DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
Photo Contributions: Kyle Heimann & Jen Goble
Leo upset the Norwell Knights to take the team NE8 title in the conference boys’ meet and Emmett Glenn became the first ninth grader to win the individual title in the history of the NE8 Saturday at Columbia City.
Glenn’s winning time of 16:34 was also his career best, as he shaved 13 seconds from his time at Manchester in the first week of September.
“Emmett is first freshman to win the individual NE8 title,” said long-time BHS coach Randy Hisner. “He and the Leo kid separated themselves from the rest of the field quickly and duked it out the whole way, with Emmett pulling away in the last 400 meters.”
Glenn’s running mate, Frank Heimann, was just behind him in fourth and he had an even bigger cut to his career time. After running a 17:22 last week at Huntington, he finished with a 17:02. He’ll attack the 17-minute mark at the Delta Invite in the final tuneup before the sectional on the same course.
“Frank hung tough near the front of the second pack throughout the race,” noted coach Hisner. “It’s the first time in school history that we have had two freshmen make first-team all-conference.”
Both now have a chance to replicate what Bellmont grad Ryan Venderley did in the old NHC: Make first-team all four years. Venderley did that from 2003-2006.
The Braves’ third finisher, Joe Kozlowski, had arguably the most impressive performance in terms of personal success. He cut 44 seconds and cross the 18-minute mark for the first time to finish in the Top 15.
Other career bests were turned in by Owen Adams, Landon Sielschott and Brock Scherry. Among the Bellmont JVs there was a whole slew of PRs: Brandt Painter, Sebastian Heimann, Malachi Sparks, Blake Metzger, Michael Penrod, and Ben Goble.
“I’m very proud of their performance,” said Hisner. “It speaks well of our team that even as the smallest school in the NE8, we have the depth to compete well in the JV meet and finish a solid third.”
Leo dominated the meet, with Jaiden Gould second behind Glenn by just five seconds. The Lions then claimed spots six, seven, eight and nine to win the title.
In the girls’ race, it was a battle between three of the very best female runners in northeast Indiana battling for the top three spots. Seniors Kenya Leitch (CC), Alice Friesen (HN) and Rowyn Norris (Leo) made up the podium spots. All three ran at last year’s State Finals and will be hopeful of a return trip in their final season.
Bellmont’s top finisher was Bristol Scherry with a 22:24, which was a career best for Scherry by 26.5 seconds.
Elle Garcia (18 seconds) and Bridget Juengel (73 seconds) also had major improvements on their career bests for the Braves.
Boys’ Meet
Team Scores: 1st-Leo 32, 2nd-Norwell 52, 3rd-Bellmont 87, 4th-Columbia City 123, 5th-New Haven 135, 6th-Huntington North 147, 7th-DeKalb 155, 8th-East Noble 174
Top Ten Individuals
1st-Emmett Glenn-Bellmont 16:34.08
2nd-Jaiden Gould-Leo 16:39.83
3rd-Julian Torres-Norwell 16:58.46
4th-Frank Heimann-Bellmont 17:02.93
5th-Maddux Thornton-Norwell 17:05.30
6th-Dylan Brockhaus-Leo 17:05.97
7th-William Perkins-Leo 17:09.25
8th-Camden Nidlinger-Leo 17:10.47
9th-Josiah Ringger-Leo 17:11.57
10th-Lucas Rouch-EN 17:12.10
Bellmont Places & Times: 1st-Emmett Glenn 16:34.08, 4th-Frank Heimann 17:02.93, 13th-Joe Kozlowski 17:22.28, 27th-Owen Adams 18:07.58, 42nd-Landon Sielschott 18:54.02, 46th-Gavin Braun 19:12.07, 47th-Hudson Krull 19:16.87, Brock Scherry 19:25.57, Blake Metzger 19:27.21, Logan Whitacre 19:53.40, Malachi Sparks 20:04.35, Brandt Painter 20:09.17, Owen Garcia 20:37.67, Sebastian Heimann 20:55.54, Ben Goble 21:01.67, Trent Huser 21:18.24, Michael Penrod 22:02.63
Girls’ Race
Team Scores: 1st-Columbia City 25, 2nd-Huntington North 58, 3rd-Leo 77, 4th-Norwell 97, 5th-East Noble 152, 6th-DeKalb 166, 7th-Bellmont 175, 8th-New Haven (No Score)
Top Ten Individuals
1st-Kenya Leitch-Columbia City 17:45.42
2nd-Alice Friesen-Huntington North 18:16.37
3rd-Rowyn Norris-Leo 19:17.64
4th-Madelyn Shively-Columbia City 19:25.43
5th-Halle Christman-Columbia City 19:27.51
6th-Addison Winter-Huntington North 19:45.45
7th-Annalise Swonger-Columbia City 20:05.78
8th-Alex Hohenstein-Columbia City 20:17.92
9th-Addison Leamon-Columbia City 20:24.49
10th-Lynden Boese-East Noble 20:37.95
Bellmont Places & Times: 30th-Bristol Scherry 22:24.13, 32nd-Bridget Juengel 22:28.18, 37th-Sydney Angel 23:40.03, 40th-Lilly Franz 24:09.96, 41st-Haylee Franz 24:12.53, 42nd-Madeline Witte 24:15.18, 43rd-Elle Garcia 24:34.51, Isabelle Buuck 25:21.60, Isabella Suarez 26:38.19, MaKenna Rich 28:21.71, Savannah Lindsey 30:53.13, Journy Mann 35:16.21
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