Sectional 17- South Putnam
Teams: Avon, Bethesda Christian, Brownsburg, Cascade, Cloverdale, Crawfordsville Danville Community, Greencastle, North Putnam, Plainfield, South Putnam, Southmont, Tri-West Hendricks
Girls: Emma Wilson is the obvious favorite as she has not lost to anyone in Indiana XC competition since sophomore year. Brooke Dixon is the clear 2nd best runner in this field as well and could try to challenge Wilson early on .
Brownsburg should come away with the sectional win, but don't count out Avon to give them a run for their money. The Orioles will need their 1-3 to match up with Brownsburg to have real chance of an upset. Plainfield is a safe bet for third while Crawfordsville and Dansville should fill out the final two spots.
Boys: Up front, there's a good race for 1st between Dalton Kane and Nathaniel Beeler. Kane has been strong all year going sub-16 at the Mid State HS CC Championships and should have the edge in this one. Although, if Ethan Goddard comes back 100% after not finishing at HCC, expect a bounce back win from the Oriole's #1 guy.
Brownsburg and Avon are once again the top two in the sectional. If Avon has their 1-2 punch ready to go, they will come away victorious. Without Goddard, Brownsburg has a good shot to take the win if two out of their 3-5 can match the 3-5 of Avon. Plainfield, Crawfordsville, and Danville could finish in any order, but all three should comfortably make it out of the sectional.
Sectional 18- Ben Davis
Teams: Ben Davis, Charles Tindley, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Decatur Central, Herron, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, , Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis Shortridge, International School of Indiana, Perry Meridian, Providence Cristo Rey, Southport, Speedway, Zionsville.
Girls: Katelyn Wasson has all of the momentum on her side after a massive performance at Nike Valley Twilight, taking 4th in the championship race. The all-state junior should be a big favorite to take 1st. Mariah Wehrle and teammate Lauren Rinehart should provide a close race for 2nd.
For the team race, Zionsville is the favorite due to an impressive 18:42 average between the 1-5 and a 55 second spread. Their closest competition in this one is Cardinal Ritter coming off of a 17 point score to win the Indiana Crossroad Conference. Other teams battling for the last two spots are Southport, Perry Meridian, Ben Davis, and Herron.
Boys: This race a complete flip flop from the girls race as there are 5-6 guys who could walk away with the win. Drew Shellenberger, Shewaferahu Gared, Andrew Stuff, Robby Pratt, Jesus Garcia, and Paul Stamm are all 16:20 or faster this season. There's no clear favorite here, so this could be one of the best races out of all of the Sectionals this weekend.
As far as teams go, Zionsville is a heavy favorite, followed by Ben Davis, Southport, and Cardinal Ritter in a battle for 2nd. It should be a good race for that final spot as Speedway and Perry Meridian have only 1 second separating their 1-5 average time.