Individuals to Watch For
(Wellman, left, and Bennett, right, photo courtesy of Jonathan Grooms)
Renne Wellman (Carmel)
SR, 17:50
Last year: 8th (3rd returner)
Wellman has turned it on as of late winning her conference by 15 seconds over her teammate Sarah Bennett, her regional by 15 seconds over another of her Helen Williams, and winning her semi-state over Mackenzie Caldwell of Columbus North by 4 seconds. She has recorded the fastest time in the state so far this year as she is only one of two girls to dip under the 18-minute barrier.
Sarah Bennett (Carmel)
SR, 18:05
Last year: 3rd (Top returner)
When talking about the Carmel squad its hard to just talk about one of there runners. All of there top five are under 18 and 3 of them are ranked in the top four. Bennett was the top girl for the greyhounds at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invite with a time of 18:13. Not only did she finish 3rd last year, she went on to finish 42nd at NXN Nationals and led her team to a 7th place finish. While she might of gotten third at both her regional and semi-state, she could easily finish in the top 3 for state, and possibly even higher than that.
SO, 18:07
Last year: Did not race
Another girl from Carmel to watch out for, Walsh has had a super sophomore year. She claimed the victory at the Culver Academy Invite with her PR of 18:07. She finished fourth this past weekend at the Carmel Semi-State. Watch for Walsh to be in the top pack this weekend.
Chanli Mundy (Terre Haute North Vigo)
JR, 17:57
Last year: 16th (8th returner)
Mundy is the other girl to dip under 18 so far this year. She was the winner in last weeks Brown County Semi-State over freshman Allison Rollins. She finished 5th when she faced the Carmel team last at confernces. She was behind Wellman, Bennet, as well as Breanna Poulsen of North Central and Ginva Gencvo of Carmel. She has notched wins at major meets such as the Terre Haute Savings Bank Invite, Franklin Invitational, and the Brown County Invite.
Ashley Erba (Warsaw)
JR, 18:07
Last year: Did not qualify
While Erba might not have made State last year, she has been on a mission this year. She has gone undefeated this year heading into this weekend. She recorded her best time this year at the Semi-State meet winning by just over 30 seconds over Samantha Roush who finished 12th last year.
Mackenzie Caldwell (Columbus North)
SO, 18:10
Last year: 41st
After a fairly good start to her season (5th at Flashrock and 10th at Culver Academy Invite), Caldwell has turned it on. She won her conference and sectional then split the Carmel girls at her regional and Semi-State. She comes in ranked 7th and could make a big jump from her 41st place last year.
Bobbie Burgess (West Lafayette)
JR, 18:19
Last year: 68th
Burgess is coming off of three straight victories. She captured the New Prairie Semi-State title winning by 12 seconds. She helped lead her team to a 1st place finish as well. She also notched wins in the regular season at the Purdue High School Invite and the Ben Davis Invitational.
Teams
Check Out Milesplit’s Team Rankings
The Greyhounds are ranked 3rd nationally and its hard seeing them lose this weekend. They have three girls ranked in the top four and all five of their scorers have run under 18:30. They look as strong as ever again this year, poised to win for their second straight year.
The Bulldogs topped Carmel two years ago but are a bit off of that this year. Led by Mackenzie Caldwell and Rachael Sollman, Columbus North is a very strong team. They are coming off of a 2nd place finish at the Carmel Semi-State.
West Lafayette was able to squeak past Valpo in the New Prairie Semi-State. Bobbie Burgess has led her team well as they average just over 19 minutes. They have a strong pack of Grace Lachmund, Delaney Barber, Cailey Daluga, and Kelly Swift who are within 19 seconds of each other.
Hamilton Southeastern High School
HSE was 15 points behind Columbus North last weekend and 134 points behind Carmel. They have little experience at the state meet but senior Brooke Morgan and freshman Rachel Nichwitz have formed a solid 1-2 punch for Hamilton Southeastern. Watch for them to be up in the mix this weekend.