TERRE HAUTE | Three years ago, Dana Payonk was a wide-eyed freshman who didn't even expect to make Lake Central's cross country state finals roster, let alone run in the meet.
The Indians' senior capped a stellar career with a runner-up finish Saturday at the Lavern Gibson Championship Course.
"Sure, I'm disappointed not getting first, but I'm happy," Payonk said. "It was a painful race. The mud was bad. I was happy I didn't fall back like I have in the past."
Payonk was the top returning finisher from last year, but that didn't account for Tapring Goatee. The Terre Haute North freshman phenom separated herself from an early duel with Payonk to win in 19:07.9. Payonk followed in 19:15.8.
"She would've beaten me, no matter the course conditions," Payonk said. "You look at her, you can tell she's a runner. She raced at Culver (Academy) but was coming off an injury. I've been watching her since that time. It's tough to run this course as a freshman. She ran a smart race."
The Duneland Athletic Conference claimed three of the top four spots, with Crown Point's Laicee Pierce (19:33.2) and Valparaiso's Katleyn DeVries (19:36.6) following Payonk across the line.
"After a while, I was like, 'wait, where are all the other girls?' All I could see was Dana and she was too far up," Pierce said. "I felt good and I just kept going. The big difference was I didn't freak out at the beginning. I knew what I wanted and I stayed confident in myself. You train all year for this moment, why let it all go to waste?"
Pierce paced the Bulldogs to an area best sixth-place finish, one spot out of the medals. They were 20 points behind Carroll (Fort Wayne) with 206.
Eighth or ninth much of the race, DeVries was sixth when she hit the final straightaway, and picked off a couple runners in the straightaway.
"I was hoping for top 10, so it's exciting," DeVries said. "I wasn't as nervous as I normally am. Near the end, I just felt myself moving up. I did a lot better than I thought I would."
"She ran a fantastic, smart race," coach and mom Karen DeVries said. "She had her race strategy down and she stuck to it. I'm so happy for her. She's come a long way since last year."
Boone Grove's Jordan Chester squeaked out her second medal, finishing 14th in a crowd at 19:52.2.
"I don't think I've ever run in anything so messy," Chester said. "The course was really sloppy. My legs were really tight at the beginning. Last year, I stuck with (Wheeler's) Christina Blair the whole race. I was kind of on my own (this time). All I wanted to do was get a medal again. I would've even been happy with top 25."
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY | STATE FINALS
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Chesterton's boys finish second overall, L.C. 23rd. PAGE B3
