Sectional #16 - Noblesville
Participating Schools: Anderson, Anderson Preparatory Academy, Fishers, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Lapel, Lebanon, Liberty Christian, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Shenandoah, Tipton, Tri-Central, Westfield
Boys Race
Sam Quagliaroli owns the fastest time individually with a 14:52 from Nike XC Town Twilight a few weeks ago which is #3 in the state and #39 nationally. His Fishers teammate, Matthew Kim, will likely be right next to him as he owns a personal best of 15:04. This duo is the best in the state and will likely look to key off of each other for the next couple of weeks similarly to how they finished the Hoosier Crossroads Conference Championship just five hundredths of a second apart. Behind this duo will be an army of Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern runners with each team likely being led by Caden Click and Andrew Smith as well as Cameron Smith from Lapel. Expect several fast times from Noblesville's course this weekend.
Despite realignment the team race will still feature some of the best teams in the state with 3 teams being ranked in the top 10 in the coaches poll. These 3 teams will likely have a similar race to the HCC Championships that took place last month with Noblesville having the upper hand with 6 runners under 16 minutes and should be able to secure the championship for the 3rd time in program history. The 1-2 duo from Fishers should propel the Tigers to a runner-up finish with HSE taking third. Westfield and Guerin Catholic should be able to make it out with Lapel and Pendleton Heights being dark horses for the last advancing spot.
Projected Advancing Teams
#2 Noblesville
#4 Fishers
#10 Hamilton Southeastern
Westfield
Guerin Catholic
Girls Race
Individually, Ava Jarrell from Pendleton Heights enters the meet with the best time at a 17:05 which ranks her #3 for the state and #30 nationally. Behind her are frontrunners from HSE, Westfield, and Noblesville with Maggie Powers, Liz Smith, and Summer Rempe having bests of 18:01, 18:02 and 18:14 respectively. The front of this race will feature a lot of familiar faces as these teams have raced each other constantly throughout the season.
The team race will be especially interesting given the battles that Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern have had this year. HSE has won most weeks with Nobleville taking a win over HSE in their last meeting at Nike Valley Twilight. HSE looked to be without their #4 runner Ava Powers for that meet. The top 2 duo of Maggie Powers and Elizabeth Butler should be enough for HSE to win a close one over Noblesville for the Royals 4th sectional title in a row. There should also be an exciting race for third between two ranked teams with Westfield and Guerin Catholic. The final spot could be a toss up between Pendleton Heights and Fishers. Despite Jarrell's efforts Fishers appears to have a deeper team to allow them to move on to regionals.
Projected Advancing Teams
#5 Hamilton Southeastern
#2 Noblesville
#11 Westfield
#13 Guerin Catholic
Fishers
Sectional #17 - Mt. Vernon (Fortville)
Participating Schools: Beech Grove, Eastern Hancock, Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Arsenal Tech, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, Irvington Preparatory Academy, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Morristown, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), New Palestine, Purdue Polytechnic, Victory College Prep, Warren Central
Boys Race
Individually Chris Ross from Greenfield Central appears to have the best time in the field with a 15:27 so far this season. Joey Ashman from Franklin Central and Greenfield teammate Liam Brinkruff will likely be close behind as they have gone 15:32 and 15:33 this season. There should be a tight pack of runners throughout this race in the chase pack as 19 have dipped under 16:30 this season.
In the team race Franklin Central appears to have a deep squad that could place all 5 in the top 10 and possibly all 7 in the top 15. Expect the Flashes to win their 3rd sectional title in a row. Following closely behind should be Greenfield Central which boasts a deadly top 3 pack all at 15:46 or faster. Mt. Vernon should be able to hold on for a 3rd place finish with Lawrence North and Cathedral likely rounding out the advancing teams. Eastern Hancock has put up a very impressive season for only having 5 runners on their team and will need to have a perfect day as well as some help from others in order to advance.
Projected Advancing Teams
#13 Franklin Central
#20 Greenfield Central
#24 Mt. Vernon
Lawrence North
Cathedral
Girls Race
Individually Kylie Cline from Franklin Central and her Flashes teammate Savana Miller enter the race with the top 2 times at 17:49 which is #8 in the state and 18:00 which is #11 in the state. Savanna won the race last year with Kylie being close behind, expect this duo to repeat in the top 2. Behind them will likely feature Lucille Marquart and Hannah Hauser who have both been under 19 minutes this season.
The team race will likely feature Franklin Central performing very similarly to the boys with a good chance for their scoring 5 to be in the top 10 and their entire lineup to be in the top 15. The Flashes would also be winning their third sectional in a row. Mt. Vernon finished in a very comfortable runner up position as they could place their top 5 in the top 15. Cathedral and Lawrence North should also be relatively safe to advance with New Palestine and Warren Central being the first schools out.
Projected Advancing Teams
#8 Franklin Central
#15 Mt. Vernon
Cathedral
Greenfield Central
Lawrence North
Sectional #18 - Connersville
Participating Teams: Batesville, Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Hagerstown, New Castle, Northeastern, Oldenburg Academy, Richmond, Rushville Consolidated, Seton Catholic, Tri, Union County
Boys Race
Individually Alex Orihuela from Richmond looks to lead the pack this Saturday as he comes into the weekend with the best time in the field with a 16:08. Alex is coming off a 4th place finish from the North Central Conference Championship two weeks ago. Behind him there should be a chase pack led by Kaden Young from Hagerstown as well as a handful of others that could be capable of breaking the 17 minute barrier.
The team race looks to be dominated by Richmond as their top 3 have all gone 16:41 or faster this season which could lead to the Red Devils placing 3 in the top 5. With an expected win on Saturday Richmond will look to win their first sectional since 2005 and 28th overall in school history. Behind Richmond Batesville looks to have the next best team largely due to better depth. For the last 3 qualifying spots it will be extremely tight as 5 schools will be right in the mix to advance. They include Northeastern, Rushville, East Central, Franklin Community, and Hagerstown.
Projected Advancing Teams
Richmond
Batesville
Northeastern
Rushville
East Central
Girls Race
Individually Callie Bentley from East Central will look to lead the race wire to wire as she has the best time entering the meet by over 40 seconds with a mark of 18:28. Her nearest competition will likely be her own teammate, Jena Weiler, who has run a 19:10 this season. Both girls ran these times earlier this year at the FlashRock Invitational. Lexiyne Harris and Kaylynn Bedel from Batesville and Anyah Amman from New Castle have also broken 20 minutes this season and will look to lead the chase pack.
On the team side East Central will certainly have help from Callie and Jena likely going 1-2 and will be supported by a strong 3-5 that are all expected to finish in the top 8 overall based on personal bests from this season. This will likely be a back-to-back sectional championship and the 4th in program history for the Trojans. Finishing close behind as runner-ups should be Bastesville as their scoring 5 is projected to finish in the top 15. New Castle and Richmond should be safe to advance with the final advancing position likely coming down to single digit point totals between Centerville, Rushville, and Connersville.
Projected Advancing Teams
#22 East Central
Batesville
New Castle
Richmond
Centerville
Sectional #19 - Shelbyville (Blue River Park)
Participating Teams: Center Grove, Decatur Central, Edinburgh, Franklin Community, Greenwood Christian Academy, Greenwood Community, Indian Creek, Mooresville, Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Southport, Southwestern (Shelbyville), Triton Central, Waldron, Whiteland Community
Boys Race
Individually Kyle Montgomery from Center Grove enters the meet with the fastest time this season followed closely by this Trojan teammate Gavin Rockwell. Their times are 15:27 and 15:31 which rank them 19th and 24th in the state. Luke Haggerty from Perry Meridian will likely lead the chase pack as he is the only other individual with a mark under 16 minutes this season with a time of 15:54. This chase pack should include about 10 individuals in the sub 16:30 range.
On the team side Center Grove looks to place their scoring 5 in the top 15 to secure the win. This would be their 5th consecutive championship and 10th overall for the school if they are victorious. Behind the Trojans should be a battle for the runner-up position between Perry Meridian and Indian Creek with both teams looking evenly matched. Roncalli should be safe to advance in 4th with a three way team battle occurring for the final spot between Greenwood Community, Southport, and Mooresville.
Projected Advancing Teams
#14 Center Grove
Perry Meridian
Indian Creek
Roncalli
Greenwood
Girls Race
Individually Libby Dowty of Indian Creek looks to dominate the race as her best time this season ranks her 4th in the state with a 17:09 which is nearly 90 seconds faster than her nearest competitors. This time was run recently at the Nike Valley Twilight meet where Libby finished 4th overall and 2nd for Indiana participants. Victoria Jackson of Whiteland Community and Lily Rollings have the next best times this season at 18:35 and 18:50 respectively and look to control the rest of the field.
One the team side Roncalli has an impressive top 3 that could place in the top 7 this weekend. The Royals are favorites to win this weekend and will need all 5 of their runners to step up as their depth is not too deep. A win on Saturday would be the school's first sectional championship. The Royals biggest competitors will be Franklin Community and Center Grove with both teams having a better 1-5 spread. Southport and Whiteland Community are favored to be the last two teams to advance.
Projected Advancing Teams
#24 Roncalli
Center Grove
Franklin Community
Southport
Whiteland
Sectional #20 - Southwestern (Hanover College)
Participating Teams: Austin, Charlestown, Crothersville, Henryville, Jac-Cen-Del, Lawrenceburg, Madison Consolidated, Milan, New Washington, Rising Sun, Scottsburg, Shawe Memorial, Southwestern Hanover, Switzerland County, South Dearborn, South Ripley
Boys Race
Individually it looks to be a three way battle for the win. Ben Riehle from Milan has the top time with a 15:58, Carlos Mata from Austin has gone 15:59, and Jadon Muncy from Scottsburg has gone 16:02. Riehle's teammates, Lucas Cooney and Gabriel Riehle, should be the next competitors with the rest of the pack following behind in the upper 16 to lower 17 minute range.
The team race should have Milan taking the win with their top 4 projected to finish in the top 12. If Milan wins it will be a back-to-back championship after winning the school's first championship ever last year. Austin and Madison have similarly matched teams with Austin having the upper hand with the largest gap occurring in each team's #5 runner. The final two spots will likely come down to 3 teams where every point will make a significant difference in the standings. These schools include Henryville, Shaw Memorial, and New Washington.
Projected Advancing Teams
Milan
Austin
Madison
Henryville
Shaw Memorial
Girls Race
Individually Kaylee Kinser from Charlestown looks to have the best time so far this season with a 19:11 which puts her over a minute ahead of her nearest competitor which is Victoria Gammons from Southwestern who has gone 20:12 this season. Kaylee's teammate, Victoria Snyder, is expected to be next and lead a large pack of girls in the low 21 minute range.
The team race appears to be very evenly matched with Switzerland County and South Dearborn tied in a simulation of the meet. With a better spread and better #6 South Dearborn looks to be slightly favored heading into the meet which would be their first sectional championship since 2013. If Switzerland County wins it would be their second sectional championship in school history and first since 1996. Charlestown and Southwestern should both be safe to advance in positions 3 and 4 or better. The final advancing spot may be close but Rising Sun should be able to advance as they have a more favorable 1-5 spread and depth.
Projected Advancing Teams
South Dearborn
Switzerland County
Charlestown
Southwestern
Rising Sun