Hocker, Covert Survive Mud To Win Midwest Titles

By Michael Newman for DyeStat

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KENOSHA, Wis. – A runner that knows a muddy course at the end of the season is Taylor Ewert of Beavercreek, Ohio.

“I thought our state meet course was muddy,” the junior said after inspecting the course Friday. “This course was on another level.” 

The strong did survive on the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course on the Wisconsin-Parkside campus Saturday. Mud in some parts of the course was close to five inches deep at the Foot Locker Midwest regional championship meet. Cole Hocker of Indianapolis Cathedral High and Emily Covert of Minneapolis Washburn High won their championship races, leading 18 other runners to the Foot Locker National Championships on Dec. 8 in San Diego. 

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The two championship races were not going to be fast. The winning times were close to a minute slower than in 2017. The name of the game was to finish in the top 10 to head to San Diego. It was better to ignore the splits and just concentrate on those places. 

Take the girls race for example. Ewert and Covert went through the first mile in 5:41.

“We are all used to going out in 5:15 to 5:20,” Ewert added. “I was kind of surprised that I was in the lead that early, but someone had to push the pace.” 

Covert took over the lead in the final mile to capture the win in 17:58. Ewert was next at 18:09.

“I knew my time was not going to be really fast considering the course conditions. I knew I was going to be racing a lot of talented women,” Covert said. “I just wanted to stay in the pack, my mind in the race, and stay focused. I just put in a surge when I knew I would be ready around two miles.” 

Michigan led all the state qualifiers with four runners advancing to nationals, followed by Minnesota and Illinois with two runners each. 

Katelynne Hart of Glen Ellyn, Ill. used the same strategy that she used last year staying in the pack and moving up to finish third (18:14), just ahead of Michigan freshman Abby VanderKooi, who was just a second behind. Fellow Michigan runners Ericka VanderLende and Adelyn Ackley finished fifth and sixth. Grace Ping of Cotter, Minn. followed with another Michigan runner, Jaden Theis, placing eighth. Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek, Colo. and Alex Morris of Naperville, Ill. were the final two qualifiers. 

Covert, Ewert, Hart, Ping, and Morris qualified for both the Nike Cross Nationals and the Foot Locker Nationals. 

The strategy was different in the boys race with the pace set at slower than normal. Drew Bosley of Homestead, Wisc. led at 5:09 at the mile and 10:18 at two miles. By two miles, he had a 25-meter lead on the rest of the pack.

“My main focus today was just to keep it as steady as possible. I just kept reminding myself to keep it steady, keep it smooth,” Bosley said. “I kept it in the same gear the entire race especially in the last half mile. I did not want to push it that much.” 

Hocker led the chase pack and he started to move just after two miles to get in contact with Bosley. The two NXR regional champions were even with each other heading into the final stretch. Hocker had one more gear on this day to take home the win (16:03), six seconds ahead of Bosley. Danny Kilrea won last year’s race in 14:53. 

“I jogged the course yesterday and had a feel for the mud. I really have not run on anything like this before,” Hocker said. “I did not have any expectations on how this would play out. I just wanted to stay close and use my final kick to get me to the finish.” 

Michigan led all states in this race with four qualifiers. Illinois and Wisconsin were the only other states with multiple qualifiers, with two each. 

Evan Bishop of East Grand Rapids, Mich. finished right with Bosley in third. Carter Solomon of Plymouth, Mich. was in fourth (16:13), four seconds behind Bishop and a second ahead of Ares Reading of Niwot, Colo. Illinois runners Ethan Kern of York High and Josh Methner of Hersey finished sixth and seventh, followed by David Vannucchi of Onalaska, Wisc., Brendan Favazza of Clarkston, Mich., and Zach Stewart of Brighton, Mich. 

Hocker, Bosley, Kern, and Methner qualified for both national races on the next two weekends.