Sectional #6 - Manchester
Participating Schools: Argos, Columbia City, Culver Academies, Culver Community, Huntington North, Lakeland Christian Academy, Manchester, North Miami, Northfield, Plymouth, Rochester Community, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Wabash, Warsaw, Whitko
Boys Race
Individually Jackson Gackenheimer of Warsaw is the favorite coming into this race with Marcus Ridge of Columbia City having the second best mark entering this meet with times of 15:38 and 15:43 respectively. Several other Tigers will be in the lead pack as Tyler Mimnaugh and Tyler Swartz both have times under 16 minutes.
The team race will likely feature Warsaw running away with the sectional title for the 13th year in a row with a very solid top 4 pack as well as reinforcements down the line. Wabash, Columbia City, and Culver Academies all have a chance to take the runner-up position with Manchester favored to take the final advancing spot over Rochester and Huntington North.
Projected Advancing Teams
#12 Warsaw
Wabash
Columbia City
Culver Academies
Manchester
Girls Race
Individually Josefina Rastrelli from Warsaw is the heavy favorite as she leads the field with a time of 17:42 which ranks her 7th in the state. Her nearest competitor appears to be Alice Friesen who is a freshman from Huntington North and holds a time of 18:08.
The team race will look similar to the boys with Warsaw likely running away with their 13th consecutive team title with Rastrelli acting as the ultimate low stick. Huntington North and Columbia City both will have to race for runner-up honors. Manchester and Culver Academies also look like will have squads that are capable of advancing with Plymouth being the first team out.
Projected Advancing Teams
#18 Warsaw
Huntington North
Columbia City
Manchester
Culver Academies
Sectional #7 - West Noble
Participating Teams: Angola, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Central Noble, Churubusco, DeKalb, East Noble, Eastside, Fremont, Garrett, Hamilton, Lakeland, Lakewood Park Christian, Leo, Prairie Heights, West Noble
Boys Race
The individual race will likely be controlled by Sam Yarnell from Angola who is the field's sole sub 16 performer this year according to our database. He ran a 15:51 earlier this year at the Marion Invitational. Zander Ritenour, Robert Warren, and Jaydon Steidinger will likely be the next closest competitors.
The team race will be extremely tight between Angola and Fort Wayne Carroll. Angola has 3 boys that have faster times than Carroll's top runner and 4 boys that can potentially best their Caroll's 3rd. Despite the lack of depth with their fifth runner Angola should be able to hang on and win their second sectional in school history. Leo should be close behind in 3rd with a battle between Dekalb, East Noble, Lakewood, Garrett, and West Noble for the final 2 spots.
Projected Advancing Teams
Angola
Fort Wayne Carroll
Leo
Dekalb
East Noble
Girls Race
The individual race will be interesting as Rowyn Norris, a freshman from Leo has the best time this year by nearly 30 seconds. However, Addison Lindsey ran an 18:00 last year and has the next best performance coming into the race at 18:46 followed closely by Taylor Hansen with a performance of 18:48. Rowyn should be the favorite going into this race.
The team race will likely see Fort Wayne Carroll get redemption after an extremely tight finish at last year's sectional meet. With sectional realignment the Chargers will look to secure their 27th sectional championship. East Noble should be able to coast to a runner-up finish with Leo and West Noble finishing in the top 4. The final spot will be an interesting race to see unfold as Prairie Heights, Angola, Garrett, and Churubusco all have legitimate chances to advance.
Projected Advancing Teams
#9 Fort Wayne Carroll
#21 East Noble
Leo
West Noble
Prairie Heights
Sectional #8 - Woodlan
Participating Teams: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Heritage, Homestead, New Haven, Woodlan
Boys Race
Individually it looks like Vaughn Hendrickson of Concordia will break away from the pack as he has nearly 30 seconds over the next best time which belongs to his teammate Hunter Panning with times of 15:29 and 15:55 respectively. There could be a lot of Cadets in the top pack depending on how the race plays out.
On the team side Fort Wayne Concordia looks to dominate with the possibility of placing their scoring 5 in the top 10. The Cadets have a dangerous top 3 that will play a huge role next week for the team. Homestead looks to have a comfortable runner-up position with Northrop, Bishop Dwenger, and Heritage projected to round out the top 5 with Snider and New Haven just missing out on advancing.
Projected Advancing Teams
#18 Fort Wayne Concordia
Homestead
Fort Wayne Northrop
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger
Heritage
Girls Race
Individually the girls race should be dominated by Addison Knoblauch of Homestead who owns the state's best time from the regular season with a time of 16:59 which also ranks her #15 in the United States. Behind her will likely be a trio of Concordia Cadets with Mallory Weller, Lexi Panning, and Sidney Scheumann with times of 17:43, 17:55, and 18:35 respectively. Lucy Kramer, a freshman from Homestead will also likely look to pace off these girls as she has run 18:29 this season.
In the team race we will have an early preview to how the state finals may play out as Fort Wayne Concordia and Fort Wayne Carroll are both favorites to win the state championship. In a smaller meet like sectionals Knoblauch will not have as large of an impact which gives Concordia the advantage here with their pack of runners. It will be interesting to see these teams the next two weeks leading up to state. Northrop, Woodland, and Bishop Dwenger also look to have the advantage to advance to regionals next week.
Projected Advancing Teams
#1 Fort Wayne Concordia
#3 Homestead
Fort Wayne Northrop
Woodland
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger
Sectional #9 - Delta (Taylor University)
Participating Teams: Adams Central, Bellmont, Blackford, Bluffton, Delta, Eastbrook, Jay County, Monroe Central, Norwell, Randolph Southern, South Adams, Southern Wells, Union (Modoc), Union City, Wapahani, Winchester Community
Boys Race
Individually Nick Cook of Wapahani looks to win by a wide margin as he has the top time coming into the weekend with a 15:38 which is 45 seconds ahead of the next best entry in the field. His teammate Caleb Aber will have a shot at a runner-up performance as Tyler Godwin and Tyler Dillon will both also be in the mix.
On the team side it looks like Wapahani will run away with the championship for the third year in a row as they could have 4 place in the top 10 and could be a team looking to make some noise next week at regionals. Bluffton's top 2 duo should secure the runner-up position. The final 3 spots may be one of the closely contested team races of the weekend as EIGHT schools all have a reasonable chance to advance to regionals. Our favorites are Bellmont, Delta, and Norwell.
Projected Advancing Teams
Wapahani
Bluffton
Bellmont
Delta
Norwell
Girls Race
Individually Nicki Southerland looks to continue her dominant season where she has ran a 17:01 which is the second best performance in the state and #17 in the United States. The closest competitors to her will likely be Eastbrook teammates Alayna Bruckner and Olivia Howell who have run 19:31 and 19:35 respectively.
The team race will be a competitive one with Adams Central, Norwell, and Eastbrook all having a shot at the team title. Any one of these teams could come out on top Saturday and we will give Adams Central the advantage with the most balanced team and lowest top 5 average team time of these three schools. If they are able to pull it off it would be the first sectional championship in program history. Monroe Central, South Adams, and Delta will all be fighting for the final two advancing spots. It will be interesting to see if Nicki's efforts will be enough to help Delta advance to regionals.
Projected Advancing Teams
Adams Central
Norwell
Eastbrook
Monroe Central
South Adams
Sectional #10 - Marion (Indiana Wesleyan University)
Participating Teams: Alexandria Monroe, Blue River Valley, Cowan, Daleville, Elwood Community, Frankton, Madison-Grant, Marion, Mississinewa, Muncie Burris, Muncie Central, Oak Hill, Southwood, Wes-Del, Yorktown
Boys Race
The individual race will likely feature two Oak Hill runners up front as Owen Jackson and Trenton Sweet have the top times entering this meet with a 15:41 and 15:50 respectively. Behind this duo is a pair of Yorktown runners including Wyatt Turner and Johnathan Loney. Wyatt has spun the third fastest time this year by a freshman with a 16:03 while Johnathan has gone 16:15 so far.
Having Owen and Trenton most likely finishing up 1-2, Oak Hill is positioned well to win their 19th sectional championship and get redemption after finishing behind Wabash last year. There will be a great race for the team runner-up as Marion and Yorktown look to be very similar with Marion having the upperhand with a stronger top 5. Madison-Grant should be safe to advance as they are projected to finish around 4th with their pack. Muncie Burris, Muncie Central, and Cowan will all likely battle for the final advancing spot.
Projected Advancing Teams
Oak Hill
Marion
Yorktown
Madison-Grant
Muncie Burris
Girls Race
Individually, Faith Norris of Daleville enters the meet with the top time so far this season with a 19:17 followed closely by Charlee Gibson of Blue River Valley. Expect these two runners to break away early and battle for the win as they both have exchanged wins over each other throughout the season already.
On the team side there will almost certainly be a tight battle between Yorktown and Oak Hill. The golden eagles have a faster front runner but lack the depth that the tigers from Yorktown seem to have. A win for Yorktown would be the 6th sectional title in school history. Marion and Dalevill should be locks to advance to regionals next week as well. The last spot will be heavily contested between Blue River Valley, Frankton, Muncie Central, and Muncie Burris.
Projected Advancing Teams
Yorktown
Oak Hill
Marion
Daleville
Blue River Valley