Carmel, Fishers go 1-2; Fendel wins individual boys race
Carmel’s Bates second in girls race, three county teams make top six
The boys race was true to form while the girls race had a few surprises at Saturday’s IHSAA state cross country meet.
In cold conditions at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Hamilton County had the top two boys teams, and three of the top six girls teams. In addition, a county runner claimed the individual boys championship.
That champion is Hamilton Southeastern’s Gabe Fendel. The senior won the race in a time of 15:17.2, finishing 2.3 seconds ahead of Cathedral junior Cole Hocker. The two had been trading the post-season championships over the past couple weeks, with Hocker winning the Noblesville regional, then Fendel triumphing at the Shelbyville semi-state.
This marked the third straight top 10 finish for Fendel, who will be running at the University of Colorado next year. Fendel was the individual runner-up last season, placed ninth in 2015. Fendel was a state qualifier all four years; he finished the race his freshman year in a time of 16:38.3.
Meanwhile, the Greyhounds won the state championship trophy for the 15th time, extending their record. Carmel’s victory also meant a sixth consecutive finish in the top two, only the fourth time in history that has happened. The ‘Hounds had a streak of seven consecutive top two finishes from 1976-82, and six in a row between from 1984-89. Anderson won the first seven state championships that were conducted by the IHSAA, dating from 1946 to 1952.
Carmel scored 94 points, with four of its runners finishing in the team top 20. Keelan Grant led the Greyhounds by placing 14th; he scored 10 team points for Carmel. Grant was followed by Colin Murphy in 18th place (13 points). Ben Myers and Calvin Bates were 33rd and 34th respectively, but scored 18 and 19 points. Ben Miller finished the team scoring by coming in 57th, and his 34 points clinched the deal for Carmel.
The Tigers were next in line with 152 points, returning to the runner-up spot that they held in 2015. Fishers won the state championship in 2007, in only the school’s second season since re-opening.
Sam Kuhn led the Tigers by taking 15th place, which resulted in 11 team points. Ethan Meyer took 26th place, scoring 16 points. At that point Fishers was facing competition from Westview, which had two runners score low – five and eight points respectively.
But the Tigers more than made up the difference in their next three runners. William Clark scored 27 points (finishing 46th overall), making up some ground after Westview’s third runner scored 33 points.
Fishers then quickly closed its scoring when Alex Meyer and Thomas Brelage finished within 1.8 seconds of each other, scoring 48 and 50 points respectively. The issue was settled once the Warriors’ fourth runner scored 56 points. Overall, Alex Meyer placed 75th and Brelage was 79th.
Two more county runners competed as individuals. Guerin Catholic’s Quinn Gallagher placed 16th, earning All-State honors. Westfield’s Nick Leahy finished 37th.
In the girls race, Carmel’s streak of seven straight state titles was brought to an end by its neighbor to the west: Zionsville. The Eagles won their first ever state championship in cross country by knocking off Fort Wayne Carroll, 118-129. Zionsville had three runners score in the single digits and a third score 19 points; that was enough to hold off low scores from the Chargers’ fourth and fifth runners.
The Greyhounds had the runner that scored one point: Phoebe Bates. The sophomore finished in a time of 18 minutes even, and that placed her second overall. The winner was Greencastle’s Emma Wilson, who flew home in a time of 17:45.9.
Maddie Dalton was next for Carmel, scoring 17 team points and placing 25th overall, putting her on the medal stand. The ‘Hounds finished with 169 points, ahead of Brebeuf Jesuit’s 196. The Braves had gotten the better of Carmel at the regional and semi-state, but the Greyhounds finished ahead in the state battle.
Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers were within a point of each other: The Royals reached the podium by scoring 208 points, with the Tigers taking sixth on 209 points. Lulu Black and Halle Hill were 16th and 23rd respectively for HSE, earning them medals. Deborah Shera was Fishers’ highest finisher, taking 29th.
Noblesville’s Abi Little placed 18th overall, giving the Indiana University-bound senior a state medal for the third year in a row. Westfield’s Gabby Dilick finished 43rd.
BOYS RACE
Team scores: Carmel 94, Fishers 152, Westview 171, Valparaiso 200, Cathedral 213, Bloomington South 216, Fort Wayne Carroll 256, Tell City 258, North Central 281, Avon 281, Christian Academy of Indiana 292, Lowell 321, Penn 347, Crown Point 348, West Lafayette 377, Jennings County 392, Columbus North 393, Concordia Lutheran 405, Zionsville 440, Chesterton 452, Pendleton Heights 458, McCutcheon 482, Bloomington North 504, West Noble 524.
Race winner: Gabe Fendel (Hamilton Southeastern) 15:17.2.
Carmel runners: 14. Keelan Grant 15:45.9, 18. Colin Murphy 15:53.1, 33. Ben Myers 16:07.6, 34. Calvin Bates 16:07.8, 57. Ben Miller 16:18.4, 100. Trey Harris 16:35.0, 108. Will Murphy 16:38.8.
Fishers runners: 15. Samuel Kuhn 15:46.9, 26. Ethan Meyer 16:02.9, 46. William Clark 16:13.0, 75. Alexander Meyer 16:26.0, 79. Thomas Brelage 16:27.8, 109. Quintin Goldman 16:39.0, 150. Matthew Brown 17:02.6.
Guerin Catholic runner: 16. Quinn Gallagher 15:47.4.
Westfield runner: 37. Nicholas Leahy 16:08.8.
GIRLS RACE
Team scores: Zionsville 118, Fort Wayne Carroll 129, Carmel 169, Brebeuf Jesuit 196, Hamilton Southeastern 208, Fishers 209, Brownsburg 251, Bloomington North 257, Floyd Central 261, West Lafayette 264, Lowell 274, Valparaiso 284, Crown Point 336, Penn 373, Bishop Dwenger 376, Chesterton 385, Bloomington South 419, Homestead 437, La Porte 438, Edgewood 442, Evansville Memorial 469, Concordia Lutheran 490, Northridge 520, Columbus North 542.
Race winner: Emma Wilson (Greencastle) 17:45.9.
Carmel runners: 2. Phoebe Bates 18:00.0, 25. Maddie Dalton 18:39.3, 62. Lindsey Roper 19:11.0, 70. Lily McAndrews 19:13.3, 91. Izza Khurram 19:26.8, 111. Sydney Haines 19:37.6, 149. Anna Morozov 20:09.5.
Southeastern runners: 16. Lulu Black 18:29.6, 23. Halle Hill 18:35.9, 35. Lilly Cummins 18:49.6, 108. Sam Alphin 19:37.3, 115. Ellie Pedersen 19:40.5, 198. Ellie Johnson 21:07.1, 204. Brooke Ratliff 21:35.3.
Fishers runners: 29. Deborah Shera 18:43.9, 48. Abigail Carter 19:02.3, 68. Miya Wai 19:13.1, 78. Teresa Kraft 19:17.6, 86. Kamya Lapsley 19:23.7, 103. Corinne Yorkman 19:36.1, 112. Corinne O’Leary 19:38.9.
Noblesville runner: Abi Little 18:31.3.
Westfield runner: 43. Gabby Dilick 18:57.5.
The Carmel boys cross country team won its 15th state championship Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The Greyhounds scored 94 points and placed in the top two for the sixth year in a row. (Kent Graham)
The Fishers boys team finished as the runner-up at the state meet on Saturday. It’s the second time in three years that the Tigers have placed second. (Kent Graham)