With Chesterton, Valparaiso and LaPorte all tied on top of the Duneland Athletic Conference, Saturday’s DAC Meet at Sunset Hill Farm Park was for the league title.

One day. One race. One champion.

Chesterton’s David Osborn took the individual title and the Trojans put five runners in the top 12 to score 39-team points and win the meet. Valparaiso was second (53) and LaPorte was third (71).

“We knew going into this weekend it would be tough with Valpo and LaPorte,” Chesterton coach Tim Ray said. “We talked to the kids about taking care of our own business and not worrying about everyone else.”

Osborn dominated the race with a 20-second victory (16:20.0) over second-place Matthew Miller of LaPorte (16:40.7).

“David ran another good race,” Ray said. “He’s had one bad race this year and it was last Saturday at Culver. Other than that, I think David has been real consistent and is rolling right now. The sky’s the limit for him in the postseason.”

Shane Kenney’s breakout performance led him to a sixth place finish overall as the Trojans No. 2 runner.

“Shane was our number two runner for the first time,” Ray said. “We’ve been waiting for him to have a breakout race and he did. He really had a great week of practice and came prepared to run on Saturday.”

The key to the race may have been the performance of Thomas Halpin, the Trojans third runner on Saturday.

“Thomas ran a team race and helped pull some of the other guys along instead of just taking off,” Ray said. “I think it’s just kind of how it worked out. We have to figure out what works best for him and I think he took it upon himself to make sure he pulled the other guys with him when he made his move after the first mile.”

All five of the Trojans top finishers, including Jon Rogers (11th) and Ian Smith (12th) earned all-conference honors.

“All seven of our guys had good days,” Ray said. “Our top five guys all were All-Conference and that’s pretty impressive.”

Team Results

1. Chesterton, 39; 2. Valparaiso, 53; 3. LaPorte, 71; 4. Lake Central, 108; 5. Michigan City, 135; 6. Crown Point, 142; 7. Portage, 168; 8. Merrillville, 242.

Individual Results

1. David Osborn (C), 16:20.0; 2. Matthew Miller (L), 16:40.7; 3. Brian Witt (CP), 16:52.1; 4. Kevin Costalunga (V), 17:01.6; 5. Mitch Hubner (L), 17:14.1; 6. Shane Kenney (C), 17:16.1; 7. Phil Strader (MC), 17:18.8; 8. Ahmad Jalojobeh (V), 17:22.1; 9. Thomas Halpin (C), 17:23.5; 10. Brendan Pope (V), 17:29.3.

Other Chesterton finishers: 11. Jon Rogers, 17:29.5; 12. Ian Smith, 17:32.8; 18. Ryan Cutter, 17:47.8; 32. Manny Orlich, 18:26.0.

Junior Varsity Race

Team Results

1. Valparaiso, 26; 2. Chesterton, 72; 3. LaPorte, 108; 4. Lake Central, 118; 5. Crown Point, 192; 6. Portage, 257; 7. Michigan City, 304; 8. Merrillville, Inc.

Individual Results

1. Chris Shellenberger (CP), 17:37.0; 2. Jason Watson (V), 17:59.5; 3. Stuart West (L), 18:00.0; 4. John Miller (V), 18:12.7; 5. Ryne Collins (V), 18:13.0.

Chesterton finishers: 6. Dan Carmody, 18:18.3; 11. Mike Marshall, 18:49.2; 3. Austin Palombizio, 18:50.3; 14. Tyler Rusboldt, 18:57.9; 29. Jordan Hoover, 19:29.6; 37. Andrew Morris, 19:50.5; 39. Joe Niepokoy, 19:51.7; 44. Jeff Tucker, 20:04.8; 46. Aaron Parker, 20:07.0; 64. Kevin Miloshoff, 21:10.0; 73. Matt Kusbel, 21:23.4; 74. Joe Doman, 21:24.7; 76. T.J. Lawrence, 21:41.8; 78. Andrew Allmon, 21:55.7; 80. Collin Buckles, 21:59.9; 85. Donny Puent, 22:48.2; 86. Eric Menn, 22:53.6; 88. Jacob McNicholas, 23:03.7.

Posted 10/6/2008