by: Justin Amburgy
2023 Athletic Annex Flashrock Invitational
The 2023 Athletic Annex "Flashrock" Invitational did not disappoint Saturday morning with several top ranked Indiana teams and athletes competing over the 5 kilometer course at Northview Church in Carmel, Indiana.
The meet consisted of Championship races with mostly larger teams for both boys and girls, as well as invitational races, and JV races. Mother nature provided a great day for racing with temperatures in the low 50s to begin the day.
Boys Championship Race
Individual Race
The first race of the day got out fast with a top group of runners and a large chase pack through the mile. It was senior Cameron Todd from Brebeuf Jesuit, senior Anthony Provenzano of Carmel, and senior Vaughn Hendrickson of Concordia Lutheran who eventually broke away from this pack by the halfway point as the athletes made their way past the winding section near the 3K marker and into the last mile of the course. Finishing the downhill final stretch in the lead was Notre Dame commit Cameron Todd as he held on to secure the win dipping under 15 minutes for a 14:58.1 personal record (PR) and good for an Indiana #3 performance for this year. Tony Provenzano was close behind with a mark of 15:00.8 which was also a PR and ranks him #4 in the state.
Chris Ross of Greenfield Central was the next finisher in 3rd just missing a PR with a 15:27.5. Caden Ozbun, who traveled from Dublin, Ohio, crossed the line in 4th with a massive 40 second PR of 15:28.5 according to our database. Hendrickson fought for a 5th place finish of 15:29.1 which was also a PR.
Rounding out the top 10 was:
6th - Jacob Bolton (Dublin Coffman) - 15:30.4
7th - Cameron Smith (Lapel) - 15:35.4
8th - Jackson Gackenheimer (Warsaw) - 15:38.4
9th - Liam Brinkruff (Greenfield Central) - 15:38.4
10th - Carter Crouch (Greenfield Central) 15:51.1
Team Race
The team race ended up being even more exciting than the individual race as the top 3 schools all finished within 4 points of each other in the final standings. It was Carmel who came out on top with 79 points led by senior Provenzano. Other scorers for the Greyhounds included Jonah Kaul (16th), Carter Buhr (21st), Joel Spittal (22nd), and Jack Capes (26th). The Greyhounds showed their depth today as they split their squad at the Golden Bear Invitational in Shelbyville, Indiana today as well as resting other key contributors. Carmel looks to build on this momentum to compete for a back to back state title.
Finishing close behind the Greyhounds was Dublin Coffman which is a high school located in Ohio. The 'Rocks scored 82 points and were led by senior Ozbun. Other contributors for the team included Jacob Bolton (6th), Jeremy Bons (14th), Zac Heyob (23rd), and Dylan Mastny (42nd). Dublin had a strong group of runners today that are looking to improve off a 4th place team finish last season at the Division 1 Ohio State Championships.
One point behind Dublin was Warsaw with a point total of 83. The Tigers were led by sophomore Gackenheimer who was able to cut over 20 seconds off his PR according to our database. Other key contributors included Tyler Mimnaugh (12th), Tyler Swartz (15th), Clark Meridew (19th), and Rick Orr (38th). Warsaw is coming off an impressive win from last week where the Tigers won the Elite division of the Marion Invitational. Warsaw came very close to winning today and will be a team to watch in the future as they already look stronger than their 18th place team finish at state from last year.
Hamilton Southeastern's depth was able to squeeze out a fourth place finish with 108 points over Greenfield Central's 111 points who had a very impressive 3 runners in the top 10.
Boys JV Race
In the boys JV race there were 3 runners coming down the final stretch to the finish all under the 17 minute mark. Tyler Kerzee, a junior from Brownsburg, was able to get to the line first with a time of 16:38.1 which is just over a 20 second PR for the Bulldog based on our database. Lawson Aidan, a junior at Hamilton Southeastern, and Clayton Kaneversky, a senior also from Brownsburg, also got PRs with times of 16:43.1 and 16:46.2 respectively. The boys JV team race was between Brownsburg and Hamilton Southeastern as both teams alternated positions for the top 9 athletes with the Bulldogs coming out on top.
