The sponsor of the meet has changed, but the history and legacy of the "FlashRock" Invitational remains the same. This year, many of the top teams and individuals in the State of Indiana will be competing in the Athletic Annex FlashRock Invitational taking place at Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana.
The former home of the Carmel semi-state, the Northview course is a very fair course with rolling hills and long straights. Some even call Northview the Lavern Gibson of central Indiana. This is where teams will take the stage for another year of the FlashRock Invitational.
The meet will consist of two Championship races with mostly larger size teams, then two Invitational races before finishing up with the JV competitions.
The girls championship race will have a lot of individual and team star power. Last year's individual champion is back in the form of new Notre Dame commit Gretchen Farley. Farley along with Park Tudor teammate Sophia Kennedy are sure to compete for the individual win and push each other for the majority of the race.
Other individuals expected to compete for top spots and be seen at the front of the race are Jasmine Klopstad of Carmel, Jessica Hegedus of Avon, Bridget Gallagher of Guerin Catholic, Nadia Perez of Noblesville and Maggie Powers of Hamilton Southeastern.
On the team side, the girls championship is an incredibly deep field that features 9 of the top 25 schools ranked in the IATCCC poll this past week. Included in those 9 is the consensus #2 team in the state at this moment, the Noblesville Millers. The Millers combination of front running and depth makes them real difficult to beat or even compete with.
Other teams contending for top spots in this meet will be Carmel (3), Hamilton Southeastern (4), Zionsville (7), North Central (9), and Princeton (14).
Heading into the boys championship race, the top individual returner is Carmel's Kole Mathison. Mathison has had himself an unbelievable year so far, already winning the Hamilton County meet in 15:07, and then winning the Eagle Classic while breaking the course record at Eagle Park in 14:52. Other top individuals in this race could include Nate Killeen of North Central, Asher Propst of Noblesville and the Brebeuf Jesuit trio of Matteo Rosio, Cameron Todd, and Ezra Burrell.
The team competition for the boys race could play out differently than most expect as some boys teams may not be competing their full varsity teams. That being said, there are still 8 of the Top 25 ranked teams in the State competing at Northview on Saturday. At the top of that list is the Carmel Greyhounds who are coming off a dominating victory at the Eagle Classic and have a strong hold as the consensus #1 team in the state at this point in the season.
Other boys teams expected to place high in the team standings are Zionsville (2), Noblesville (4), Fishers (6), Brebeuf Jesuit (9) and Hamilton Southeastern (13).
Another year of the FlashRock Invitational is sure to be a hit. If you're wanting to see another high caliber cross country meet in central Indiana on Saturday, then no better place to head to than Northview Church for the Athletic Annex FlashRock Invitational.
FlashRock Invitational Race Schedule:
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE- 9AM
BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE- 9:30 AM
GIRLS INVITATIONAL RACE- 10 AM
BOYS INVITATIONAL RACE- 10:30 AM
JV GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE- 11:00 AM (no assigned boxes)
JV BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP RACE- 11:30 AM (no assigned boxes)
