Penn’s cross country teams absolutely crushed it at Ox Bow Park Saturday, sweeping both the Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) and Northern Lakes Conference (NLC) boys and girls team championships with pure dominance. But get this: all four individual champs across those meets? They came from different schools! That’s the kind of twist that makes you sit up and pay attention in a sport often dominated by team powerhouses.
Penn’s Girls Ran a Flawless Operation
The NIC girls race was a masterclass in team execution, especially from Penn. Senior Lila Van Hoveln continued her absolutely dominant season, snagging first place with a blistering 18:15.38. And the Kingsmen didn’t stop there. They made history, sweeping the top five spots at the NIC Championship! That’s right, a perfect team score of 15. Talk about putting on a show! Junior Sami Pentelow, who grabbed fifth place at 19:55.90, sealed that perfect score, barely holding off New Prairie’s Janice Felker by three seconds. Pentelow was stoked, saying they “had to persevere” and that they’re “working for our seniors, to make them proud this season.”
Van Hoveln herself sounded incredibly chill about the whole thing, saying there was no stress leading up to the race. They just had fun, listened to music, and then went out there and performed. She’s got three more races in the IHSAA state tournament before she heads off to Central Michigan for cross country, but she’s already talking about coming back to watch Penn race next year. When you hear her say, “I feel like I have to go out with a bang… no stress anymore. I’m just running free and running for myself. I wanted it to be my best time, because it was my last time,” you know this runner is just living in the moment and absolutely owning it.
Bachmann’s Heroics Showed Individual Fire Still Burns Bright
While Penn’s boys also took home the team trophy, thanks to their runners grabbing spots second through seventh, the individual NIC boys championship belonged to someone else entirely. New Prairie senior Braden Bachmann ran a flawless race, grabbing the individual title with a new personal best time of 15:47.87. He smoked second place Penn sophomore Jacob Sullivan by nearly 30 seconds! This wasn’t a fluke either; it was Bachmann’s third major win this season, adding to his NIC Stomp and Class AA New Prairie Invite victories.
Bachmann’s performance is a huge statement. He proved that even when a team like Penn is an absolute juggernaut, individual glory is still very much in play come sectional and regional time. “This was definitely a ‘Go for it’ kind of race,” Bachmann said, even admitting his legs were “pretty heavy” from tough workouts. He knew he was fit, and he just went for it. You gotta love that mentality! He even gave props to the Penn guys, saying he’s “grateful that they’re as good as they are, because they’ve definitely pushed me and motivated me to keep pushing.”
What a Saturday for cross country, right? Penn just cemented their status as absolute forces, but guys like Bachmann are out there making sure everyone remembers that individual heart and hustle can still win the day. With the IHSAA state tournament up next, you know these runners are just getting warmed up for what’s sure to be some epic finishes. Keep an eye on these names!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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