Scouting the New Prairie Cross Country Semistate

When: Today, 10:30 a.m. (boys), 11 a.m. (girls).

Where: New Prairie High School.

Advancement: The top six teams and top 15 individuals advance to the state finals Oct. 29 in Terre Haute.

Participating teams: (Boys) Andrean, Chesterton, Crown Point, Culver Academies, Harrison (West Lafayette), Hobart, Lake Central, LaPorte, Logansport, Lowell, McCutcheon, New Prairie, Northfield, Oak Hill, Portage, Rochester, Rossville, Twin Lakes, Valparaiso, West Lafayette.

(Girls) Andrean, Chesterton, Crown Point, Culver Academies, Eastern, Harrison (West Lafayette), Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Lake Central, McCutcheon, Munster, New Prairie, Northfield, Plymouth, Portage, Rochester, Seeger, Tri-County, Valparaiso, West Lafayette.

Favorites: Valparaiso boys, West Lafayette girls.

Darkhorses: West Lafayette boys, Valparaiso girls.

Individuals to watch: (Boys) Andrean -- Patrick Musgrave, Blaine Wolf; Chesterton -- Tyler Rusboldt, Austin Palombizio; Crown Point -- Daniel Walters, Alex Ray, Tom Cierniak; Culver Academy -- Leopoldo Burguete; Hebron -- Jasen Egolf; Hobart -- Brent Dunn, John Petroskey; Highland -- Jake Baranowski; Lake Central -- Nick Lopacki; LaPorte -- Mitch Hubner, Dakota Dubbs; Lowell -- Kyle Eller, Jeffrey Potat, Cole Bushore; Morgan Township -- Alec Kostelnik; Munster -- Tom Bolanowski; New Prairie -- Nikolas Arndt, Ian Silver; Portage -- Anthony Best; Rensselaer -- Trent Nagel; Valparaiso -- Ari Coulopoulos, Peyton Reed, Pat Dalton, Landon Davison; West Lafayette -- Andrew Cartwright; Wheeler -- Kyle Nurse.

(Girls) Andrean -- Becca Conley; Calumet -- Andrea DeGard; Chesterton -- Melanie Buckmaster, Haley Cushway; Crown Point -- Lauren McCarroll, Lyndie Pierce, Allison Wortel; Eastern -- Bethany Neeley, Brittany Neeley; Griffith -- Taylor Austin; Hobart -- Celena Guerrero; Lake Central -- Shelby Carroll, Megan Zajac, Tatiana Lazic, Amanda Onest, Tara Zlotkowski; LaPorte -- Elena Lancioni; Lowell -- Sarah Weiser; Merrillville -- Kara Phillips; Michigan City -- Christine Brennan; Morgan Township -- Ellen Turman; Munster -- Colleen Ogren; New Prairie -- Mary McBride, Rachel Thompson; Portage -- Paige Pizer, Megan Cassidy, Terra Norman; Valparaiso -- Katelyn DeVries, Alison Mundell, Tiffany Fortney, Lauren Bigger; West Lafayette -- Bobbie Burgess; Wheeler -- Kelly O'Shea.

Fast facts: Valparaiso's boys and girls are the defending team champions. Ahmad Aljobeh (Valparaiso, third) and Lancioni (fourth) are the top returning individuals.

-- Jim Peters