PORTAGE | Valparaiso's Ben Franklin Middle School won three team

championships outright and tied for first in another Saturday in the

Lake-Porter Conference meet at Portage High School.

BF captured the team titles for seventh and eighth grade girls, eighth

grade boys and tied Crown Point's Colonel Wheeler Middle School for

first in the boys seventh grade standings. Colonel Wheeler won outright

titles in the boys and girls sixth grade competitions.

The Lake-Porter Conference consists of eight middle schools in

Chesterton, Crown Point (Colonel Wheeler and Taft), Hobart, Portage

(Fegely and Willowcreek) and Valparaiso (Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson).

BF's eighth grade girls won 10 of 11 events, led by Katelyn Devries with

three individual titles. First, Devries won the 1,600-meter run in 5:28.

Then, she came back to win the 400 in 1:04.98 before capturing the 800

in 2:31.20.

Also for the BF eighth grade girls, Haley Whipps (75 hurdles, high jump)

and Stephanie Long (100, 200) each won two individual events.

Ryn Collins led the BF eighth grade boys with back-to-back wins in the

1,600 and the 400. Collins edged TJ's Sam Philips, 4:53.5 to 4:54, in

the 1,600 and came from behind to win the 400 in 56.58 over Chad Brooks

of Hobart.

Alex Vasile also won two events for BF, the 100 (11.87) and the 75

hurdles (10.81).

In the seventh grade girls race, BF dominated the field with 142 points.

Andrea Violanti was the only double winner for BF, capturing the 1,600

(5:44.9) and the 400 (1:05.21).

BF's seventh grade boys were led by Andrew Kittridge (first in the 75

hurdles in 11.54) and Zach Steiner, who won the 400 in 1:01.75.

Among the highlights in the sixth grade girls meet, Willowcreek's

Christina Figueroa won the 100 (14.23) and the 200 (30.0) while Fegely's

Keanna Crum won the 1,600 (5:46.9) and the 800 (2:34.2). TJ's Harley

Dubsky threw the shot put 30-1 for the only individual win for the Valpo

schools.

In the sixth grade boys meet, there were no individual double winners.

Porter County individual champs included Fegely's Deve'on Hegwood in the

75 hurdles (13.84), BF's Luke Kovar in the long jump (14-8) and Nate

Cornett in the shot put (37-8.5) and Chesterton's Mitchell Winey in the

high jump (4-6). TJ's Andrew Jankowski set a conference and school

record while winning the 1,600 in 5:16.6.