4x200m Relay
Bishop Chatard in route to an HSR #1 time in the 4x200m at the first Whiteland HSR qualifier.
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard looks to have a comfortable lead on the rest of the pack with a seed time of 1:32.59 coming from their Whiteland HSR Qualifier #1 win. The team should be able to repeat as champions with Corydon Central, Delta, and Tippecanoe Valley being the only other teams under 1:35 this season.
For the girls there looks to be some tighter competition with three teams within .28 seconds of each others' seed time. West Lafayette holds the best time of 1:49.76 where they were able to hold off Hamilton Heights' 1:49.87 effort at the West Lafayette HSR Qualifier. Running this past weekend was Heritage Christian who should be in the mix as well with their team time of 1:50.04. Bishop Chatard will need to have themselves a day to repeat as champions in the event as they enter the meet at the #4 seed at 1:50.53.
4x400m Relay
Photo by Austin Wilson. Corydon Central on the way to a 4:13.04 to place 4th at the Bloomington North Invite #2 and secure HSR Small #3 for the 4x400m.
Bishop Chatard looks to be almost unstoppable as the team will try to also repeat as champions again as well in this event. Their 4x400m from the first Warren Central HSR Qualifier has over a 3.5 second better seed than any other school. Churubusco looks like they could also repeat as runner-ups as they have the second best seed at 3:35.76. West Lafayette could also improve from their 4th place finish last year as they are seeded at #3.
For the girls Chatard also looks to be the favorite as the only team under 4:10 this season with their 4:09.76 from the first Whiteland HSR Qualifier. The team won by nearly 4 seconds last year and should have more competition this year with West Lafayette running a time less than a second slower this season. Corydon Central looks to be not completely out of the picture as they hold a time of 4:13 from this season as well. This race could come down to the anchor runner or the quality of exchanges for the win.
4x800m Relay
Photo by Logan Wong. Julia Score helps run the Bishop Chatard squad to victory at the Whiteland HSR Qualifier #1 and to HSR Small #2 ranking.
Indian Creek enters with the top seed from their 8:18.84 performance from Nike Indoor Nationals in New York a couple weeks ago. If the team is able to repeat this performance they should have a great shot at winning which would be an incredible jump from their 22nd place finish last year at HSR. The teams that look to provide the biggest challenge include Oak Hill, Corydon Central, and Guerin Catholic as all have been 8:25 or faster this season.
Fort Wayne Concordia should dominate the field if they choose to run all of their starters in this event. The team holds a massive 24 second lead on the field based on seed times with their 9:20.38 effort from the Midwest High Performance Series HSR Qualifier. This time would rank top in the state even when adding all the schools for the HSR large division! The current 1A-3A HSR record looks to be in jeopardy as it currently sits at 9:26.38 from Eastern in 2013. Two other teams have also been sub 10 minutes this year with Bishop Chatard going 9:44 and Corydon Central going 9:53. Both of these teams are likely to improve their finals positioning from last year.
Distance Medley Relay
Photo from ohxc_ohtf on Instagram. Oak Hill after running a school record DMR and securing the HSR Small school top time for the event.
Oak Hill had a great DMR performance from the IWU HSR Qualifier #3 beating several HSR large division teams to win with a 10:30.96. This time would be very competitive in the large HSR division as it is the 4th fastest time this year in the state. The Golden Eagles should have a great opportunity to pick up valuable points in this event. Bishop Chatard looks to be the only other team under 11 minutes this season with a 10:54.22. Springs Valley was just off this barrier at 11:00.76.
Very similarly to the girls 4x800, the girls DMR looks to be the same story: dominance from the Concordia Cadets. Their time of 12:19.47 has an incredible 35 second lead on the field with Bishop Chatard being the only other team under 13 minutes at 12:54.02. There is a possibility that the team could lap the entire field this weekend if they choose to run all-out. Interestingly the same 1-2 teams from the state cross country meet this past fall would also field the top 2 fastest DMRs with Homestead having a faster time of 12:15.51.