Off and Running / Some girls cross-country teams have state finals aspirations, while others battle low numbers

C olumbus North, Columbus East and Jennings County will look to make a run at the Girls Cross Country state finals this season.

Hauser and South Decatur, meanwhile, look to have enough runners to score as a team, but Brown County, Edinburgh and Trinity Lutheran won’t have enough runners to score as a team, at least in the beginning of the season.

Here’s a look at the outlook for those area teams:

Columbus North

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The Bull Dogs have a new coach in Rick Sluder, who has spent the past several years as the boys and girls coach at Munster.

“It’s a little different obviously with a new coach and new system,” Sluder said. “But the girls really picked up on it, and we had a great summer. We had just a lot of good buy-in, and the first three or four days of practice have been perfect.”

North made it to state last year, despite being hit hard by injuries late in the season. Junior Olivia Morlok, who was the Bull Dogs’ top runner as a freshman, battled leg injuries and was unable to compete in the regional and state meets.

“She had a good summer for us,” Sluder said. “She mixes swimming and running, and that’s going to help a lot. She’s had some health issues here and there, so we’re making sure she’s healthy all year. She looks like she’ll be a good frontrunner for us.”

Sophomores Aric Tong and Mackenzie Barnett were among North’s top four runners most of last season. Seniors Emma Smith, Abbey Landini and Emma Lawson and sophomore Ella Anderson all ran in at least one postseason race.

Freshmen Katherine Rumsey and Abby Jacoby are pushing for varsity spots.

The Bull Dogs finished fourth in Conference Indiana last season. They won Brown County Sectional and Regional titles before finishing fourth in the Brown County Semistate and 24th at state.

“Fourth in the semistate for us is kind of acceptable, but not where we want to be, so we kind of set a goal to climb back in that top three, and if we get top three there, that will put us top-15, top-10 at state again,” Sluder said. “So we’re kind of looking at a two-to-three-year plan of moving back up.”

Columbus East

The Olympians finished fourth in the Hoosier Hills Conference, third in the sectional, fourth in the regional and 18th at semistate last season.

With five varsity runners returning, East hopes to build on those finishes.

“Our goal again is to get to semistate,” East coach Jesse Shoaf said. “We want to get in the top three in (Hoosier Hills) conference and keep progressing as a program. I think it’s going to be a positive season.”

Junior Olivia Linnemann was the Olympians No. 1 runner at the end of last season. Senior Amanda Pottorff and sophomore Elizabeth Stevens spent some time as the No. 2 runner, and sophomore Katie Hagan and junior Ashley Novreske also ran varsity.

Those runners are being pushed by a talented and deep freshman class that includes Jordan Spurgeon, Olivia Shoaf, Mallory Rupp, Kerigan Greathouse and Kaylin DeHart.

“We want to build off of this big group of freshmen,” Jesse Shoaf said. “I really expect at least three of those freshmen to be varsity runners from the get-to. We’re going to be deeper than we’ve ever been. We’re excited about where we are with our youth.”

Hauser

The Jets will begin the season with six runners, one more than they had last season, when they finished third in the Mid-Hoosier Conference and 10th in the sectional.

Sophomore Tammy Essex was one of Hauser’s top two runners all season. Junior Leah Joyce and senior Kristin Keith were the Nos. 4 and 5 runners.

Joining that trio this season are sophomore newcomers Addison Jones, Lexi Tallent and Ninel Garcia-Sims.

“I think we can be competitive,” Hauser coach Ben Finke said. “We have a lot of younger runners, so we can keep developing and be even more competitive in the future.”

Jennings County

The Panthers finished third in the HHC and won the Southwestern (Hanover) Sectional last season before finishing fifth in the regional and 15th at semistate.

This year, Jennings has have high hopes of finishing in the top six at semistate, which would earn them a berth to the state meet at Terre Haute’s LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.

“We’ve been doing two-a-days all summer, and we’ve put in more mileage than any team I’ve ever coached,” Jennings coach Leah McLeod said. “We have a lot of seniors, and I’m hoping they don’t get senioritis. If not, I think we have a good shot to get to LaVern.”

Junior Emma Morrison broke the school record and was the sectional runner-up last season. Seniors Kaylee Ebinger and Ashley Heindel aren’t far behind her, and sophomore Elizabeth Wahlman likely will be the Panthers’ No. 4 runner.

Seniors Alana Daeger and Patricia Henney also return to the varsity and could be joined by junior Emily Waldo. Sophomore newcomers Samantha Sproles, a state track qualifier in the long jump, and Heather Sea and freshman Rilee Hicks also could push for varsity spots.

“Emma Morrison is pretty determined to be the sectional champ,” McLeod said. “She’s working her tail off, and Kaylee Ebinger is right there with her. She’s coming off a phenomenal track season.”

Brown County

The Eagles opened practice with only four runners, one short of the number needed to score as a team.

Sophomores Emie Koester and Anna Fleetwood were the top runners on a team that finished fifth in the Western Indiana Conference, fourth in the sectional and sixth in the regional. Juniors Maris Wyman and Angel Meece also return.

“A few girls didn’t come out, so it’s hard to fill the numbers,” Brown County coach Rob Abraham said. “Hopefully, that will change a little bit once we get into school. Even though it’s a small team, they have good attitudes, and we still have some quality runners that are leading the way.”

South Decatur

The Cougars return five of their six runners from a team that finished fifth in the MHC and have added a couple of newcomers, including a transfer.

Junior Sierra Kalli has been South Decatur’s top runner the past two seasons. She will be pushed by junior Bailey Tomson, who was the No. 2 runner at North Decatur last year.

Also returning for the Cougars are sophomore Ali Bolianger and juniors Claire Hamilton, Tori Storm and Brianna Browder. They will be joined by freshman Shelby Martin.

“We have some great leaders and a good balance,” South Decatur coach Bethany Fromer said. “Top runner Sierra Kalli has almost logged 150 miles on the summer thus far.”

Edinburgh

The Lancers began the season with three girls, and hope to pick up a couple more once school begins.

Junior Kaylia Kelley is the lone returning runner. Joining her are sophomores Malkia Willard and Elle Dayton.

“We’re just hoping to improve their times,” Edinburgh coach Amy Schilling said. “They’re basketball players that are just trying to stay in shape.”

Trinity Lutheran

The Cougars have only one girl this season in sophomore Abby Hildreth. Her mother Jennifer Hildreth is the new coach.

“She improved throughout the season last year,” Jennifer Hildreth said. “We’ve been talking about goals for her for this season, and that was to improve on what she did last year.”

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2018 cross-country schedules for Bartholomew County schools:

Columbus East

Aug. 15;at Brown County Challenge;5:45 p.m.

Aug. 18;at Zionsville Invitational;9 a.m.

Aug. 21;Columbus North (at Ceraland);5:30 p.m.

Aug. 25;at Rushville Invitational;9 a.m.

Sept. 1;at Columbus North Classic (Ceraland);9:30 a.m.

Sept. 8;at Ben Davis Invitational;9:30 a.m.

Sept. 15;at Flashrock Invitational (Carmel);9 a.m.

Sept. 22;at Bedford North Lawrence Invitational;9 a.m.

Sept. 29;HHC at Floyd Central;9 a.m.

Columbus North

Aug. 21;Columbus East (at Ceraland);5:30 p.m.

Aug. 25;at Shelbyville Dave Bannon Invitational;10 a.m.

Sept. 1;Columbus North Classic (Ceraland);9:30 a.m.

Sept. 8;at Brown County Eagle Classic;9:15 a.m.

Sept. 15;Conference Indiana at LaVern Gibson (Terre Haute);10 a.m.

Sept. 22;at New Haven Invite (at Purdue-Fort Wayne);8:45 a.m.

Sept. 29;at Nike Valley Twilight (LaVern Gibson);6:45 p.m.

Hauser

Aug. 18;at Rising Sun Invitational;9 a.m.

Aug. 25;at Rushville Invitational;9 a.m.

Aug. 28;at Greensburg (with South Decatur);5 p.m.

Sept. 8;at Whiteland Invitational;8:30 a.m.

Sept. 15;MHC at Blue River Park;9 a.m.

Sept. 25;at Morristown;5 p.m.

Sept. 27;at Greensburg Invitational;5 p.m.

Sept. 29;Heritage Day Classic;9 a.m.

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