Both teams used the race as tuneup for the postseason, which begins this Saturday.
The boys finished 19th out of 39 teams with the Lady Panthers placing 17th in a field of 26.
The boys ran an unconventional race using the meet as an opportunity try and tighten their pack. Nathan Punke finished 58th with a PR of 16:39. The next four Panthers runners finished within three seconds of each other and just one minute back of Punke. “We had some of the top varsity guys pace the 5-6-7 guys to drop those guys times and keep a little gas in tank for the top runners heading into the postseason,” said EP coach Tom Green, referring to the Panther pack. Jackson Tegeler ran a PR of 17:38 (123) followed by Ethan Brown (124), Braeden Punke (126) and Logan Punke also with a PR (128). Braydnne Sawyer 18:56 (196), and Elijah Franzen 19:10 (203) also ran for EP. “Logan and JT each PR’d by nearly a minute, so if they can sustain that, it radically changes how we match up against those teams in front of us at regionals and, hopefully, sectionals,” added Green. “Boys had an amazing day for sure. Guys that were a little dinged up are getting healthy, the weather is getting cooler, and the sky is the limit for this group of young men!”
The Lady Panthers once again was without one of their top runners, Roz Mosher, but she is expected back for Saturday’s Regional meet at Bureau Valley according to coach Liz Green.
“The girls had a good day!” added Green. “The seniors shed some tears as most likely this was their last time running Detweiller. Some parents had tears as well. We were pretty impressed with how they ran.”
Jessie DeNeve was the first finisher for EP placing 82nd in a season best 20:34. Jennica Norman was just five seconds behind placing 85th with a PR. Sarah Link was third for EP in a time of 20:53 to place 96th running an incredibly fast final mile. Faith Baar and Avery Heaton were the final two pointers in 22:06 and 22:07 respectively (140, 141). Leena Hanrahan also competed for the Lady Panthers hitting the line in 22:20 with a PR. (153).
The teams will compete in the Bureau Valley IHSA Regional on Saturday in Walnut with the girls running at 10AM and the boys at 10:40AM.
