- Cole Hocker, how fast will he be able to go?
All season, the buzz of the boys has been on Cole Hocker. We knew coming into the season he would be the guy to beat. But we had no idea he'd be knocking on the sub-15 door and ready to come on in. In September he hit 15 flat on Lavern Gibson at the Nike Valley Twilight meet. After the rain that is coming down Friday at the course, it will probably be a little wet and soft for
Saturday's race. He's said before he really wants to go under 15, will tomorrow be his day?
- Will Emma Wilson be able to become just the 2nd girl ever to repeat as the individual champ on Lavern Gibson?
We've learned that nearly every race this year has just been a tempo run for her, and that she is training through the state meet to be able to compete at her best in the post season races. She had no problem beating Phoebe Bates last weekend at Semi-State, but what will happen this weekend? Wilson will go up against Bates, Crain and many other top girls from the entire state as she looks to add another title to her name.
- Which teams will take the title this year?
On both the boys and girls sides, there is no major favorite. There are a few quality teams that could take home the titles though.
Talks in the preseason were all over the place of who the favorite girls team would be. FW Carroll, Brebeuf, Zionsville, Carmel, Brownsburg, all teams that were thrown into the mix before the season even started. As the season winds down to just one more race, the team battle seems to get closer each week. After last weeks semi-state meet, Zionsville proved they have a really strong team that can challenge the likes of Brebeuf and Carmel, but what about FW Carroll? They have 2 girls racing into shape, so each week Duffus and Green continue to improve bit by bit.
On the boys side we've had discussions on Carmel, Cathedral, Fishers, and Bloomington South in the mix for nearly the entire season. Just like the FW Carroll girls, the Cathedral boys seem to be improving each week of the tournament and look to be peaking at just the right time. It also greatly helps them to have that guaranteed low stick out of Hocker. Carmel has the strength this year of running in a pretty tight pack which can be beneficial if they can all be near the top 40 range. Fishers has looked incredible strong and was the preseason favorite to just go out and dominate, which for the most part they have done this season.
- Could this be the first time in 11 years Carmel does not win any team or individual titles?
The last state meet that Carmel went home 100% empty handed, meaning no team or individual titles going back to Carmel with them, was the 2007 state meet. That was also the year Fishers won the team title on the boys side. Westfield was the girls champ, with Banfich of Culver Academies winning her 3rd consecutive title. This year could be another one of those years, that Carmel is not used to experiencing. They have no major contender for the boys individual title, granted no one besides Cathedral has someone in that position. Their boys team also looks like they could lose to any of the other teams mentioned above. Their girls team has a shot at the team title, but chances look very silm after the way they have been racing these past couple weeks. It appears they raced their top 7 last week, and still took 3rd behind Zionsville and Brebeuf. The only place they have a decent shot at winning a title, is the girls individual race. Phoebe Bates, took 2nd to Emma Wilson last week by about 12 seconds, but she could challenge her more this weekend, if she's ready for Wilson to push the pace from the start. This could be the first year in 11 years we don't see Carmel standing on top of the podium with any form of 1st place trophy.