The REPORTER
Hamilton County’s boys cross country teams look ready to have another strong season, and the Millers could be leading the way.
Noblesville is ranked No. 2 in IndianaRunner.com’s pre-season list of top 50 boys teams. The only team ahead of the Millers is Bloomington North, which won the state championship last season at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The Cougars scored 105 points to win state, while Noblesville was the runner-up, scoring 115 points.
The Millers have two All-State runners returning. Senior John Libs placed seventh, making him the fastest returning runner from the county. Fishers’ Sam Quagliaroli won state last year, he has graduated and is now running for Indiana University.
Noblesville’s second All-State runner is junior Banner Barnes, who placed 23rd at state. The Millers are still a relatively young team: Sophomore Isaiah Vohs is back after placing a respectable 46th at state last season as a freshman. Seniors Cooper Click and Noah Melton also represented Noblesville at Terre Haute.
Five county teams made the Indiana Runner rankings. Carmel is also rated in the top five, coming in at No. 4. The Greyhounds finished eighth at state last year but have a handful of returning runners.
Junior Jonah Kaul is Carmel’s fastest returner; he placed 29th at state last season. Seniors Carter Buhr and Zach Flint also placed in the top 100 at state, while senior Deklin Bowser is another returning runner for the Hounds.
Hamilton Southeastern is ranked ninth on the IR.com list. The Royals placed 10th at state last season and bring back an All-State runner, senior Liam Powers, who placed 14th at state last year. Junior Isaac Smith and senior Riley Schamp also both ran at state last season for Southeastern.
Fishers is rated 10th on Indiana Runner’s rankings. The Tigers made the podium last year with a fifth-place finish.
While replacing Quagliaroli is difficult, Fishers does have another All-State runner back: Senior Nate Thomas placed 20th at Terre Haute last season. Junior Reece Torres also ran at state last year.
Westfield is ranked 24th on the pre-season list. The Shamrocks placed sixth last year at the Shelbyville regional, just missing a spot at state. Westfield advanced one individual, now-graduated Ty Conner, who placed 67th.
The Shamrocks have four runners coming back from that regional team. Seniors Owen Dilley and Caleb Haney are joined by juniors Nathan McKeever and Luke Moulder.