Metro Roundup: ISU’s Keeney qualifies for cross country championship

Tribune-Star staff report

Scott Keeney of Indiana State has qualified for next week’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship.

Keeney, 13th overall at Saturday’s Great Lakes Regional, learned Sunday that his time and placing was good enough for an individual at-large selection for the Nov. 24 race.

Keeney came into the Great Lakes Regional on a high note after finishing third at the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Nov. 1. With that performance, he earned his third MVC all-conference honor and also picked up his second MVC all-academic team selection in cross country.

On Saturday, Keeney battled some of the best runners in the country and finished with a time of 31:51.7 in the 10k race while helping the Sycamores to an 11th-place finish as a team.

“I’m thrilled that Scott earned his spot in the national championships,” said coach John McNichols. “What makes it even more exciting is that he will have the chance to represent Indiana State on our home course and in front of our home fans.

“Scott is the epitome of a student-athlete, with extremely high academic and athletic aspirations, and he’s really worked hard to earn this opportunity. He’s already put together an extremely impressive resumé with three all-conference selections in cross country and this is just one more step in his progression.”

Per NCAA rule, the top two teams in each region earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships while the top four individual finishers not on a qualifying team secure a trip to nationals as well. Wisconsin and Michigan were the region’s two automatic team qualifiers, but Butler and Notre Dame were also selected as at-large teams by the NCAA on Sunday evening.

Keeney sat as the fifth individual qualifier after the results came in Saturday, but Notre Dame’s Patrick Smyth and Butler’s Andy Baker earned spots in the national championship with their teams. That moved Keeney up on the list to become one of the region’s four individual qualifiers, along with Chris and Matt Lemon of Dayton and Pat Sovacool of Miami of Ohio.

“Heading into the meet, I was physically prepared but I was also mentally prepared to run in muddy and cold conditions, and I think that helped me finish where I did,” said Keeney. “My workouts and performances have been getting better each and every week and I’m thrilled that my performance at the regional meet has qualified me for the NCAA Championship.

“This is a great way to finish the season and I look forward to representing Indiana State on our home course and in front of the home crowd on Nov. 24.”

Keeney is the second ISU runner to qualify for the national championship race in the last three years, as Justin Kunz qualified for the race in 2006. Keeney also is the fourth Sycamore to qualify for the NCAA meet under McNichols, joining Kunz, Jason Gunn (1999 and 2000) and Kyle Hobbs (1991).

High school

• Northview awards — The following were the Northview fall sports award winners:



Boys tennis (Western Indiana Conference and sectional champions) — Austin Akers, Clint Reynolds, Carson Kleiber, Matt Nodley, Caleb Mershon, Caleb Andrews, Joey Thomas, Trent Sims, Max Short. Coaches Mark Orr, Shawn Hughes.

Girls golf (WIC champions) — Savanah Pursell, Olivia Oehler, Mandy Thomlinson, Alli Trout, Hayley Miller, Allie Melega, Ali Rentschler, Shelby French, Kelsey Oehler, Kylee Orr. Coach Josh Trout.

Girls soccer (WIC champions) — Carlee Bell, Cayla Yockey, Krista Stearley, Bonnie Froderman, Lauren Webster, Lindsay Woodcox, Ashley Clarke, Breanna Fagg, Hannah Pond, Jenny Woodcox, Jessi Moore, Jacki Moore, Tiffany Young, Rachel Alstott, Bethany Wright, Stormi Raines, Jessie Timberman, Shalee Hathaway. Coach Tony Alstott.

Volleyball (WIC champions) — Brittaney Long, Lizzie Emmert, Ashlen Buck, Hannah Emmert, Kaylee Clark, Brailyn Whitson, Hannah Hayes, Ali Sharton, Lexi Lang, Allison Stearley, Emily Chiles, Samantha Solomon.

WIC All-Conference

Girls cross country — C.J. Barnett, Allie True, Kylee Thacker, Alyssa Conrad.

Boys cross country — Conor Strain, Ryan Lutes.

Football — Zac Niehaus, Trent Lancaster, Tony Fabbri, Jordan Keller.

Girls golf — Savanah Pursell, Olivia Oehler, Mandy Thomlinson.

Girls soccer — Cayla Yockey, Tiffany Young, Rachel Alstott, Jenny Woodcox.

Boys soccer — Logan Lynch, Brandon Hathaway, Nick Hensler.

Boys tennis — Austin Akers, Clint Reynolds, Matt Nodley.

Volleyball — Brittaney Long, Ashlen Buck, Hannah Emmert, Hannah Hayes.

State qualifiers

Boys cross country — Conor Strain.

Semistate qualifiers

Girls cross country — Casandra Barnett, Allie True, Kylee Thacker, Corey Laue, Alyssa Conrad, Shelby Sands, Nicole Nelson.

Regional qualifiers

Boys cross country — Ryan Lutes, Eli Kirby, E.C. Moody.

Girls golf — Mandy Thomlinson, Olivia Oehler, Savanah Pursell, Allie Trout, Hayley Miller.

Senior awards

Cheerleaders — Elle Kleiber, Shalyi Parr, Macy Puff, Kylee Thacker.

Cross country — Kylee Thacker, Thad Whittington.

Football — Weslie Sorlie, Mitch Haviland.

Golf — Ali Rentschler, Allie Melega.

Soccer — Bonnie Froderman, Ashley Clarke, Stormi Raines, Kirstie Hensley, Evan Deal, Michael Ball.

Volleyball — Lexi Lang.

Four-year award winners

Cross country — C.J. Barnett, Allie True, Ryan Lutes, Eli Kirby, E.C. Moody.

Football — Matt Clodfelter, Zack Boetjer, Kade Baker, Nathan Williams, Corey Crowder, Kyle McCoy, Damon Smith, Tony Fabbri, Jordan Keller, Eric Dyer, Kyle Pestoff.

Golf — Savanah Pursell.

Soccer — Cayla Yockey, Jenny Woodcox, Tiffany Young, Rachel Alstott, Logan Lynch, Brandon Hathaway, Cainan Reeves, Nick Hensler, Robert Plummer, Mark Reed, Ken Wright, Brennan McCullar.

Tennis — Austin Akers, Clint Reynolds, Matt Nodley.

Volleyball — Hannah Emmert, Allsion Stearley, Emily Chiles.

Noble Knight awards

Cross Country — Kylee Thacker (girls), Ryan Lutes (boys).

Football — Kade Baker.

Golf — Olivia Oehler.

Soccer — Ashley Clarke (girls), Robert Plummer (boys).

Tennis — Clint Reynolds.

Volleyball — Ali Sharton.

Swimming

• Rose men second, women fourth — At Monmouth, Ill., Rose-Hulman recorded 11 top-two finishes to help the men’s squad place second and the women finish fourth at the Monmouth College Invitational on Saturday.

The men’s squad recorded three first place efforts. Junior Brian Yount won the 50-freestyle with a time of 23.05. Junior Clayton Shotwell added top honors in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:23.34. Junior Landry Carbo rounded out the first place performances in the 100-butterfly (56.35).

The women’s squad tallied two first-place finishes. Sophomore Katie Trella earned both victories with strong performances in the 200-yard freestyle (2:07.92) and 1,650-freestyle (19:23.20).

Rose-Hulman returns to action at the Wabash College Invitational next Friday and Saturday.

Softball

• Indiana Attitude runner-up — At Chattanooga, Tenn., the Indiana Attitude girls 12-and-under team from Terre Haute finished second in the PFX tourney Nov. 7-9.

The tournament was sponsored by the Professional Women’s Softball Association with teams from 10 states participating.

The Attitude lost its first game to Tennessee Illusions 2–1, with Allison Crick and Carol Beth Loveall getting hits. Then it defeated Maumelle Swingers 6-2, Derby City Crush 6-5, then beat Kentuckiana Slammers 9–2 behind the no-hitter pitched by Crick. Amber Price, Crick and Loveall had hits.

In the championship game, the Attitude was defeated by the Frost Comets from Alabama.

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