For the first time in over a decade, the Fishers boys cross country team is a semi-state champion.
The Tigers dominated the field at the New Haven semi-state, which took place Saturday at The Plex at Purdue Fort Wayne. Fishers scored 63 points, well ahead of runner-up Concordia Lutheran’s 148. The Tigers also earned the first of six qualifying spots for next Saturday’s state meet at Terre Haute.
Fishers had its top three runners all finished in the top 11. Ethan Meyer led the Tigers by taking fourth, followed by Drew Smith’s 10th-place finish, and Alex Meyer’s 11th-place result.
In the team scoring, Ethan Meyer scored two points, with Smith scoring eight and Alex Meyer nine. While Concordia Lutheran had two runners finish in the top five (scoring one and three points), the Tigers had its top six runners place in the top 34, and all of them finished before Concordia Lutheran’s third runner did, thus clinching the title early.
The semi-state title is the second for Fishers. The Tigers’ first semi-state came in 2007, the same year they won the state championship. Fishers will be making its fifth consecutive state appearance and eight overall.
Hamilton Southeastern also qualified for the state meet, finishing in fifth place with 165 points. Grant Wilson led the Royals by taking 27th. Southeastern will participate in its 13th state finals next weekend at Terre Haute’s LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.
In the girls meet, HSE placed second with 98 points, while Fishers was third with 117; both schools advance to state. Fort Wayne Carroll dominated the meet, scoring 44 points to take the championship.
The Royals’ Lulu Black finished in third place to led her team, while freshman Vera Schafer took 13th to lead the Tigers. Southeastern qualified for its seventh state meet, while Fishers made it to state for the fifth time.
At the Shelbyville semi-state, three teams and three individuals qualified for state after their performances at Blue River Park.
In the girls meet, Carmel placed third and Noblesville finished fourth, thus sending their teams to Terre Haute. Zionsville won a close meet by scoring 76 points to Brebeuf Jesuit’s 82. The Greyhounds scored 95 points and the Millers totaled 141.
Phoebe Bates was back for Carmel, and she cruised to a runner-up finish in a time of 17:43.4. The race winner was Greencastle’s Emma Wilson, the defending state champion, who clocked in at 17:31.0. Wilson and Bates were the only girls runners to break 18 minutes at the meet.
Noblesville was led by Madison King, who placed 24th. Meanwhile, Hamilton Heights’ Maria Mitchell qualified for state as an individual; she took ninth place. The top 10 individuals not on an advancing team also earn a ticket to Terre Haute.
The Greyhound girls continued their remarkable streak of qualifying for state to 38 years – Carmel has participated in every state meet since the IHSAA began the tournament in 1981. The Millers will make their ninth appearance at state.
In the boys meet, Carmel finished a close second to Cathedral, with the Irish scoring 78 points and the Greyhounds’ 90. Carmel extended its record state qualifying streak to 43, and its 45th state appearance overall. Patrick Campbell led the ‘Hounds by placing 10th.
Noblesville finished seventh, just missing a state qualifying spot by five points. The Millers will have an individual at state, as Travis Hickner placed sixth, easily earning one of the 10 individual places.
Westfield finished 12th as a team, with Mahamat Djour leading the Shamrocks by taking 57th.
Guerin Catholic’s Quinn Gallagher qualified as an individual, placing fifth. Gallagher was the highest-finishing Hamilton County runner at Shelbyville and will return to state for a third consecutive year.
AT NEW HAVEN
GIRLS RACE
Team scores: Fort Wayne Carroll 44, Hamilton Southeastern 98, Fishers 117, Bishop Dwenger 123, Homestead 150, Penn 184, Mishawaka 268, Concordia Lutheran 271, Pendleton Heights 297, Norwell 310, Elkhart Memorial 310, Bishop Luers 336, Elkhart Central 337, Leo 351, Oak Hill 354, Northridge 418, Delta 447, South Adams 447, Yorktown 497, Huntington North 520.
Race winner: Meagan Hathaway (Carroll) 18:04.0.
Southeastern runners: 3. Lulu Black 18:28.6, 18. Lilly Cummins 19:12.6, 26. Halle Hill 19:38.4, 28. Maddie Mirro 19:40.8, 35. Lilly Patrick 19:52.6, 42. Ellie Pedersen 20:02.9, 100. Brooke Ratliff 21:14.6.
Fishers runners: 13. Vera Schafer 19:02.5, 22. Abigail Carter 19:26.9, 25. Miya Wai 19:38.1, 34. Debbie Shera 19:51.4, 38, Teresa Kraft 19:57.5, 38. Elizabeth Barrett 19:57.5, 76. Emma Gillespie 20:50.3.
BOYS RACE
Team scores: Fishers 63, Concordia Lutheran 148, Homestead 153, Westview 155, Hamilton Southeastern 165, West Noble 169, Fort Wayne Carroll 183, Wabash 191, Penn 256, Goshen 262, Pendleton Heights 267, Bellmont 275, South Bend Riley 321, Huntington North 368, Oak Hill 383, Elkhart Memorial 400, Elkhart Central 420, New Haven 432, Lapel 507, Frankton 594.
Race winner: Jesse Hamlin (Fort Wayne Snider) 15:29.4.
Fishers runners: 4. Ethan Meyer 15:51.6, 10. Drew Smith 16:09.8, 11. Alex Meyer 16:11.0, 31. Quintin Goldman 16:40.1, 33. Max McCollum 16:40.8, 34. Thomas Brelage 16:42.6, 123. Jared Halamka 17:48.4.
Southeastern runners: 27. Grant Wilson 16:37.3, 37. Jacob Wiggers 16:46.6, 38. Eric Swinson 16:47.1, 61. Eric Carothers 17:03.1, 73. Nolan Satterfield 17:08.7, 98. James Rathbun 17:24.1.
AT SHELBYVILLE
GIRLS MEET
Team scores: Zionsville 76, Brebeuf Jesuit 82, Carmel 95, Noblesville 141, Pike 165, Franklin Central 168, New Palestine 186, Cardinal Ritter 186, Cathedral 196, Brownsburg 233, Center Grove 339, Avon 344, Batesville 365, Greensburg 374, Franklin Community 410, Roncalli 462, Southport 481, Whiteland 521, Rushville 531, Mount Vernon 555.
Race winner: Emma Wilson (Greencastle) 17:31.0.
Carmel runners: 2. Phoebe Bates 17:43.4, 13. Jamie Klavon 18:44.1, 28. Lindsey Roper 18:58.2, 32. Abby Parker 19:13.2, 35. Brooke Waldal 19:22.2, 38. Lily McAndrews 19:30.4, 54. Roni Ledezma 19:55.4.
Noblesville runners: 24. Madison King 18:54.3, 29. Sophie Reichard 19:05.8, 33. Isabella Sharples-Gordon 19:21.5, 34. Aubrey Swart 19:21.9, 45. Aubrie Deal 19:37.4, 53. Taylor Gregory 19:52.7, 64. Sophie Stahl 20:11.2.
Guerin Catholic runners: 19. Elizabeth Schroeder 18:52.4, 84. Elizabeth Museck 20:31.3.
Hamilton Heights runner: 9. Maria Mitchell 18:33.1.
Westfield runner: 72. Christyann Delahunty 20:17.1.
BOYS RACE
Team scores: Cathedral 78, Carmel 90, Zionsville 102, Avon 159, Franklin Community 159, North Central 174, Noblesville 179, Brownsburg 182, Ben Davis 293, New Palestine 318, Cardinal Ritter 321, Westfield 328, Franklin Central 344, Center Grove 364, Roncalli 384, Greenfield-Central 395, Warren Central 409, Whiteland 410, Batesville 510, Mooresville 585.
Race winner: Cole Hocker (Cathedral) 15:05.2.
Carmel runners: 10. Patrick Campbell 15:59.8, 17. Calvin Bates 16:06.0, 19. Grant Moon 16:07.3, 26. Will Murphy 16:21.4, 43. Cameron Harless 16:38.5, 55. Thomas Gastineau 16:46.0, 56. Ben Myers 16:46.0.
Noblesville runners: 6. Travis Hickner 15:57.6, 40. Billy Gregory 16:36.1, 42. Justin Amburgy 16:37.0, 49. Cole Kimmel 16:44.0, 78. Nick Dombroski 17:02.4, 122. Kolby Kazmierski 17:38.9, 134. Seth Koszyk 17:52.6.
Westfield runners: 57. Mahamat Djour 16:49.3, 58. Samuel Novak 16:49.4, 93. Maxwell Gutwein 17:18.2, 96. Kai Connor 17:20.6, 110. Kyler Koning 17:26.5, 125. Joseph Barnett 17:42.6, 148. Noah Douthit 18:10.0.
Guerin Catholic runners: 5. Quinn Gallagher 15:57.3, 45. Joseph Barrett 16:39.9.
The Fishers boys cross country team easily won the New Haven semi-state Saturday, scoring 63 points. It’s the first semi-state title for the Tigers since 2007 and second overall. (Photo provided)
Carmel’s Phoebe Bates finished second in the girls race at the Shelbyville semi-state on Saturday. Bates led the Greyhounds to a third-place finish and another trip to the state meet. (Kent Graham)