Cross country state championships: Carmel girls win 20th title, Fishers’ Quagliaroli victorious in boys race

The REPORTER

The Carmel girls cross country team is back on top.

The Greyhounds claimed their first state championship since 2020 last Saturday at the IHSAA state finals at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Carmel scored 76 points, just ahead of runner-up Concordia Lutheran’s 92 points.

The ‘Hounds had three runners place in the top 25, earning each of them All State honors. Larkin Taylor led the way with a 10^th-place finish, followed by Sadie Foley in 12^th and Annabel Pollert in 15^th.

In the team placement, Taylor scored five points, Foley scored six and Pollert scored 11 points, helping to keep Carmel’s score low. Concordia had two top 10 runners, including race winner Mallory Weller, but the Greyhounds’ third through fifth runners all finished well ahead of their Cadets counterparts.

Carmel won its 20^th state championship in girls cross country, extending its state record.

Lake Central placed third with 156 points, followed by defending state champion Homestead, which took fourth with 177 points. Noblesville finished fifth as a team, scoring 244 points to make the podium and get its sixth top-five finish in school history.

Riley Flynn paced the Millers with a 35^th-place result, while Ansley Applegate finished 46^th.

Hamilton Southeastern placed 15^th as a team by scoring 353 points. Elizabeth Butler led the Royals by taking 28^th place. Westfield totaled 369 points to finish 16^th as a team. Alivia Lozier had an outstanding meet, placing 16^th individually to earn All State honors.

Quagliaroli wins boys race

The boys meet saw Noblesville finish as team runner-up for the second time in school history, while Fishers made the podium again thanks to an all-time great performance from senior Sam Quagliaroli.

The Millers scored 115 points, just edged out by team champion Bloomington North’s 106 points. It was the first time the Cougars had won a boys cross country state title since 1980.

Noblesville also broke a trophy drought: the Millers were the state runners-up in 2010. Noblesville was led junior John Libs, who placed seventh, and sophomore Banner Barnes, who finished 23^rd. Both received All State honors.

Brownsburg finished third with 172 points, followed by Northridge in fourth place (181 points) and Fishers in fifth (198 points), giving the Hoosier Crossroads Conference three teams in the top five.

Quagliaroli led the Tigers and everyone else in the race. He won the individual state championship with a time of 14 minutes, 46.9 seconds, which is the third fastest time ever run by an Indiana boys runner at the state meet. Quagliaroli is the second Fishers runner to win a state championship; Drew Shields was the first back in 2008.

In addition to his state title and All State honors, Quagliaroli won the Charles F. Maas Mental Attitude Award. Quagliaroli, who holds a 4.6 grade-point average and will graduate summa cum laude in the spring, is committed to Indiana University, where he will study finance and run for the Hoosiers.

Nate Thomas placed 20^th for the Tigers, also earning All State honors.

Carmel finished eighth as a team with 272 points; Jonah Kaul led the Greyhounds with a 29^th-place finish. Hamilton Southeastern took 10^th by scoring 301 points; Liam Powers finished 14^th, earning All State honors.

Guerin Catholic’s Luke Moster also earned a place on the All State team, as he finished 17^th at state.

GIRLS MEET

Team scores (top five and all county): 1. Carmel 76, 2. Concordia Lutheran 92, 3. Lake Central 156, 4. Homestead 177, 5. Noblesville 244, 15. Hamilton Southeastern 353, 16. Westfield 369.

Race winner: Mallory Weller (Concordia Lutheran) 17:12.2.

Carmel runners: 10. Larkin Taylor 18:01.8, 12. Sadie Foley 18:03.7, 17. Annabel Pollert 18:08.0, 37. Margo Halle 18:42.0, 50. Ella Gaddis 18:50.8, 71. Olivia Mundt 19:01.4, 139. Katy Dascoli 19:51.5.

Noblesville runners: 35. Riley Flynn 18:40.6, 46. Ansley Applegate 18:48.8, 62. Jayde Stamm 18:57.2, 79. Brinkley Cooper 19:04.4, 166. Lexi Miller 20:03.7, 173. Kate Mumaw 20:10.1, 208. Ella Wirkner 20:42.7.

Southeastern runners: 28. Elizabeth Butler 18:31.2, 48. Catherine Campbell 18:50.0, 112. Ciara Kepner 19:35.3, 184. Raegan Hissong 20:16.3, 191. Addison Smith 20:20.3, 193. Ava Powers 20:20.7, 218. Anaya Lammie 20:55.3.

Westfield runners: 16. Alivia Lozier 18:07.9, 107. Mackenna Condon 19:31.0, 130. Gianna Ferreri 19:46.8, 160. Sam Foster 20:01.2, 177. Jordyn Landrum 20:14.1, 189. Emily Loiselle 20:19.1, 202. Carly Davis 20:33.2

Fishers runners: 52. Caitlin Hawkins 18:52.57, 58. Bella Murch 18:54.8.

Hamilton Heights runners: 91. Allie Bushey 19:14.4, 127. Anna Monnin 19:45.4.

Guerin Catholic runner: 215. Taylor Tragesser 20:53.5.

BOYS MEET

Team scores (top five and all county): 1. Bloomington North 106, 2. Noblesville 115, 3. Brownsburg 172, 4. Northridge 181, 5. Fishers 198, 8. Carmel 272, 10. Hamilton Southeastern 301.

Race winner: 1. Sam Quagliaroli (Fishers) 14:46.9.

Noblesville runners: 7. John Libs 15:20.6, 23. Banner Barnes 15:35.8, 33. Ronnie Neal 15:47.9, 46. Isaiah Vohs 15:55.1, 54. Jack Strong 15:58.4, 136. Cooper Click 16:33.7, 198. Noah Melton 17:00.6.

Other Fishers runners: 20. Nate Thomas 15:34.7, 85. Bryson Slagle 16:13.4, 90. Grant Yount 16:16.6, 96. Parker Melling 16:19.8, 115. Dylan Wolf 16:26.0, 205. Reece Torres 17:04.0.

Carmel runners: 29. Jonah Kaul 15:45.5, 63. Carter Buhr 16:00.9, 79. Will Gilhooly 16:11.3, 81. Zach Flint 16:11.7, 153. Jack Capes 16:39.1, 161. Deklin Bowser 16:44.6, 189. Cohen Levy 16:54.6.

Southeastern runners: 14. Liam Powers 15:33.3, 69. Nicolas Vega 16:05.8, 109. Aidan Lawson 16:25.1, 137. Zachary Swedarsky 16:33.8, 143. Isaac Smith 16:36.1, 193. Riley Schamp 16:55.6, 216. Tate Watson 17:15.9.

Guerin Catholic runner: 17. Luke Moster 15:33.8.

Westfield runner: 87. Ty Conner 16:14.9.

Hamilton Heights runner: 152. Rudy Bowman 16:39.1.

Carmel’s Larkin Taylor (77) finished 10th at the state meet, while Sadie Foley (65) placed 12th. Both runners earned All State honors and helped the Greyhounds to their first state championship since 2020.

Photos by Mike Kepner