They're getting closer, and at Saturday's New Prairie Regional, close was good enough for the Chesterton boys cross country team to extend its season at least one more race.

The Trojans scored 106 points, placing fourth in the 10-team field and earning a berth in Saturday's New Prairie Semistate. Valparaiso ran away with the title, posting a 28, just a few points off the all-time regional low. LaPorte (85) nipped Portage (89) for second, with Wheeler (110) getting the final qualifying spot.

"We have to keep it in perspective. We get to run another week," Chesterton coach Tim Ray said. "We've been talking the whole post-season. We have to put one solid race together, all five guys. We still haven't done that yet. The closest we've come is four out of seven. We had four kids run a really solid race, so at least we're taking steps in the right direction. Now we have to take a big step next weekend."

Kevin Kenney placed seventh in 16:05.8, a three-second personal best, to lead Chesterton. He was the only Trojan in the top 15, though Mitch Wilborn (16th, 16:31.6) narrowly missed, continuing to improve with his own personal best by 20 seconds.

"Kevin's not a 15:45 guy. He's got to run his race, make sure he's where he needs to be," Ray said.

After Wilborn, there was a gap to Andrew Kearney, 30th in 17:13.4, who came in just ahead of Alex Genetski (32nd, 17:17.4) and Evan Mazurkiewicz (34th, 17:20.1). Genetski's time was a personal best by 15 seconds. Freshman Emmitt Sullivan (40th, 17:32.7) shaved 20 seconds off his prior fastest time. Tyler Vore (56th, 18:55.8) also ran.

"We had a couple guys who struggled a little bit, but we had a couple who picked it up," Ray said. "We had a lot of guys with PRs. It's like a puzzle that doesn’t all fit. We've got four pieces that fit, but three that aren't there yet. If we can do that, we'll be in good position going into (semistate). In years past, that's what it takes at this level, when you get to the semistate. You have to run good. You don't have to run great. That'll give you a chance, which is all you want."

Valpo's Peyton Reed was the race winner in a meet-record time of 15:37. The Vikings placed all seven runners in the top 13 to repeat as champion.

1. Valparaiso, 28; 2. LaPorte, 85; 3. Portage, 89; 4. Chesterton, 106; 5. Wheeler, 110; 6. Morgan Township, 141; 7. Kankakee Valley, 198; 8. LaCrosse, 242; 9. Rensselaer, 263; 10. North Newton, 269.

1. Peyton Reed (V), 15:37 (MEET RECORD); 2. Alec Kostelnik (MT), 15:42.3; 3. Ari Coulopoulos (V), 15:47.4; 4. Anthony Didion (LP), 15:48.3; 5. Nickolas Arndt (NP), 15:51.6; 6. Taylor Bisacchi (V), 15:58; 7. Kevin Kenney ©, 16:05.8; 8. Ben Savage (MT), 16:07.6; 9. Joel O'Shea (W), 16:07.8; 10. Landon Davison (V), 16:10.6; 11. Andrew Lyp (V), 16:10.6; 12. Xavier Reed (V), 16:12; 13. Pat Dalton (V), 16:20.7; 14. David Kampf (NP), 16:23.9; 15. Jon Hogg (Boone Grove), 16:25.4; 16. Mitch Wilborn ©, 16:31.6; 17. Dustin Balboa (P), 16:32.3; 18. Anthony Best (P), 16:46.9; 19. Nick Cinko (W), 16:49.1; 20. Kevin Hucksted (LP), 16:49.3.

Other Chesterton finishers: 30. Andrew Kearney ©, 17:13.4; 32. Alex Genetski ©, 17:17.4; 34. Evan Mazurkiewicz ©, 17:20.1; 40. Emmitt Sullivan ©, 17:32.7; 56. Tyler Vore ©, 18:55.8.

Posted 10/15/2012