TERRE HAUTE —
Hopes will be high for the cross country teams of Vigo County’s two largest high schools when the Brown County Semistate takes place Saturday in Nashville, Ind.
Terre Haute North’s girls, ranked seventh in the latest Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches (IATCCC) poll and team champions of the Bedford North Lawrence Regional last Saturday, and Terre Haute South’s boys, ranked ninth in the IATCCC poll and also regional champs at BNL, appear to have decent chances of emerging victorious.
Both squads will face stiff competition, however.
In the girls race, which starts at 10:30 a.m., No. 4-ranked Columbus North is considered a slight favorite to win over the Patriots.
“I think we’re ready,” Terre Haute North girls coach Mike Dason told the Tribune-Star this week. “I don’t think we’ll be 100 percent yet. Obviously, the focus is on doing our best a week later [in the state finals Oct. 27 at LaVern Gibson Championship Course]. I think the semistate will be a competitive race between us and Columbus North.
“Our girls have been very determined in practice this week. They’ve been really focused because they know cross country will be ending in about a week and a half.”
In the boys race, which starts at 11:15, No. 7-ranked Columbus North and No. 8 Bloomington South should give the Braves a run for their money.
“The regional went really well,” South boys coach Kyle Walsh assessed. “Getting the win there, that was the first one for South since 1986. We want to use that as momentum going into the semistate.”
The Braves are led by junior Jackson Bertoli, who placed first in the BNL Regional.
“Jackson has looked as strong as ever this week,” Walsh mentioned. “He’s itching to give an all-out effort. He’ll get that chance Saturday against Connor Sorrells [of Barr-Reeve].”
Walsh said Sorrells won his Blue Chip Conference championship in 14 minutes, 58 seconds, making him the only boy in the state who has gone below 15 minutes this season. Bertoli’s best time so far has been 15:24.
Meanwhile, the top girl from the Wabash Valley in 2012 has been North senior Chanli Mundy, who came in second at Bedford North Lawrence. She trailed winner Alex Warzyniak, a junior from Bloomington South, by about 18 seconds.
“We’ll probably have four girls in this semistate [including Mundy and Warzyniak] who are ranked in the top 15 in the state,” Dason pointed out. “Everybody on our team, including Chanli, loves that course. So we’re expecting fast times from all of our girls.”
The North girls are defending semistate champions and they’ll have all seven of their top runners available Saturday. Dason insisted that senior Katie Loebker and junior Mallory Sanders, both nursing minor injuries of late, will be returning to action.
Also entered in the semistate are South’s girls (third in the regional) and North’s boys (fifth in the regional).
“The top three spots [in the team competition] are pretty secure [with Columbus North, Terre Haute North and Bloomington South],” Terre Haute South girls coach Ed Jarvis admitted. “The next few spots are up for grabs. I think we’re the fourth-best team, but nobody [on the Braves] can have a bad day.”
Jarvis said junior standout Nikki Thiede — slowed by a lingering foot injury all season — will run Saturday. She placed 12th in the regional.
From the North boys perspective, coach Tom Dever acknowledged that his team could realistically finish “anywhere from fifth to eighth or ninth.”
Only the top six teams and top 15 individuals in each race will qualify for the state finals.
“Four of our guys had the best race of their careers [in the regional],” he emphasized. “For us to advance to state, we’ll need to keep running really well.”
Individually, Northview junior Nic Yocom, a sixth-place finisher in the BNL Regional, will be part of the boys field Saturday.
Shakamak senior Savannah Turner and Bloomfield freshman Alli Workman will represent their schools in the girls race.
Brown County’s 5-kilometer course, located near the state park, was described by more than one coach as “flat with no sharp turns.”
IHSAA cross country semistates
Saturday
At Brown County, course located near state park
Times — 10:30 a.m. for girls and 11:15 for boys.
Feeder regionals — Bedford North Lawrence, Brown County, Crawford County, Pike Central.
Wabash Valley competitors — Girls: Terre Haute North team (led by senior Chanli Mundy, who finished second in the BNL Regional), Terre Haute South team (led by junior Nikki Thiede, who finished 12th in the BNL Regional), Shakamak senior Savannah Turner and Bloomfield freshman Alli Workman.
Boys: Terre Haute South team (led by junior Jackson Bertoli, who finished first in the BNL Regional), Terre Haute North team (led by senior Justin Clapp, who finished 12th in the BNL Regional) and Northview junior Nic Yocom.
Advancement — The top 15 individuals and top six teams in each race will advance to the state finals Oct. 27 at Terre Haute’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Admission — Free.
At Carmel
Time — 10:30 a.m.
Feeder regionals — Ben Davis, Brebeuf Jesuit, Greensburg, Rushville.
Wabash Valley competitors — Girls: Greencastle team (led by senior Colleen Weatherford, who finished second in the Ben Davis Regional) and Cloverdale senior Claudia Monnett. Boys: South Putnam junior Hunter Barr.
Advancement — The top 15 individuals and top six teams in each race will advance to the state finals Oct. 27 at Terre Haute’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
Admission — Free.
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