By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
A couple of weeks ago, Valerie Burns of Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn and Mike Fout of LaPorte (Ind.) captured titles at Steve's Run.
The two returned to Dowagiac on Saturday morning to win their respective races at the fifth annual Viking Stampede hosted by Niles High School.
The race was held at Dowagiac Middle School, which includes some of the same trails Burns and Fout raced on during Steve's Run.
Fout led LaPorte to the team championship in the boys' division. LaPorte finished with a team score of 26.
Burns helped Penn to a second place finish in the girls' race. Northridge was the winner with 39 points, while Penn finished with 72.
Niles finished ninth and Dowagiac finished 10th with 235 and 322 points respectively.
Northridge grabbed a second place finish in the boys' race with 48 points.
Niles finished ninth with 249 points. Dowagiac did not field a full squad.
Fout blistered the course with a time of 14:58. Andrew Albert of Northridge was second with a time of 16:18, while Kiel Lovekin of LaPorte was third in a time of 16:23.
Rounding out the top five were Matt Miller of LaPorte (16:31) and Lance Wu of Penn (16:23).
Niles' top finisher was Mark Calhoun, who was 34th with a time of 18:25. Justin Kronewitter was 45th (19:44), Shawn Calhoun 50th (20:33), David Randolph 60th (24:16) and Caleb Bliss 61st (26:38.
Dowagiac's Kasey Proshwitz finished 65th with a time of 19:42. Brandon Wilson finished 124th with a time of 24:40.
Lakeshore's Amanda Balk was second to Burns with a time of 19:38.
Sarah Hutchings of Penn was third with a clocking of 19:41, while Amanda Weaver of Marshall was fourth (19:44) and Hannah Miller of Northridge fifth (19:47).
Niles' Samantha Brawley finished 23rd overall with a time of 21:17. Autumn Grayson was 37th (22:14), Sarah Tyler 55th (24:16), Ashley Allison 59th (25:44), Bre Donahur 61st (26:59), Allie Hoyt 62nd (27:15) and Stephanie Kollof 66th (28:28).
Dowagiac's top finisher was Chelsey Preston, who was 58th with a time of 25:19.
Kayla Saviano was 64th with a time of 28:00, while Catherine Hamilton was 65th (28:21), Leanna Allen 67th (29:55) and Ali Hess 68th (36:21).
"The Indiana schools are tough enough, but give them a two-week head start in practice and it makes it real tough for Michigan schools to compete with them," Dowagiac coach Ken Jordan said. "We did see a couple of special high school runners in Fout and Burns.
"It was a place for us to start. We'll get better and have more kids ready to race next time," Jordan added.
Viking Stampede
At Dowagiac Middle School
Girls' Team Scores
1. Northridge 39, 2. Penn 72, 3. Mishawaka 85, 4. Fort Wayne Northrop 121, 5. Marshall 125, 6. Lakeshore 140, 7. LaPorte 158, 8. Michigan City 179, 9. Niles 235, 10. Dowagiac 322
Top 10 Finishers
1. Valerie Burns, Penn 18:02, 2. Amanda Balk, Lakeshore 19:38, 3. Sarah Hutchings, Penn 19:41, 4. Amanda Weaver, Marshall 19:44, 5. Hannah Miller, Northridge 19:47, 6. Hanna Mercer, Northridge 19:47, 7. Karissa Cominator, Northridge 19:50, 8. Mary Mellen, 19:56, 9. Keil Hayley, Northridge 19:57, 10. Katelyn Eberhardt, Mishawaka 20:02
Boys' Team Scores
1. LaPorte 26, 2. Northridge 48, 3. Michigan City 77, 4. Mishawaka 104, 5. Penn 105, 6. Marshall 197, 7. Lakeshore 225, 8. Parchment 233, 9. Niles 249
Top 10 Finishers
1. Mike Fout, LaPorte 14:58, 2. Andrew Albert, Northridge 16:18, 3. Kiel Lovekin, LaPorte 16:23. 4. Matt Miller, LaPorte 16:31, 5. Lance Wu, Penn 16:34, 6. Tyler Toll, LaPorte 16:43, 7. Robert Braddy, Michigan City 16:47, 8. Robbie Loop, Michigan City 16:47, 9. Trevor Moore, Northridge 16:53, 10. Mitch Keyser, Northridge 16:59