The REPORTER
Could there be repeat performances for last year’s IHSAA cross country state champions.
The Carmel boys and the Noblesville girls are certainly hoping so. The two defending title holders are the pre-season picks for No. 1 in their respective genders on indianarunner.com, the venerable website that covers all things cross country in Indiana.
The Greyhounds ran the table in the 2022 boys’ post-season, winning championships at all four levels of the tournament, including a close finish to Zionsville at state. Carmel won with 103 points, edging out the Eagles, who scored 106 points.
The ‘Hounds were led by their front-runner, individual champion Kole Mathison, who is now graduated and soon to begin his college career at the University of Colorado. But Carmel has Tony Provenzano, the top returner from the 2024 class.
Provenzano finished second at last year’s state cross country meet in a time of 15:11.2 and was also the runner-up in the 3200 run at state this past spring, finishing behind Mathison in both races. Carmel was senior-heavy in 2022, but does have two returning state runners, both seniors. Thomas Biltimier finished 56th at state in 2022, while Jack Capes, placed 61st.
Running by committee
Meanwhile, the Millers girls have five returning runners from last year’s state squad. Indianarunner.com said that while Noblesville doesn’t have “one absolute star,” the Millers can “employ a frontrunning-by-committee approach.”
Noblesville scored 122 points to win the state title, a comfortable distance ahead of runner-up Columbus North’s 153. The Millers had six runners finish in the top 45, and all of them scored between 19 and 29 team points, which helped close the title chase early.
The top returner is senior Kennedy Applegate (34th), followed by three Millers in a row: seniors Nadia Perez (43rd) and Summer Rempe (44th) and freshman Ansley Applegate (45th). Junior Brinkley Cooper also competed at state, and IR noted that junior Riley Flynn placed 40th at the Shelbyville semi-state.
So who are the top challengers for Carmel and Noblesville? As it turns out, IR says it’s: Noblesville and Carmel. The website ranks the Millers boys and the Greyhounds girls as the No. 2 teams in its preview.
Noblesville placed fifth at the state meet last year, scoring 166 points. The Millers will have to fill big shoes with the graduation of Asher Propst, who placed sixth last year and earned All-State honors.
But Noblesville returns another All-State runner in senor Caden Click. He placed 14th at the state meet and was a top 10 finisher at the semi-state. The Millers have five state runners back, including three top 100 placers: Juniors Jack Strong and Ronnie Neal and senior Sam Rinker. Senior Alec Moor also returns.
Carmel’s girls team will be helped by the fact that six of their state runners are back for another year after leading the Greyhounds to a third-place finish. The top five all placed in the top 80, led by junior Olivia Mundt’s 46th-place result. Sophomore Sadie Foley, junior Charlotte Konow and seniors Audrey Ricketts and Kara Wenzler are in that group as well, and senior Emersyn Weaver also has state experience.
Fourth-ranked teams
The Fishers boys team is ranked No. 4 in the IR pre-season list. The Tigers have a returning All-State runner in Sam Quagliaroli, now a junior. Quagliaroli finished 18th in the state last season as a sophomore.
One other Fishers state runner is back: Senior Matthew Kim, who placed 52nd last year. Indiana Runner also highlighted two more juniors who ran in the semi-state: Bryson Slagle and Parker Melling.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Southeastern’s girls team is also rated No. 4 in the pre-season. The Royals finished 11th at state last season. Southeastern only had six runners at state, but one of them made all-state: Maggie Powers, now a senior, finished 16th last year.
The Royals have four other returning runners from the previous season, and all are juniors: Elizabeth Butler, Catherine Campbell, Ciara Kepner and Anaya Lammie. Senior Addisy Smith and junior Ava Powers ran in the semi-state.
Other ranked teams
Westfield’s girls team is rated 12th in the pre-season rankings. The Shamrocks finished sixth at last year’s Noblesville regional, just missing a place in the semi-state. Westfield did have three runners go to semi-state as individuals, led by senior Liz Smith. She placed 29th, just shy of making it to state.
Indiana runner noted four other runners back from the regional round, and that list trends young. Senior Galiena Colon is first, followed by sophomore Gianna Ferreri and juniors Emily Loiselle and Angelina Abriani.
The Hamilton Southeastern boys team is No. 13 on the pre-season list. The Royals finished 22nd in the state in 2022, and have five of those runners returning for the 2023 season.
Junior Tate Wilson is the top returner, followed by seniors Ian Ross and Andrew Smith, junior Nicolas Vega and sophomore Liam Powers. IR also noted senior Matthew Hemmerling, who ran in the semi-state for Southeastern.
Guerin Catholic’s girls team is ranked 15th on IR’s list. The Golden Eagles had a fine 2022 season, placing 11th in the state, and they return many of those runners after graduating sixth-place finisher and Mental Attitude Award winner Bridget Gallagher.
The top returner is Bailey Freese, a senior who placed 59th at state last season. Four more runners are back as well: Seniors Claire Milam and Grace Boivin and sophomores Katie Kolb and Keira Hines.
Meanwhile, Guerin Catholic’s boys team is 32nd on the pre-season list. Junior Luke Moster is the top returning Golden Eagles runner. Although the team placed sixth at the Noblesville regional, Moster and now-graduated Ethan Hines made their way to state as individuals. IR said that Moster has “sky-high potential.” Other regional returners are seniors Johnny King and Maxwell Fish and sophomore Hunter Kinzle-Gorman.
The Westfield boys are pre-season No. 37. The Shamrocks made their way to semi-state before placing 10th. Two runners are back for the team from the semi-state roster: Senior Jack Loiselle and junior Owen Mohler.
Fishers’ girls are ranked 43rd in the pre-season list. The Tigers placed ninth in the semi-state, but after listing all six of their returning runners, Indiana Runner said Fishers “has a good foundation to be competitive.” Those runners back for another year are seniors Addison Kane and Katelyn Thomas, juniors Emma Schwertfeger, Mia Schiesser and Isabella Murch and sophomore Abby Lotter.
First meets
The Carmel girls and Westfield boys open their seasons Saturday at the Valley Cross Kickoff, which takes place in Terre Haute at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, the site of the state finals. The next meet for the Shamrocks’ boys will be the Aug. 19 Plainfield Invitational, which is also where the Westfield girls begin their season.
The Carmel girls will compete Aug. 19 at the John Cleland Invitational at Northview Church, which will also serve as the Greyhounds boys opener. Guerin Catholic’s teams open their season at the John Cleland Invitational, as will the Noblesville girls and both University teams.
Southeastern opens Saturday with its Southeastern Hokum Karem. Noblesville boys begin with a junior varsity meet with Zionsville at White River Elementary’s Chinquapin Ridge Course on Saturday. The Millers’ first varsity meet is Aug. 19 at the Huntington North Invitational.
Both Fishers teams start at the 4-Way 4K at Brownsburg on Aug. 19. Hamilton Heights begins its season Aug, 19 at the Logansport Invitational. Sheridan opens Aug. 26 at the Hamilton County Meet, which takes place at Chinquapin Ridge.