Reaching His Goal / North senior who earned All-State honor is Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year

John Sluys had a big goal this cross-country season to finish in the top 25 in the state meet, which would land him on the All-State squad.

The Columbus North senior accomplished that with a 22nd-place finish in leading the Bull Dogs to a sixth-place team effort.

“It was definitely one of my best performances,” said Sluys, The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year.

But Sluys was far from a one-hit wonder. He was North’s No. 1 runner in every meet this season.

In the postseason, Sluys won Brown County Sectional and Regional titles.

“Going into cross-country season this year, I was coming off a good track season, and then our offseason training in the summer went well. We always run year-round, so that always helps as far as staying in shape. “I think overall, the season went well, and I ran my races mostly consistent throughout the year. It’s something that I’m proud of.”

Sluys showed flashes of brilliance early in the season when he finished third in the Columbus North Classic in 16 minutes, 4.2 seconds, a personal-best by nearly 20 seconds. He lowered that 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) personal record to 16:03.3 in the regional.

“He had a great race at our invite meet we hosted at the beginning of the year,” North coach Danny Fisher said. “I think that was his breakout race.”

At state, Sluys ran 16:17.1 on a tougher course. His finish enabled him to be selected for and compete in the Mideast All-Star Meet, which featured top seniors from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.

“He’s just a great kid,” Fisher said. “He takes care of his business academically, and he does what he’s supposed to in practice and it paid off in the end. His goal for the season was to be All-State, so he accomplished that, running a great last 2K at the state meet. He’s one of the toughest kids I know. He does a lot of great things for the team. He’s a good model for the freshman and sophomore classes we have.”

Sluys has talked with coaches at Purdue and Rose-Hulman and also is looking at Michigan. An Academic All-State performer, he wants to study mechanical engineering.

For now, Sluys is preparing for track season. He was a regional qualifier in the 3,200 last season and hopes to qualify for this year’s state finals.

“I think I’ll definitely do better this year than last year,” Sluys said. “I think I’ve had some ups and downs here and there, one with my IT-band. I think I’m at an, ‘Up’ right now. But where I’m at right now, I’ve not always been here.”

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The Republic All-Area Boys Cross-Country team:

John Sluys, Columbus North: The senior won Brown County Sectional and regional titles and finished seventh at semistate and 22nd at state.

Rishi Poludasu, Columbus North: The senior finished second in the sectional, third in the regional, 32nd in the semistate and 52nd at state.

Sam Horak, Columbus North: The senior finished eighth in the sectional, fourth in the regional, 12th in the semistate and 69th at state.

Matt Newell, Columbus North: The freshman finished 21st in the regional, 32nd in the semistate and 77th at state.

Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff, Columbus North: The freshman finished eighth in the regional, 73rd in the semistate and 127th at state.

Carter Leak, Jennings County: The junior won HHC and Southwestern (Hanover) Sectional titles and finished second in the regional, 18th in the semistate and 83rd at state.

Lane Elsner, Jennings County: The freshman finished fourth in the sectional, 14th in the regional, 42nd in the semistate and 122nd at state.

Alex Hendrix, Jennings County: The senior finished third in the sectional, seventh in the regional, 24th in the semistate and 161st at state.

Marino Dolph, Brown County: The senior finished fifth in the Brown County sectional, 19th in the regional and 38th in the semistate.

Honorable mention

Brown County: Jackson McPheeters. Columbus East: Tyler Hertle, Garrett McGaha. Columbus North: Evan Carr, Collin Pruitt. Hauser: Ryan Ault. Jennings County: Jason Gasper, Gavin Hendrix. Trinity Lutheran: AJ Goecker.

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