The REPORTER
When the Carmel girls cross country team entered the 2024 cross country season, the Greyhounds hadn’t won a state championship in four years.
Westfield’s Alivia Lozier (427) placed 16th, while Carmel’s Annabel Pollert finished 17th. Both earned All State honors. Also pictured is now-graduated Elizabeth Butler of Hamilton Southeastern (230). (Mike Kepner/File photo)
That must have felt like forever to the Greyhounds. Carmel broke that drought in 2024, outpacing Concordia Lutheran 76-92 to win its 20th state title, extending an already amazing record.
The state finals are set for Nov. 1 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Can the ‘Hounds repeat? They certainly have the personnel to do that. Carmel brings back three runners that finished in the top 20 at state last year, automatically earning All-State honors. They were also significant contributors to the Greyhounds’ state champion track & field team this past June.
Junior Larkin Taylor finished 10th at state in 2024, making her the highest-placing Hamilton County runner at the big meet. Senior Sadie Foley placed 12th, while junior Annabel Pollert finished 17th. Sophomore Margo Halle also returns; she placed 37th at state, which means Carmel has its top four state runners returning.
IndianaRunner.com, the well-known high school running website, rated Carmel second in its top 50 pre-season rankings that are fully available now. The website ranks Concordia Lutheran first, as the Cadets bring back defending state champion Mallory Weller, now a senior. Sophomore Daphne Weller placed eighth at state last year as a freshman.
As for the other county schools, IndianaRunner.com has high praise for Westfield, which is placed 11th on the website’s pre-season list. The Shamrocks placed 16th at state last season and bring back All-State junior Alivia Lozier. She finished 16th individually at the 2024 meet.
The Shamrocks were very young at state last year, with three freshmen also running at Terre Haute: Mackenna Condon, Carly Davis and Sam Foster. Two seniors also bring back state experience: Gianna Ferreri and Jordyn Landrum.
Hamilton Heights’ Allie Bushey finished 91st at state last season for the Huskies. (Mike Kepner/File photo)
Hamilton Heights is ranked 16th on the Indiana Runner list, believing that the Huskies could be “the surprise team in the state.” Heights had two runners navigate their way down to the state finals last year and have respectable finishes. Allie Bushey, now a junior, placed 91st at state, while Anna Monnin, now a senior, finished 127th.
Heights placed sixth at the Noblesville sectional last season, so it just missed advancing to the Shelbyville regional. The Huskies did get four individual runners out to regional. Amira Leer and Ayla Madara joined Bushey and Monnin at the regional; both are juniors this year.
Noblesville is rated 17th by Indiana Runner. The Millers placed fifth at state last season, and while they had some graduation losses, there were some solid underclassmen. Asnley Applegate, now a senior, placed 46th at state last year, while now-junior Jayde Stamm finished 62nd at state. Kate Mumaw was also part of Noblesville’s state team, she is a junior this year.
Fishers is 19th in the rankings. The Tigers placed seventh in the regional, just missing a place at state, but then-freshman Caitlin Hawkins qualified as an individual and placed a solid 58th. Hawkins was one of five Fishers freshmen (now sophomores) to compete at regional last year, along with Mia Quagliaroli, Lorelai Polk, Eve Ziino and Melanie Perez. They were joined by Allie Belush, now a senior.
Guerin Catholic is ranked 29th on the list. The Golden Eagles finished seventh at sectional last year but had six runners advance to regional as individuals. (Although Guerin Catholic had enough runners to field a team, it did not receive a team score since the runners were considered individuals.)
One of those runners made it state: Taylor Tragesser, who ran at Terre Haute as a freshman. Seniors Keira Hines and Delaney Gould, plus junior Kara Van Woerkom, also competed at the regional.
Indiana Runner rated Hamilton Southeastern 30th. The Royals placed 15th at state last season but graduated six of its seven state runners. Raegan Hissong was the only junior at Terre Haute for HSE last year, and she is now a senior. Junior Anissa Lammie was part of the Royals’ state champion 4×400 relay team at the state track meet in June and ran meets for Southeastern cross country last year.