Tipp Boys win Troy Regional

The running conditions were ruthless to say the least at the Troy Regional on Saturday, October 25th. Runners had to battle through fierce winds of up to 20 MPH on their quest to a state tournament birth. Tippecanoe’s boys team took care of business and did not let anything effect them en route to their second straight regional title and third straight state tournament appearance. The boys team scored only 49 points, beating 2nd place Carroll by 34, 3rd place Hamilton Badin by 63, and 4th place McNicholas by 111 in the 16 team field.

Jason Salyer won the individual title with a time of 16:12, edging out last year’s regional champ Andrew Trick from Carroll in the final 100 meters after having run stride for stride with each other for a majority of the race. Kevin Fink finished strong in 4th place with a time of 16:34 after finishing 35th last year. Tyler Fietshans finished 9th with a time of 16:47, and Jason Bruns finished 16th with a time of 16:57. Tipp’s top 4 runners would have qualified individually if their entire team had not placed in the top 4. Andrew Wharton rounded out Tipp’s score by placing as the team’s 5th man for the second time this season after battling through injuries all year. He finished in 37th overall with a time of 17:34. Luke Zerkle finished 59th with a time of 17:57, and Matt Zuzolo finished 66th with a time of 18:09. 130 runners competed in the race.

Ever since finishing 5th as a team at the state meet last year, the goal has been to win the state title. All of their hard work and dedication has been geared towards this year’s state meet. Tipp has been ranked #1 or #2 all year in the state polls and will have their hands full against the two-time defending champions in Peninsula Woodridge. Statistically, the teams look like mirror images of each other. The deciding factor is going to be the performance of each team’s fifth runner, who caps off the team scoring. Tipp has had Andrew Wharton, Luke Zerkle, and Matt Zuzolo interchange as the team’s fifth runner all year. Although most of the emphasis lies on them, Tipp’s whole squad is going have to lay it all on the line in order to accomplish their goal..