Sectional #1 - Highland
Participating Schools: Calumet, Crown Point, East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Griffith, Hanover Central, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Highland, Illiana Christian, Lake Central, Lighthouse CPA, Lowell, Munster, Whiting
Boys Race
Ben Perschon and Joseph LaPatra are the only two in the boys' field that have broken 16 minutes this year according to our database with times of 15:34 and 15:46 respectively. Ben is coming off a 4th place finish at the Duneland Athletic Conference Championship while Joseph is coming off a win at the Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship. In the team race Lake Central is the only team competing that is currently ranked in the coaches poll. Crown Point is led by two runners under 16:30 with several in the low 17 range. Illiana Christian has a solid top 4 pack of runners that are all sub 17 but will need improvement from their fifth runner if they look to advance further in the tournament. Lowell and Highland are also projected to move on to the regional meet.
Projected Advancing Teams:
#15 Lake Central
Crown Point
Illiana Christian
Lowell
Highland
Girls Race
A pair of Lake Central girls have the top 2 times of the year coming into this meet with Chloe Neal and Addison Roth running 19:14 and 19:18 respectively. A total of 11 girls have broken 20 minutes entering this meet. Lake Central has their scoring 5 girls projected to finish in the top 11 with their entire roster placing in the top 16 and should easily win the team title. Crown Point has a strong top 3 and should be able to pull off a runner-up performance. Highland, Illiana Christian, and Munster are all projected to advance as well.
Projected Advancing Teams
#17 Lake Central
Crown Point
Highland
Illiana Christian
Munster
Sectional #2 - Chesterton
Participating Schools: Andrean, Boone Grove, Chesterton, Hebron, Hobart, Kouts, Lake Station Edison, Merrillville, Morgan Township, Portage, River Forest, Valparaiso, Washington Township, Wheeler
Boys Race
Shane Conroy enters the meet with the 15th fastest time of the year for Indiana with a time of 15:19 and over 20 seconds faster than the next competitor. 3 other runners are also sub 16 with several runners all in the top 20 wearing the same uniform. Valparaiso looks to have the depth to easily win the team title with a close battle between Portage and Chesterton for the runner-up position. Portage looks to have the edge with Conroy being their low stick. Hobart and Merrillville are also expected to advance.
Projected Advancing Teams
#11 Valparaiso
Portage
#25 Chesterton
Hobart
Merrillville
Girls Race
Whitney Anderson owns the top time entering this meet as she is currently ranked #22 in the state with a time of 18:21. She has a faster time than her nearest competitors by over 30 seconds with a pair of Morgan Township runners who have also broken 19 minutes this year. It should be a close race between Valparaiso and Morgan Township for the championship with Valparaiso likely pulling it off due to their depth. Chesterton and Portage will likely battle for 3rd. Kouts and Hobart will be interesting as it will come down to the wire and we give the advantage to Kouts due to their 1-5 spread of 56 seconds compared to Hobart's spread of 3:23.
Projected Advancing Teams
#7 Valparaiso
#10 Morgan Township
Chesterton
Portage
Kouts
Sectional #3 - New Prairie
Participating Schools: Glenn, LaPorte, Marquette Catholic, Michigan City, Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Career Academy, South Bend Riley, South Bend St. Joseph, South Bend Washington, South Central (Union Mills), Trinity Greenlawn, Tri-Township, Westville
Boys Race
Liam Bauschke owns the 11th best time in the state so far this season and looks to win by a wide margin. He has the best time so far this season over a pair of other runners that also have times under 16 minutes with 28 competitors breaking 17 this year. Penn should be able to win the championship with a solid scoring 5. The race for the runner-up will be extremely tight between LaPorte and Mishawaka. The edge goes to LaPorte as they have a more favorable top 5 spread and their #4 and #5 runners beat out Mishawaka. South Bend St Joseph, South Bend Trinity, and South Bend John Adams will all be fighting for the final 2 spots for regionals in a race that may come down to single digit point differentials.
Projected Advancing Teams
#16 Penn
#21 LaPorte
Mishawaka
South Bend St. Joseph
South Bend Trinity
Girls Race
Mary Eubank ranks 20th in the state with a time of 18:21 and is the top runner entering the meet by a wide margin of over a minute. Behind her 4 other girls have broken the 20 minute barrier this season. Penn looks to dominate the meet with the possibility of placing all 5 of their scorers in the top 10. Mishawaka and LaPorte will battle it out for runner-up with Mishawaka having the advantage due to a strength in their top 5 spread as well as having strength in their #4 and #5 runners. South Bend St. Joseph and South Bend John Adams are also expected to make it to regionals.
Projected Advancing Teams
Penn
Mishawaka
LaPorte
South Bend St. Joseph
South Bend John Adams
Sectional #4 - Elkhart (Oxbow Park)
Participating Schools: Bethany Christian, Bremen, Concord, Elkhart Christian Academy, Elkhart, Fairfield, Goshen, Jimtown, LaVille, Northridge, NorthWood, Wawasee, Westview
Boys Race
Noah Bontrager enters the race with the top time of 15:27 which ranks him 22nd in the state. He will likely be followed closely a few seconds behind by a duo from Elkhart. Northridge has a deadly pack of 5 runners that all look to place in the top 10 to win the championship. Goshen should coast to a runner-up performance while the battle for the final spots to advance will be tight. Westview, Elkhart, Concord Community, and Northwood are all in the mix to advance with one of these schools not going to regionals.
Projected Advancing Teams
#20 Northridge
Goshen
Westview
Elkhart
Concord Community
Girls Race
Dakotah Moore has the top time coming into the race with a 19:07. She will likely be followed relatively closely by two other competitors, one of which being her own teammate. Moore will look to lead her team to the sectional title with Goshen likely finishing as the runner-up team. Elkhart should have a good enough top 4 to be safe coming in third with a big battle occurring for the next teams. Fairfield, Westview, Concord Community, and Northwood are all in the mix to take the final two spots for regionals. Expect to see a tight team race that comes down to single digit point differentials between many of these teams.
Projected Advancing Teams
#20 Northridge
Goshen
Elkhart
Fairfield
Westview
Sectional #5 - Rensselaer Central
Participating Schools: Benton Central, DeMotte Christian, Frontier, Kankakee Valley, Knox, North Judson-San Pierre, North Newton, North White, Rensselaer Central, South Newton, Tri-County, Twin Lakes, West Central, Winamac
Boys Race
Ethan Ehrhardt leads the field with the top time of the season with a 16:34 leading 2 other entries who have also gone sub 17 this year. On the team side Rensselaer Central has a solid top 5 that should be able to all place in the top 20. The runner-up will likely come down to Benton Central and Kankakee Valley. Benton Central has a tighter spread and a better #5 which could help lead them to become runner-ups. Covenant Christian should be safe to advance as the #4 position with a battle for the last spot coming down to Winamac Community, Twin Lakes, and Tri-County with Winamac having the best low stick out of the three schools.
Projected Advancing Teams
Rensselaer Central
Benton Central
Kankakee Valley
Covenant Christian
Winamac Community
Girls Race
Margaret Smith and Maggie Smith from Winamac have the best times of the year with both entering the meet with a 19:31. Close behind is a duo of Kankakee Valley runners who should also be in the mix for the win. This lead pack will likely help Winamac Community and Kankakee Valley go 1-2. Benton Central and Twin Lakes should be safe to advance at #3 and #4 respectively with the final position likely going to Tri-County over Rensselaer Central. This is largely due to their #3-#5 runners outpacing Rensselaer.
Projected Advancing Teams
Winamac Community
Kankakee Valley
Benton Central
Twin Lakes
Tri-County