The Carmel boys and girls cross country teams swept the Brownsburg regional on Saturday, Oct. 25. Both teams will advance to this Saturday’s IHSAA state finals. (Richie Hall)
By RICHIE HALL
BROWNSBURG – Carmel boys cross country coach Colin Altevogt had many good things to say after his team won the Brownsburg regional on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The Greyhounds cruised to another regional victory that morning at the Brownsburg East Middle School course. Carmel scored 81 points, nicely ahead of runner-up Avon’s 105 points. Both teams, along with the remainder of the top five finishers, qualified for the IHSAA state finals this Saturday at Terre Haute.
Altevogt talked about the “perfect weather” – temperatures that morning were around 45 degrees, which he said is “ideal weather for distance running.” The flat course at Brownsburg East Middle School also ran fast, with the top 30 runners all finishing under 16 minutes.
“We feel good about it,” said Altevogt. “We made it through. We won. We knew it’d be a close race, us, Avon, Brownsburg, North Central.”
Each of Carmel’s first five runners finished in the top 30, allowing the Greyhounds to close their scoring quickly. Jonah Kaul led Carmel by placing seventh in 15 minutes, 23.4 seconds. Carter Buhr also reached the top 10, taking 10th in 15:27.8.
Other Greyhounds runners were Zach Flint (12th, 15:31.1), Lucas Barlett (25th, 15:53.4), Ben Meisner (30th, 15:56.7), Cooper Szotek (35th, 16:02.7) and Grant VanNahem (66th, 16:20.7).
After the Hounds and the Orioles, the other three state-qualifying teams were North Central (108 points), Brownsburg (137) and Ben Davis (164). The Giants’ Aboubakar Ibrahim won the individual title in 15:11.9, while his teammate Tesfaldet Hailu was fourth in 15:22.7.
The regional title was the 36th in Carmel’s program history, the most in the state.
University also competed at Brownsburg. Trailblazers runners were Finlay Reid (88th, 16:45.9), Walter Wilson (166th, 17:36.5) and Mario Buoscio (168th, 17:37.8).
Girls race
The Carmel girls took care of business as well. The Greyhounds dominated the regional by scoring 53 points, well ahead of runner-up Zionsville’s 109 points.
Carmel had four runners finish in the top 12, and all four broke 18 minutes. Sadie Foley placed second in 17:19.8, just off the Greyhounds school record. Sarah Leinheiser ran 17:19.2 at the Shelbyville semi-state in 2016.
“I think it’s just crazy,” said Foley. “I don’t really know what causes it. We joke that it’s ‘track-flation’ in practice.”
Instead, Foley credits the team – “a whole bunch of fast girls together, just pushing each other.”
“It just shows [that] working together in practice and working towards team goals just motivates everyone to run faster,” said Foley.
Annabel Pollert placed third with a time of 17:31.4. Larkin Taylor was eighth, clocking in at 17:55.3 and Margo Halle finished 12th in 17:58.3.
Carmel’s other runners were Kaitlyn Oshimura (30th, 18:57.0), Lilliana Cate (35th, 19:02.0) and Arden Finley (59th, 19:38.1).
“Those girls, when they’re putting pressure on other people’s top five, that’s a big part of the team equation,” said Greyhounds coach Scott Williams.
Carmel claimed its 34th regional championship in program history and is now tied for first on the all-time regional list. Columbus North also has 34 regional wins. The Bull Dogs placed third at the Evansville North regional on Saturday, Oct. 25.
The Greyhounds and Zionsville both qualified for the state meet. Bishop Chatard placed third with 113 points; the Trojans’ Julia Score won the race in 17:04.8. Avon placed fourth (150) and Harrison was fifth (156) to take the other two team-qualifying spots.
University had two individuals run at the regional. Laurel Gough-McKeown placed 53rd in 19:26.2, while Navya Shah finished 180th in 22:08.3.
