Leitch, Weller, Fishers Fire and HP Distance Win Titles at Junior Olympic Championships

Indiana Results Scoreboard 

On Saturday (14-Dec), 312 athletes and 25 teams from USATF Indiana competed at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana.  The competition was held at the Blue River Cross Country course, the site of numerous NCAA regional and conference championships. 

A total of 2922 athletes and 231 teams from across the country competed in the championships.

Races were contested in 6 age divisions (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18) for boys and girls.  The top 25 finishers in each age division earned all-American status and the top three teams were awarded championship recognition. 

Two Indiana athletes and three teams won national titles; the first team titles earned by an Indiana club since the 2010 Hoosier Harriers won the 15-16 boys team title in Hoover, AL.

Forty-three (43) athletes from the Indiana earned all-American honors.

INDIANA HARRIERS CROWNED CHAMPIONS

Kenya Leitch and Daphne Weller who both compete for the HP Distance ran to individual titles in the 15-16 and 13-14 divisions, respectively.

Leitch's win in the 15-16 division also led her HP Distance 15-18 team to the team title as the team scored a perfect 15 points. Leitch's time over the 5 km course was 18:18. Following her across the line to secure the team title were Lucy Kramer (3rd, 18:40), Madalyn Gentz (6th, 19:00), Brylee Crass (7th, 19:11), and Ella Antibus (10th, 19:44). 

In the 13-14 division, Weller defeated region 7 rival Graceleen Mabry of Illinois in the closet race of the day as both ran 13:40. The margin of victory for Weller was just .06 seconds. Weller's time is believed to be the fastest time ever for the div vision on a bona-fide 4 km course. She led her HP Distance Project team to a fourth place team finish scoring 222 points; just 11 points behind the third place Boulder Mountain Warriors. The team title was won by the Palatine Pack TFCC from Illinois with 63 points. Joining Weller on the all-American podium was Leighton Archer (Fleet Feet Fort Wayne) who finished 15th in a time of 14:14.

In the first race of the day the Fishers Fire 7-8 girls team broke the 14-year Indiana team champion draught as they won with just 58 points over 15 other teams. The El Paso Westside Run Squad finished second with 89 points. The Fishers squad was led by the the top-15 finishes by Emerson Schoenrock (4th, 7:52), Emerson McCarty (9th, 8:20), and Stella OConnell (15th, 8:28); each earning all-American honors. Their efforts were backed up by Clara Atchison (36th), and Lucy Howard (79th). Presley Tragesser (unattached) of Carmel finished second in the race stopping the clock at 7:35 on the 2 km course. She finished just 1.44 seconds behind Morgan Codrington of New York. Also, earning all-American honors in the race were McKenzie Garvey (11th; 8:24; Ohio River Valley Racers) and Ensley Knoblauch (14th; 8:26; HP Distance).

In the last race of the day Indiana claimed another team title as the HP Distance 15-18 boys team won with just 38 points defeating the Arkansas Track Club by 20 points. The team scorers were Hunter Panning (7th, 16:21); Andrew Strong (13th; 16:30), Cooper Knoblauch (16th, 16:33), Cooper Enyeart (20th, 16:43), and Gannon Mays (26th; 16:54). The South Central Indiana Running Club finished ninth with 227 points.

TOP TEN FINISHES ABOUND IN 11-12 DIVISION

In the 11-12 girls race Aliyah Yorek (HP Distance) and Harper Green (Ohio River Valley Racers) finished fourth and sixth, respectively. York stopped the clock at 10:44 with Green 10 seconds back on the 3 km course. The race was won by Isla Rahmer of New Mexico in a time of 10:28. Yorek led the HP Distance team to a 12th place team finish as 27 teams scored. Fishers Fire and Speed U TC finished 22nd and 26th, respectively.

In the 11-12 boys race,  HP Distance teammates Caleb Luepke (10:02) and Galvin Hunt (10:23) finished fourth and 17th, respectively, to lead their team to a fourth place finish in the field of 37 teams. The other scorers for the team were Dominic Brown (60th), Coen Bauer (137th), and Lukas Luepke (154th). Th other Indiana teams were Fleet Feet Fort Wayne (25th), Westfield Track (33rd), and Body in Training (35th).

THE ALL-AMERICAN HONOR ROLL

7-8 GIRLS
2.  Presley Tragesser (Unattached)
4.  Emerson Schoenrock (Fishers Fire)
9.  Emerson McCarty (Fishers Fire)
11. McKenzie Garvey (Ohio River Valley Racers)
14. Ensley Knoblauch (HP Distance)
15. Stella OConnell (Fishers Fire)

9-10 GIRLS
24. Elizabeth McAllister (Southern Indiana RC)

11-12 GIRLS
4.  Aliyah Yorek (HP Distance)
6.  Harper Green (Ohio River Valley Racers)

13-14 GIRLS
1.  Daphne Weller (HP Distance)
15. Leighton Archer (Fleet Feet Fort Wayne)

15-16 GIRLS
1.  Kenya Leitch (HP Distance)
3.  Lucy Kramer (HP Distance)
6.  Madalyn Gentz (HP Distance)
7.  Brylee Crass (HP Distance)
9.  Alayna Bruckner (Unattached)
10. Ella Antibus (HP Distance)
14. Riley Myers (Fleet Feet Fort Wayne)
16. Margie Kempson (Body in Training)
18. Madison Riggins (HP Distance)
20. Cailyn Murphy (HP Distance)

17-18 GIRLS
13. Gracie Adams (South Central Indiana RC)
17. Kaitlyn Chaumell (Evansville Speedsters Track)
21. Victoria Snyder (Pirate Run Club)

7-8 BOYS
18. Asher Kirsling (Westfield Track)

11-12 BOYS
4.  Caleb Luepke (HP Distance)
17. Galvin Hunt (HP Distance)

13-14 BOYS
13. Kairos Feasel (HP Distance)
16. Jaxon Seger (Unattached)
24. Cooper Jaynes (Brownsburg Distance RC)

15-16 BOYS
10. Josiah Aynes (Brownsburg Distance RC)
13. Gannon Mays (HP Distance)
24. Tucker Inman (Unattached)

17-18 BOYS
2.  Jackson Klinger (Unattached)
5.  Hunter Panning (HP Distance)
8.  Andrew Strong (HP Distance)
9.  Cooper Knoblauch (HP Distance)
12. Cooper Enyeart (HP Distance)
15. Isaiah Heuer (HP Distance)
18. Joshua Nugent (Brownsburg Distance RC)
20. Carson Sigman (Unattached)
21. Micah Jablonski (South Central Indiana RC)
25. Travis Hoffman (Ohio River Valley Racers)

Click here to view the complete Indiana results scoreboard and compete championship results.