Here’s something that may be a little hard to believe: Prior to Saturday, the Carmel girls cross country team had not won a regional championship since 2015.
The Greyhounds broke that drought on Saturday at the Noblesville regional, which was run at the Chanquapin Ridge Course at White River Elementary School. Carmel scored 58 points, placing its top six runners in the top 30. Jasmine Klopstad led the Greyhounds with a seventh-place finish. This is the 31st regional trophy for Carmel.
“I thought the girls ran really well,” said Greyhounds coach Andy Dalton. “They did what we asked them to do, which is get out a little quicker than we have been the rest of the season. And the biggest think is, we had our 3, 4, 5 girls really step up today, and that’s going to make the difference in two weeks. That’s key for us.”
The ‘Hounds will lead the top five teams at the regional to next Saturday’s semi-state in Shelbyville. Cathedral finished second, with Brebeuf Jesuit third and Bishop Chatard fourth. Noblesville placed fifth to take the last qualifying spot; Brooke Lahee paced the Millers by finishing 16th.
Four more county runners also got out to the semi-state, as they were the top 10 runners from non-advancing teams. Hamilton Heights’ Maria Mitchell is the first of that group; she finished sixth, the highest-placing individual from the county. Also moving on to semi-state are Guerin Catholic’s Bridget Gallagher and Westfield’s Kyla Curtis and Sophia Brown.
In the boys race, Brebeuf edged out Carmel by one point for the team title, 57-58. The Greyhounds were led by Grant Moon, who finished fourth, and Will Murphy, who placed ninth.
North Central took third, with Noblesville fourth. The Millers had two top five finishers: Travis Hickner, who placed third and was the fastest county runner, and Cole Kimmel, who placed fifth.
Cathedral finished fifth to clinch the last qualifying place. But there will be four additional county runners heading to semi-state as individuals. Westfield’s Kai Connor and Mahamat Djour, and Guerin Catholic’s Austin Callahan and Thomas King.
At Noblesville
BOYS MEET
Team scores: Brebeuf Jesuit 57, Carmel 58, Noblesville 108, North Central 113, Cathedral 139, Westfield 149, Guerin Catholic 149, Lawrence North 206, Bishop Chatard 214, Lebanon 253.
Race winner: Alex Frey (NC) 15:18.
Carmel runners: 4. Grant Moon 15:32, 9. Will Murphy 15:56, 12. Ben Myers 16:02, 16. Hudson Alden 16:05, 23. Austin Throckmorton 16:16, 24. Nick Schuster 16:16, 29. Ben Johnson 16:28.
Noblesville runners: 3. Travis Hickner 15:23, 5. Cole Kimmel 15:37, 28. Jack Taylor 16:27, 39. Evan Campbell 16:41, 45. Luke Shinneman 16:46, 46. Asher Propst 16:48, 58. Billy Gregory 17:05.
Westfield runners: 11. Kai Connor 16:02, 31. Mahamat Djour 16:30, 41. Tyler Smith 16:44, 42. Kyler Koning 16:45, 43. Johnny McClure 16:45, 50. Garrett Mowry 16:51, 56. Joe Barnett 17:00.
Guerin Catholic runners: 17. Austin Callahan 16:05, 19. Thomas King 16:09, 38. Nicholas Schramm 16:41, 44. Matthew Fletcher 16:46, 49. Dominic Stein 16:50, 64. Gavin Morrow 17:12, 66. Ethan Hines 17:17.
Hamilton Heights runners: 73. Price Knowles 17:30, 79. Clayton Forrer 17:44, 84. Preston Miller 17:54.
University runners: 32. Noah Laramore 16:34, 87. Lucca Conti 18:26.
GIRLS MEET
Team scores: Carmel 58, Cathedral 72, Brebeuf Jesuit 86, Bishop Chatard 107, Noblesville 108, Westfield 150, North Central 161, Pike 170, Guerin Catholic 226, Western Boone 241.
Race winner: Madeline Keller (BJ) 17:50.
Carmel runners: 7. Jasmine Klopstad 18:25, 11. Brooke Waldal 18:36, 15. Brooklynn Edwards 18:47, 17. Alivia Romaniuk 18:52, 21. Jamie Klavon 19:05, 27. Emily Hand 19:16, 61. Lily McAndrews 20:29.
Noblesville runners: 16. Brooke Lahee 18:51, 19. Madison King 19:01, 25. Sophie Reichard 19:12, 31. Paige Hazelrigg 19:22, 32. Bella Sharples-Gordon 19:23, 55. Sophie Stahl 20:02, 56. Anna Hazelrigg 20:09.
Westfield runners: 22. Kyla Curtis 19:09, 26. Sophia Brown 19:12, 38. Sydney Clifford 19:31, 39. Sophie Porter 19:37, 41. Sydney Klinglesmith 19:39, 46. Bea Perez 19:48, 58. Julia Clark 20:17.
Guerin Catholic runners: 12. Bridget Gallagher 18:38, 59. Sophia Woods 20:24, 62. Rosie Barrett 20:34, 63. Raegan Bohbrink 20:36, 65. Joelle Klavon 20:43, 66. Allison Wozniak 20:46, 72. Emma Hubbard 21:09.
Hamilton Heights runners: 6. Maria Mitchell 18:15, 74. Chloe Henderson 21:18, 78. Morgan Guthrie 21:41, 83. Madison Dotlich 22:13.
University runners: 82. Charlotte Kumler 22:07, 85. Jada Swearingen 22:42.
Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern finished 1-2 in both the boys and the girls races at the Delta regional on Saturday.
The Tigers boys team had an outstanding day, scoring 27 points to easily defend the team trophy, its fourth overall. Fishers had five runners in the top 10: Drew Smith (third), Matthew Leppert (fourth), Will Clark (fifth), Jaylen Castillo (sixth) and Tate Meaux (ninth).
The Royals scored 74 points. Will Marquardt paced Southeastern by taking seventh.
In the girls race, Fishers scored 30 points to also defend its regional title. Four Tigers runners landed in the top 10: Hannah Sale (third), Abigail Carter (fourth), Laura Masoni (sixth) and Corinne Yorkman (ninth).
The Royals scored 69 points to take second, but had the race winner. Halle Hill finished the course in 18:30.1.
Fishers and Southeastern will race in the New Haven semi-state next Saturday at Purdue Fort Wayne.
At Delta
BOYS MEET
Team scores: Fishers 27, Hamilton Southeastern 74, Pendleton Heights 104, Frankton 129, Wapahani 139, Yorktown 154, Monroe Central 179, Delta 193, Muncie Central 195, Lapel 197.
Race winner: Luke Combs (L) 15:43.7.
Fishers runners: 3. Drew Smith 16:24.6, 4. Matthew Leppert 16:26.5, 5. Will Clark 16:31.5, 6. Jaylen Castillo 16:35.1, 9. Tate Meaux 17:02.2, 14. Max McCollum 17:20.5, 18. Jonathon Roth 17:32.7.
Southeastern runners: 7. Will Marquardt 16:41.1, 13. Elliott Robinson 17:19.7, 17. AJ Brisben 17:37.2, 21. Max Anderson 17:37.2, 22. Connor Sarkovics 17:38.1, 48. Jake Struss 18:40.6.
GIRLS MEET
Team scores: Fishers 30, Hamilton Southeastern 69, Pendleton Heights 82, Yorktown 12, Delta 147, Cowan 186, Alexandria 202, Jay County 205, Frankton 209, Muncie Central 210.
Race winner: Halle Hill (HSE) 18:30.1.
Fishers runners: 3. Hannah Sale 19:44.1, 4. Abigail Carter 19:49.4, 6. Laura Masoni 20:01.9, 9. Corinne Yorkman 20:09.0, 13. Megan Mybeck 20:35.0, 15. Brynn Urban 20:37.5, 27. Emma Gillespie 21:15.8.
Other Southeastern runners: 12. Jacqueline Hurlock 20:33.4, 19. Grace Newton 20:47.5, 20. Ellie Johnson 20:53.9, 25. Olivia Lind 21:07.9, 29. Jehnea Mirro 21:19.4, 54. Gabby Hiffer 22:50.4.
The Carmel girls cross country team won the Noblesville regional on Saturday, its first regional title since 2015. (Kent Graham)
The Fishers cross country team got another sweep on Saturday, as both the boys and the girls teams won the regional at Delta. (Photo provided)