New Prairie CC Invite To Honor Greats At 50th Running
NEW CARLISLE – Some of the greatest runners in Indiana high school history will gather in New Carlisle on Saturday, Sept. 16.
This year marks the 50th running of the New Prairie Cross Country Invitational, for many years the biggest high school athletic event in the state of Indiana, and one of the largest cross country meets in the nation.
As part of the 50th anniversary celebration, some of the greatest runners in Indiana history will be introduced to the crowd. Each of them competed at the New Prairie Invitational at one time or another, with most winning titles.
The list includes:
Carey Pinkowski, Indiana boys state champion in 1973-1974 and currently the director of the Chicago Marathon. He ran for Hammond High School and won a New Prairie Invitational title in 1974. Pinkowski and teammate Rudy Chapa tied for the state championship in 1974, the only time in Indiana history such a feat occurred.
Celeste (Susnis) Robinson, Indiana’s first national cross country champion. She won the Kinney national title in 1988. (That event is now sponsored by Foot Locker.) Running for Kankakee Valley High School, she was a three-time Indiana state champion from 1987-1989. She also won four New Prairie titles from 1986-1989. She later ran for the University of Tennessee, where she was an All-SEC performer.
Waverly Neer, from Culver Academies, who won both Indiana state and New Prairie Invitational titles in 2010. She was a three-time All-American in college, competing at Columbia University and the University of Oregon. In track, she holds the Indiana state meet record in the 1600-meter run. She also was a national junior champion in the 3,000-meter run.
James Martin, from Carroll (Fort Wayne) High School, the 2010 Invitational champ who clocked the second-fastest time ever on New Prairie’s famed 5,000-meter course (15:19). Ironically, the only boy to ever run faster was LaPorte’s Mike Fout (15:12), and during his freshman year, Martin was runnerup to Fout at the 2007 IHSAA state finals. Martin also won four New Haven semistate individual titles, and finished 12th in the Foot Locker national finals as a senior.
Anna Weber, who never finished better than fourth at New Prairie’s Invitational while running for Michigan City High School. However, following a successful college career at Marquette University, she has blossomed into one of America’s top women’s marathoners. She competed in the 2016 Olympic Trials and is currently in serious training for the 2020 Olympic Trials.
Kevin Higdon, who won a New Prairie Invitational championship in 1976. He finished fifth at the 1976 IHSAA state finals and seventh in 1975 for Michigan City Elston. At Indiana University, he held the school record in the 10,000-meter run for over 20 years, though he is quick to point out that another IU runner actually was faster when the event was only six miles. He later became a two-time National Masters Track Champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while competing in the men’s 35-to-40 age group.
Jordan Chester, who holds the distinction of winning four New Prairie Invitational championships while she was a student at Boone Grove High School, from 2007-2010. She went to Grand Valley State University where she became a four-time NCAA Div. II All-American. She is currently training for the Detroit Marathon. In May of this year, she won the Bayshore Marathon.
Approx. 3,000 runners will trample the grounds around New Prairie High School in nine different races starting at 8:10 a.m. (CDT) on Sept. 16. Admission is $5.
Among the teams slated to compete in the prestigious event are Warsaw, Triton and Tippecanoe Valley.
Honorees will be introduced to the crowd around 9:15 a.m. (CDT), between the Class A and Class AA races.
More history of the New Prairie meet can be found at the Invitational’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NPCCInv/