Recapping the Culver Academies Invitational

Sep 24, 2023

41st Annual Culver Academies Invitational
By: Tony Rastrelli

The 41st Annual Culver Invitational took place this weekend, with more than 2,600 runners finishing across 10 events. The middle school teams started off the day with their series of races in comfortable late September weather. By the time the high school races began, temperatures and humidity started to take hold. The event hosted several ranked teams and individuals from Indiana, as well as Illinois and Ohio. Each race provided for some exciting finishes, and fast times. The races were broken down into closed races primarily for smaller schools and open races mainly for larger schools.

Girls Closed Race

Hannah Moore from Northwestern after her race

The first race provided the top girls' best time of the day with Mia Kotler, a junior from Chicago Latin, pushing a commanding 5:47 pace and running a sub-18 performance (17:59.5). In the field of 249 runners, Northwestern's Hannah Moore was the top Indiana runner, finishing at 18:38.4, 40 seconds ahead of the #3 finisher Aftin Griffin of Cass (19:18.0). Number four and five were familiar singlets, Chicago Latin's Ellie Anderson took the 4th spot, followed closely behind by Courtney Adams of Northwestern. Maconaquah took home the team honors with a score of 121 points, followed by Western with 149 points and Kouts with 159 points.

Girls Closed Race Top 10 Individuals
1st - Mia Kotler (Chicago (Latin)) - 17:59.5
2nd - Hannah Moore (Northwestern) - 18:38.4
3rd - Aftin Griffin (Cass) - 19:18.0
4th - Ellie Anderson (Chicago (Latin)) - 19:43.5
5th - Courtney Adams (Northwestern) - 19:45.0
6th - Abby Jordan (Maconaquah) - 19:48.1
7th - Celeste Gram (Culver Academies) - 19:58.4
8th - Biruk Travis (Oak Hill) - 20:23.9
9th - Violet Montgomery (Pioneer) - 20:24.3
10th - Kendall DePoy (Western) - 20:40.6
*Full Results on Results tab

Girls Closed Race Top 5 Teams
1st - Maconaquah - 121 points
2nd - Western - 149 points
3rd - Kouts - 159 points
4th - Fairfield - 165 points
5th - South Bend St. Joseph - 198 points

Boys Closed Race

Owen Jackson, Trenton Sweet, and Zak Kimmel leading the race at the halfway point

The Boys Closed race was dominated by Oak Hill, scoring a total of 64 points, and four runners in the top 15. The pack was tight at the 1K mark, however Owen Jackson would push the pace and open up some distance over the next 4k, finishing strong with a time of 16:17.6, nearly 12 seconds ahead of teammate Trenton Sweet (16:29.4). Sweet edged out Zak Kimmel of South Central by just one second. South Bend St. Joseph's Gabriel Polaniecki and Hanover Central's Ryan Sandberg replicated this finish until the end scenario, with Polaniecki taking 4th (16:47.3) just ahead of Sandberg (16:48.6).

Boys Closed Race Top 10 Individuals
1st - Owen Jackson (Oak Hill) - 16:17.6
2nd - Trenton Sweet (Oak Hill) 16:29.4
3rd - Zak Kimmel (South Central) - 16:30.9
4th - Gabriel Polaniecki (South Bend St Joseph) - 16:47.3
5th - Ryan Sandberg (Hanover Central) - 16:48.6
6th - Leighton Dodt (Pioneer) - 16:51.7
7th - Jack Lyons (Chicago (Latin)) - 16:52.1
8th - Hunter Drain (Covenant Christian) - 16:52.9
9th - William Ruszkowski (Culver Academies) - 16:54.7
10th - Tom Van Hoose (Rensselaer Central) - 16:56.9
*Full Results on Results tab

Boys Closed Race Top 5 Teams
1st - Oak Hill - 64 points
2nd - Culver Academies - 123 points
3rd - South Bend St. Joseph - 159 points
4th - Wawasee - 165 points
5th - Pioneer - 184 points

Girls Open Race

Mallory Weller leading the Girls Open Race

Nearly 180 girls finished the Girls Open race, with Concordia runners taking the top 2 spots. Sophomore Mallory Weller was first to cross the line at 18:29.6. Not far behind was teammate Lexi Panning at 18:35.0. The Concordia duo pulled away from the pack over the course of the first loop, further separating themselves heading to the finish. They would finish nearly 45 seconds ahead of third, which was Nola Somers Glenn of Bloomington North at 19:19.1 followed closely by a pair of Carmel freshmen including Annabel Pollert (19:20.5) and Larkin Taylor (19:21.9). Carmel and Concordia both finished with team scores of 42 points with Carmel getting the nod for the win due to the 6th girl tie breaker performance from Olivia Mundt (20:19.1). Carmel appeared to have held out key contributors last week at the FlashRock Invitational which may have had some surprises with Saturday's result. Expect Concordia's top 2 to play a huge role in helping the Cadets out when the competitive field begins to deepen as the tournament season approaches.

Girls Open Race Top 10 Individuals
1st - Mallory Weller (Concordia) - 18:29.6
2nd - Lexi Panning (Concordia) - 18:35.0
3rd - Nola Somers Glenn (Bloomington North) - 19:19.1
4th - Annabel Pollert (Carmel) - 19:20.5
5th - Larkin Taylor (Carmel) - 19:21.9
6th - Dakotah Moore (Northridge) - 19:26.4
7th - Mary Eubank (Penn) - 19:30.3
8th - Audrey Ricketts (Carmel) - 19:32.0
9th - Emersyn Weaver (Carmel) 19:32.5
10th - Emma Bell (Kankakee Valley) 19:32.9
*Full Results on Results tab

Girls Open Race Top 5 Teams
1st - Carmel - 42 points*
2nd - Concordia - 42 points*
3rd - Penn - 111 points
4th - Northridge - 135 points
5th - Portage - 163 points
* 6th runner tiebreaker used (21-36)

Boys Open Race

Liam Bauschke and Tony Provenzano in the lead at the halfway point

Over 200 boys took to the line for the Boys Open race as the heat continued its steady increase. Several of the top individuals in the state were ready to go head to head despite the noticeable increase in temperature. Liam Bauschke of Mishawaka and Tony Provenzano of Carmel pushed each other throughout the course of the race, running alongside each other at the midway point. Bauschke, a junior, took top honors in closing out the race strong to clock a 15:24.2 and finish ahead of the pair of Carmel senior frontrunners Provenzano (15:27.6) and Kyle Grove (15:37.3). Rounding out the top 5 were Solomon Kwartowitz of Bloomfield Hills (15:38.8) and Max Malloy of Elkhart (15:44.5). Carmel took the team honors with 51 points with 4 runners in the top 15. Bloomington North finished second as a team with 89 points and Northridge in third with 145 points.

Boys Open Race Top 10 Individuals
1st - Liam Bauschke (Mishawaka) - 15:24.2
2nd - Anthony Provenzano (Carmel) - 15:27.6
3rd - Kyle Grove (Carmel) - 15:37.3
4th - Solomon Kwartowitz (Bloomfield Hills) - 15:38.8
5th - Max Malloy (Elkhart) - 15:44.5
6th - Jacob Mitchell (Bloomington North) - 15:49.7
7th - Nicholas Strayer - (LaGrange (Lyons)) - 16:01.5
8th - Vaughn Hendrickson (Concordia) - 16:04.7
9th - Evan O'Connor (Chesterton) - 16:09.0
10th - Thomas Biltimier (Carmel) - 16:13.0

Boys Open Race Top 5 Teams
1st - Carmel - 51 points
2nd - Bloomington North - 89 points
3rd - Northridge - 145 points
4th - Penn - 150 points
5th - LaGrange (Lyons) - 152 points