Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
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October 27, 2007
LAPORTE’S FOUT,
FISHERS BOYS TAKE CROSS COUNTRY CROWNS
LaPorte’s Mike Fout
took control around the first 1,000 meter mark and was never challenged and Fishers
edged LaPorte by less than a second to win the team title
during the 2007 IHSAA boys cross country state championships in Terre Haute.
Fout, competing in his first cross
country state finals, finished in 15:31.9 seconds dominating the rest of the field
and winning by a 24.7 second margin over second place James Martin, a freshman
from Carroll (Fort Wayne) (15:56.6). It was the second-widest margin of victory
since the state finals moved to the 5,000 meter distance in 1980.
He becomes the first LaPorte student to win the individual state championship
since Dale Lubs won in 1954 when the race was run at
a two mile distance at South Grove Golf Course in Indianapolis. Fout also won the 3200 meter race at last June’s
state track meet.
Finishing third among individuals
was Shakamak senior Anthony Witt (15:58.6); Hamilton
Southeastern senior Zach Gates was fourth (16:02.7) and Fishers senior Drew
Shields was fifth (16:04.9).
Fishers’ fifth runner, Tyler Stegman, finished less than a second sooner than LaPorte’s fifth, Corey Dillon, and that proved the
difference in the race allowing the Tigers to claim the school’s first
state title in any sport. Stegman clocked a time of
16:59.5 (46th among team competitors and 72nd overall) to
Dillon’s time of 17:00.1 (49th among team competitors and 75th
overall). That margin gave Fishers 102 points to LaPorte’s
112, the smallest difference for the championship since Ben Davis edged Portage
by four points in 1995.
Carmel finished third in the team
competition with 142 points and was followed by Northridge with 151 points and
fifth place Franklin with 207.
Besides Shields and Stegman, Fishers’ other scoring runners included senior
Cale Allen in 17th place overall
(16:20.1); senior Nate Piggush
in 31st (16:34.7) and; junior Alex Shields in 42nd (16:40.3).
And in addition to Fout and Dillon, other LaPorte scorers were junior Matthew Miller in 29th
overall (16:32.8); senior Tyler Toll (16:33.7) in 30th and; senior
Kiel Lovekin in 43rd (16:40.8).
FRANKLIN’S
SEAN WILSON NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Franklin’s
Sean Wilson was named the winner of the Charles F. Maas Mental Attitude Award
following the race by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee.
The award is
presented annually to a senior participant in the state finals who was
nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. It is named after the
late IHSAA assistant commissioner.
Academically,
he ranks first in his senior class of 317 students. Wilson has been accepted to
Princeton University where he’ll study Physics. He was a honored as one
of Franklin’s S.A.G.E. students (Setting a Good Example), which is given
to a select few seniors each year based on outstanding leadership, positive
mental attitude and a drive to help others in school and in the community. It is
considered the highest non-academic award a student at the school can receive.
Wilson
finished 11th overall (16:16.8) at the state meet to help Franklin
finish in fifth place as a team.
He is the
son of David and Anne Wilson of Franklin.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate
partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Franklin Community High School in
the name of Sean Wilson.
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official photographer for all state
championship events and one of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t
be there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official souvenir
program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at
the IHSAA Office (