2014-15 Cross Country State Finals Recap

West Lafayette Boys, Carmel Girls Reign at Cross Country State Championships, Rohrer Sets Girls State Record
The 2014 edition of the IHSAA Boys & Girls Cross Country State Championships had plenty of historical significance.

The West Lafayette boys team won its second title 50 years after their first one while Carmel's girls equaled the school's state record with its fifth straight team crown. Mishawaka's Anna Rohrer set a state record in 17:08.8 in winning the girls race and Carmel's Ben Veatch (15:09.30) won a photo finish by .07 for the boys individual championship.

It was the second state championship in three seasons for the senior Rohrer who covered the 5,000 meter course in 17:08.8, more than four seconds faster than the 17:13.2 she ran her sophomore year. The phenom was sidelined last year after breaking a bone in her foot early in the season and had missed most of this season until returning just before the state tournament.

Avon's Taylor Nicholson finished a distant second in 17:50.0 and Penn's Madison Woods ended third in 17:55.7.

The 1964 West Lafayette boys team was remembered 50 years ago yesterday for its first title and the school's current squad added its second trophy scoring 133 points, seven better than two-time defending champion Carmel.

Cooper Williams led the Red Devils' cause with a third place overall finish in 15:12.2. Evan Johnson, Dom Patacsil, Jake Cohen and Dylan Williams finished 26th, 29th, 33rd and 42nd, respectively, as the team's other scoring runners.

Munster finished third with 143 points, its best showing ever, while Columbus North was fourth with 164 and Brebeuf Jesuit ended fifth with 182.

Carmel's Ben Veatch edged out Brebeuf Jesuit's Zack Snider (15:09.37) at the line in a photo finish by .07 seconds, the third-closest 1-2 finish in boys finals history. He also became the first Greyhound to win the boys individual championship.

After West Lafayette's Williams, Columbus North's Seth Williams placed fourth in 15:14.3.

The top-ranked Carmel girls team continued its dominance winning the team title for the fifth straight year equaling the state record set by the Greyhound teams from 1984-88.

Haley Harris led the way with her fifth place showing in 18:15.1 followed by Madelyn Dalton in seventh in 18:18.1. Stacy Morozov (12th), Sarah Leinheiser (15th) and Kelsey Harris (16th) rounded out their scoring which totaled 55 points.

Avon finished as the runner-up team with 124 points, its best-ever finish, followed by West Lafayette in third with 147, Penn at 158 and Columbus North with 171.

Rohrer, Snider named Mental Attitude Award winners
Following the races, the IHSAA Executive Committee announced Mishawaka’s Anna Rohrer and Brebeuf Jesuit’s Zack Snider as this year’s winners of the mental attitude awards.

Rohrer captured her second state title in three years in state record time and maintains a 4.43 GPA at her school. She returned to action just before this year’s state tournament due to a foot injury that ended her season a year ago prematurely and lingered through this season.

Anna is the daughter of Wendell and Katie Rohrer of Mishawaka and is undecided on her college plans at this point but is interested in studying sports medicine.

Snider finished as the state runner-up in a photo finish, his third straight top 16 finish at the state meet. He’s also run track for his school and is among the school’s best students as a National Honors Society member. He serves as a Presidential and Admissions Ambassador in school sponsored events

Zack is the son of Amy and Tony Snider of Carmel and plans to study engineering at either Harvard University or Stanford University.

Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior participant of each gender who was nominated by their principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The Committee presented $1,000 to each school’s general scholarship fund in the name of Rohrer and Snider.