Hello Indiana Cross Country and Track & Field community,
My name is Justin Amburgy and I accepted the role as Indiana's editor for MileSplit almost halfway through last cross country season.
I have been involved with the sport for most of my life and have come to truly appreciate how special our state is for the XC / Track & Field community. With some of the nation's best cross country courses including LaVern Gibson, as well as a new soon-to-be national caliber indoor facility at Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion at the state fairgrounds, we are truly spoiled with the facilities that support our athletes. Not many other states can boast the level of talent that Indiana consistently produces.
My interest in the sport started from a young age when I was in elementary school in New Haven which is located in the greater Fort Wayne area. I joined the school's running club that met each Wednesday, and sometimes during recess, to run laps around the school. A few years later, when my family moved to Noblesville, I would run and win a few youth races and discover that I may have a talent which is one of the main reasons I decided to begin my running career.
Photo by Melinda Amburgy Photography from the 2018 Hamilton County XC Championships.
I lettered eight times in cross country and track at Noblesville High School. In my Senior year I had the opportunity to intern with MileSplit Indiana when Becca Atchley was the state editor. I appreciated her efforts in covering the sport and loved having a centralized location for everything that I had grown to love about running. She was a rockstar and always had something interesting to highlight. Becca still contributes occasionally and now works for FloSports, the parent company to MileSplit.
Photo by Melinda Amburgy Photography.
In high school I spent hours on MileSplit going through all the data with virtual meets, comparing teams, watching race videos and interviews, as well as catching up on whatever the latest story was in the community. When the internship was posted in the summer of 2018 I knew that it would be a good spot for me so I immediately applied and joined the team as an intern. Throughout that year, I had the opportunity to interview some of my standout peers, get to write previews about meets, and help out with our social media channels in their infancy stages.
In college I primarily ran in the 5K and 10K events in track. Pictured above was from an outdoor meet at Bellarmine.
After high school I was fortunate enough to walk on the team at IUPUI (soon to be IU Indianapolis) and was able to grow my passion for the sport as it became something more than just going out and racing. Being able to experience the sport on the next level was an incredible time and allowed for some of the most memorable experiences of my life. 
Photo by Melinda Amburgy Photography from the Butler Opener in 2021 at Northview.
The friendships and relationships with others will certainly make an impact on my life for many years to come. I would go on to graduate from the Kelley School of Business and was presented with the opportunity to return to MileSplit with the role of state editor.
Me and my housemates after our team claimed the school's third consecutive Horizon League Cross Country Championship in 2021.
Photo by Melinda Amburgy Photography.
I look forward to continuing to expand the awareness and excitement surrounding our sport. Highlighting the achievements of our athletes and teams is something that I am passionate about . As we continue to build off of our growth I want to highlight that a lot of the content that you see on the platform would not be possible without contributors throughout the state that care deeply about the sport. Our contributors include photographers, videographers, writers, and so many other positions that are performed by several that have great enthusiasm for the XC and Track & Field. Some include parents, coaches, college athletes, and even sometimes high school interns. If you are interested in joining our team and expanding our coverage you can submit an application here.
I hope to continue and grow not only MileSplit's presence but also expand Indiana's footprint in the XC and Track & Field community. I aim to do my part to help bring recognition and the much deserved national spotlight to our state more often. I appreciate everyone that has helped me get to this point, it is an honor to be presented with this opportunity. If you ever have any questions or want to point out something that I messed up, please feel free to reach me at milesplitin@gmail.com.
Looking forward to what is coming in 2024 and the seasons that lay ahead, best of luck to everyone!
~ Justin Amburgy