Columbus North’s Akot Tong is The Republic Boys Track Athlete of the Year. He is pictured at The Republic in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Despite having two older sisters who ran cross-country and track at Columbus North, Akot Tong wasn’t the biggest fan of running while growing up.
But by the time he reached high school, Tong was hooked.
“I actually didn’t like running in middle school, but after seventh-grade year, I started to try more, and I found out that I was getting a lot better, and the more I got better, the more I enjoyed running,” Tong said. “I actually didn’t know if I was going to do cross-country in high school or not, but then one of my former teammates, Kellen Hottell, reached out to me and said I should go to some of the summer practices. So I did, and I really enjoyed it. Then my freshman year, I really liked it and thought it was the sport for me.”
Tong ended his high school career earlier this month by running in the 4×800-meter relay and 800 in the Boys Track and Field State Finals. He is The Republic Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
The progress Tong made from his freshman to his senior year was staggering. He improved his best time nearly two minutes for the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) cross-country race and went from a 2 minute, 5-second 800 as a sophomore to 1:53 as a senior.
“The light bulb went on for him this past summer, and he just turned up everything,” North coach Rick Sluder said. “His training, his attitude, everything got better, and in addition to that hard work, he was the absolute best teammate anyone could have. I’m so proud of Akot and his hard work. It was great leadership for our team this year.”
Tong played some Parks and Recreation soccer and played basketball with the Columbus Revolution when he was in elementary school. He continued playing basketball at Northside Middle School and on the freshman team at North. He grew to 6-foot-5, but after not seeing a lot of playing time on the JV team as a sophomore, he gave up basketball to focus on running.
“I feel like with basketball, if you don’t really get to play, you don’t really get to enjoy it,” Tong said. “In cross-country, you’re always going to be running, no matter how slow or how fast you are. You always have that constant improvement, and you can see your results from each race.”
After running JV for the Bull Dogs his first three years of cross-country and his first two years of track, Tong landed a spot on the 4×800 relay team as a junior. That unit finished seventh at state.
“It was a really big jump for me because that junior year, I actually didn’t do that well,” Tong said. “In cross-country, I didn’t PR from my sophomore year. So I remember telling myself I really wanted to train to get better because my (junior) cross-country season was trash. So I really trained harder for that track season and then got that varsity spot for that 4×800. I kept that mindset after track junior year and into the summer for senior year. I really trained hard and kept being consistent with my training, and that really helped me with my 5K times.”
Last fall, Tong ran a personal-best of 15:42 in cross-country and was the No. 2 runner on a North team that finished sixth at state.
“Last spring, he started running 4×400 for us, and he exploded with speed,” Sluder said. “Then, it transferred to the 800 and the 1,600 and then in cross-country. It was just awesome to watch him explode.”
Tong ran splits as fast as 1:53 in the 4×800 relay this spring for the Bull Dogs, who had the state’s fastest time in that event this season. They had hopes of a state title and were in contention for second place until anchor Jace Works fell in the final 150 meters.
Later that day, Tong came back to finish 17th in the 800.
“The ending wasn’t what I expected and what I thought we could get,” Tong said. “It was unfortunate how it ended, but I think overall, we had a really good season.”
The running isn’t over for Tong. He is headed to IU East to continue his cross-country and track career and major in computer science.
“The coach reached out to me one day, and I visited them and I really liked how small the school was,” Tong said. “It wasn’t a big school, and I thought I could do really well there. I met with the team, and the traditions over there looked really good and I thought I could fit in with them.
“I’m really excited,” he added. “We have an upcoming team camp that I’m going to show up for, and I’m really excited to see what the traditions and culture are over there and see what I can add to that team.”
Tong is thankful for the development he was able to make on and off the course and track during his time at North.
“With my two coaches, (former cross-country) coach (Danny) Fisher and coach Sluder, I think they both had a really big impact on my life, and I really thank them both for helping me progress through life and Columbus North High School,” Tong said.
The Republic All-Area Boys Track and Field team:
Akot Tong, Colubmus North: The senior ran on the regional champion 4×800 relay team and was a state qualifier in the 800.
Jace Works, Columbus North: The sophomore ran on the regional champion 4×800 relay team and was a regional qualifier in the 800.
Frankie Polyak, Columbus North: The senior ran on the regional champion 4×800 relay team.
Logan Vanzant, Columbus North: The sophomore ran on the regional champion 4×800 relay team.
Drew Schiefer, Columbus North: The senior finished fifth in the regional in the shot put and discus.
Draven Martinez, Columbus North: The junior finished fifth in the regional in the 1,600.
Owen Russell, Columbus North: The junior finished fifth in the regional in the 300 hurdles and was a regional qualifier in the 110 hurdles.
Jonny Klaus, Columbus North: The junior finished eighth in the regional in the 3,200.
Ben Stevens, Columbus North: The junior ran on the 4×400 relay team that finished fourth in the regional.
Derek Arau-Ortiz, Columbus North: The senior ran on the 4×400 relay team that finished fourth in the regional.
Jackson Hartwell, Edinburgh: The junior was the regional champion in the long jump.
Blaine Ison, Jennings County: The senior was a state qualifier in the 100 and 4×100 relay.
Branden Braun, Jennings County: The senior ran on the state-qualifying 4×100 relay team.
Loki Hifo, Jennings County: The senior ran on the state-qualifying 4×100 relay team.
JoJo Hifo, Jennings County: The senior ran on the state-qualifying 4×100 relay team.
McKinley Shook, South Decatur: The senior finished fourth in the regional in the 110 hurdles and was a regional qualifier in the 300 hurdles.
Honorable mention
Columbus East: Kadyn Johnson-Bey, Austin Menefee, Brody Miller, Rendon Scott. Columbus North: Matt Burge, Josiah Davis, Liam Milne, Adam Reckers. Jennings County: Will Barnes, Jackson Earl, Logan Lawson, Dawson Leak, Kraedyn Young. South Decatur: Owen Arreola.
