Columbus North’s Neal White gets ready to cross the finish line in 12th place at the Boys Cross Country State Finals on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
TERRE HAUTE — Columbus North’s cross-country teams always have prided themselves on running their best in the postseason, and especially at the state meet.
After Saturday’s Boys and Girls Cross Country State Finals, the Bull Dogs definitely can say they did that. The North boys finished sixth, and the girls were 12th, improving on their rankings of eighth and 19th and beating the teams that had beaten them in last week’s regional.
“This was a Columbus North-type of day,” North coach Rick Sluder said. “We came in, and other teams ran ‘off,’ and we ran our best race on the day it mattered. So I’m really happy with these 14 kids.”
The Bull Dog boys just missed their goal of a podium finish, with Hamilton Southeastern edging them 142-144 for fifth place. Carmel won with 76, followed by Fishers (185), Brownsburg (218) and Zionsville (232).
“We knew we could be in the top five and medal if we ran great, and we darn near did it,” Sluder said. “So I’m really excited with these guys. We graduated five from last year’s state team, and we came back and got sixth by two points. I’m really happy with those guys. It was a great day on the guys’ side.”
North did put one runner on the awards podium. Junior Neal White earned All-State honors with a 12th-place finish in 15 minutes, 25.7 seconds for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
“I’m really happy with my performance,” White said. “I’ve gone a long way since last year in running and other regards, and I think that’s helped me get to this point. I’m glad I could help out the team. It’s (bad) because it’s so close to podium, but you can’t be upset with sixth in the state, really”
White was just outside the top 25 in the early part of the race before working his way up through the pack.
“I felt really good,” White said. “I tried to stay relaxed and not let pressure really build up on myself.”
“Neal White ran amazing today,” Sluder added. “Top 12 and a medal is something that we really value at North.”
Senior Akot Tong finished 67th in 16:03.5. Sophomore Jace Works took 100th in 16:14,2, while sophomore Logan Vanzant was 111th (16:17.9), junior Draven Martinez 120th (16:21.6), senior Adam Reckers 139th (16:27.4) and junior Jonny Klaus 171st (16:38.8).
“I think we ran really well,” Tong said. “People like Logan on our team really stepped up and ran fast. He got like a 15-second PR, and that really helped our team. We raced our hardest, and I feel like that’s what matters the most, even if we didn’t get top-five.”
Jennings County had one individual competing. Junior Kradeyn Young finished 44th in 15:53.9.
Meanwhile, the North girls finished with 353 points, one behind 11th-place Brownsburg. Homestead slipped past Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran 108-115 for the title.
“We had an outstanding day, and I’m really excited with those girls because out of last year’s semistate team, we graduated all seven seniors, and we graduated six from last year’s state meet, and these girls still came back here and darn-near got top 10,” Sluder said. “We were never the 12th-best team in the state of Indiana until today. So I’m really excited with those girls.”
Junior Carys Glyn-Jones led the Bull Dogs with a 29th-place finish in 18:28.5, a personal-best by 33 seconds.
“I had the goal of making sure that by the end of the race, I’d given everything, and I definitely felt that way,” Glyn-Jones said. “So I’m just really happy. I’m very proud of us. I think all the hard work paid off.”
Sophomore Ainsley Sherlock, the only North girl who returned from last year’s state lineup, finished 94th in 19:16.2. Junior Kyleigh Wolf took 135th in 19:42.6, while freshman Emma Lowther was 166th (20:02.5), freshman Tristan Works 185th (20:13.7), junior Macy Eaton 220th (20:53.4) and junior Katie Frazier 232nd (21:12.3).
“Carys ran great up top, and our freshmen ran well,” Sluder said. “Ainsley ran well, and Kyleigh battled through the second half of the race.”
“I think we all pushed ourselves as hard as we could,” Sherlock added. “I think we all ran great, and we all just worked together as a team. We all are very excited with our team placement and our individual placements.”
North isn’t finished with the season. The Bull Dogs plan to have several boys and girls runners compete in the Nike Midwest Regional Nov. 12 in Terre Haute and the Running Lane National Championships Dec. 2 in Huntsville, Alabama.
