with a 19.31. Both girls were happy with their race and waited the arrival of their teammates.
Coach Artherhults said, “I’m proud of the team, both made it out and they did a great job”.
On the girls side, first place honors went to Lake Central followed by Crown Point and Hobart. 4th place went to Munster and Hebron took 5th.
The top five teams along with the qualifying 10 will be competing at New Prairie next Saturday in the Semi State Finals.