Friday, October 29, 1999
GCL rivals duel in cross country regionals
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
There may not be a better cross country rivalry in Ohio than that among Elder, LaSalle and St. Xavier.
This rivalry will be renewed for the third consecutive week Saturday at Troy Memorial Stadium, site of the boys and girls regional cross country meet.
After last week's close finish at the Cincinnati Division I district meets at West Chester, another heated battle is expected in Troy. Undefeated and ranked No.1 in the state, LaSalle was second to Elder while St. Xavier, the defending state champion, finished first in the other Division I sectional.
“Our goal is to improve every week,” Elder coach Steve Spencer said. “La Salle beat us at the GCL meet but our fifth man (Kurtis Smith) hung back too far. He was much closer in the district.”
However, Spencer was aware of another factor.
“If you score both meets together, St. Xavier would have won,” Spencer said. “The best team in Dayton is Northmont but Fairfield is pretty decent and can't be counted out.”
Besides Smith, Elder's pack includes Greg Dickman, Nick Westerman, Jason Krumpelbeck, Jon Wagner, Pat Kendall and Sean Ernst.
LaSalle coach Frank Russo can only hope losing to Elder is a wake-up call for a team that had run against state-ranked opponents every week.
“I'm not making excuses but a couple of our kids were flat,” Russo said. “This may have been my fault because we had the most demanding workout of the season on Wednesday.”
Senior Steve Padgett is LaSalle's top runner and favored to win at regional. But Lancer fortunes rest with Allen Bader, Pat Rischman, Doug Fulmer and Mike Robbins.
St. Xavier's lineup changes each week, but it appears coach Larry Merkel will rely on Andy Wietmarschen, Joe O'Brien, Tim King, Ryan Busse and Ross Gille.
“I was disappointed that we didn't win the league but I still had a lot of confidence,” Merkel said.
“It was obvious in the league that we had kids who didn't run up to capability.
Merkel plans at least one change for the regional with Phil Bange, held out of the district because of sickness, back in the lineup.
“I look for LaSalle to come out and run well because they have something to prove again,” Merkel said. “On the other hand, we should run with a lot of confidence.”
If the Bombers qualify, it will be their 13th consecutive trip to state. Elder holds the state record with 27 straight.
In Division II, district champion Roger Bacon should advance to state with Madeira and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy favored in Division III.
Barring injury, Colerain should dominate in Division I.
Anderson's Chelsea Homan is favored to win the Division I race with Alison Zeinner (Colerain) and Lindsay Zinn (Lakota East) expected to provide tough opposition.
Kings won the Division II district title and the Knights appear to have the talent to earn a state berth with Reading solid in the Division III regional.
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