State champion: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
State runner-up: 2001, 2005, 2006
Podium: 2008 (4)
State finalist: 2007 (10), 2009 (8)
Semistate champion: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Regional champion: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Sectional champion: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Fabe five: Megan Ranegar (2), Jilly Scully (3), Katelyn DeVries (4), Rachael Marchand (4), Amanda Hardesty (5), Lauren Hardesty (5), Danielle Nunnelly (5)
The Vikings finished atop the podium in the first year of the decade and repeated that peformance three other times in the '00s
It wasn’t even close. With four titles and three other runner-up finishes, the Vikings were a runaway winner of the decade’s best team. Valpo split two epic battles with the other dynasty program, Carmel, to kick off the new decade. The Vikes won that initial showdown in 2000 but came up short a year later against a loaded Carmel squad that was ranked second in the country at the time. Following that up, Valpo tore off three straight championships then two second places. In an eight-year span, from 1999 to 2006, Valparaiso finished either first or second at the state finals.
Like the other team to win more than two state championships in this decade (Westfield), the Vikings have established a history of running their best races in the state finals. The epitome of this came in 2006, when Valpo seemingly hibernated for much of the early portions of the fall before going on a late-season tear to finish second to a historically good Westfield team at the state meet.
The Vikings did not have any individual champions in the decade, but the honor roll of All-State finishers at Valparaiso is certainly extensive. Rachael Marchand was a surprise qualifier for Foot Locker Nationals in her senior year and finished as an All-American. Megan Ranegar was second to three-time champion and legend Alex Banfich. Twin sisters Lauren and Amanda Hardesty were always among the state’s best and share six individual medals between them, including three fifth places finishes between them. That torch has now been passed to Katelyn DeVries, daughter of longtime coach Karen DeVries, who finished fourth at the state finals this season.
A school may never again have quite the streak that Valparaiso did with eight straight seasons of rings. It is also strange to think of a three year run of tenth, fourth and eighth place finishes as being disappointing. Such is the bar at Valparaiso, and with those expectations and traditions come the opportunity to build on one of the country’s greatest girls cross country legacies into the next decade.