Last year was a big year for at least three area girls cross-country teams. Columbus North qualified for the state finals, and Columbus East and Jennings County made it to the semistate.
Those teams will look to make similar runs this fall. The season gets under way Aug. 21 when North and East compete in the Brown County XC Challenge.
Here is a look at those and other area teams for the 2019 season:
Columbus North
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The Bull Dogs were hit hard by injuries during the postseason last year. After winning Brown County sectional and regional titles, they finished fifth in the Brown County Semistate and 20th at the state finals.
"Our first goal is to improve at semistate," North coach Rick Sluder said. "We didn’t feel we ran up to our effort at last year’s semistate. We feel if we can do that, we can make a run at top 10 (at state)."
Senior Olivia Morlok was last year’s The Republic Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year. Juniors Mackenzie Barnett and Aric Tong were the Bull Dogs’ Nos. 2 and 3 runners, although Barnett missed the postseason with an injury.
Senior Kennedy Kerber, who has battled injuries the past two cross-country seasons, is back after a solid track season.
"Those four have been great leaders and worked really hard in practice, leading the way for a young team behind them," Sluder said. "Our juniors and seniors, a lot of them have really taken to it this summer and worked hard, so that’s really encouraging."
Sophomore Abigail Jacobi ran varsity at the end of last season. At least two freshmen, Brianna Newell and Jessica Meza, figure to make an immediate impact.
Sophomores Katherine Rumsey and Alyssa Green and a host of freshmen also are pushing for varsity spots.
"We had a good summer," Sluder said. "We had good numbers all summer. It’s been nice to kind of have 13 or 14 freshman pushing each other up there."
Columbus East
The Olympians made their strongest showing in several years when they finished second in the Brown County Sectional last season. They then finished fourth in the regional and 15th at semistate.
"I think as the season begins, we’re moving in the direction we’re hoping," East coach Jesse Shoaf said. "We’re kind of where we were last year. I think we’re going to be very competitive this year, as we have been the past few years."
Senior Olivia Linnemann has been the team’s No. 1 runner the past two years. Sophomore Olivia Shoaf, junior Elizabeth Stevens and sophomores Jordan Spurgeon and Kaylin DeHart also return to the varsity.
Sophomores Kerigan Greathouse and Mallory Rupp also ran some varsity last year. Freshman Chloe Krueger and sophomore newcomer Laurel Knight have shown promise.
"We have a few girls that are going to kind of lead the way for us," Jesse Shoaf said. "We have a big sophomore group coming back, and I expect that they will improve. Our goal is to help each one of those girls get better and faster."
Hauser
With only three healthy runners, Jets coach Ben Finke is looking for at couple more to allow them to score as a team.
Junior Tammy Essex, a regional qualifier as an individual, has a stress fracture and will miss most of season. She led Hauser to and eighth-place sectional finish.
Senior Leah Joyce and junior Addison Jones return. They are joined by junior newcomer Kaitlynn Everroad.
"We have a couple potential All-(Mid-Hoosier) Conference runners," Finke said. "We’re just looking for improvement over the season all across the board."
Jennings County
The Panthers lost four seniors from a team that won the Southwestern (Hanover) Sectional and finished second in the Brown County Regional and 11th at semistate. To make matters worse, senior Emma Morrison, their top runner last season, has a hyperextended hip.
"It’s a rebuilding year," Jennings coach Leah McLeod said. "Unfortunately, we’ve had several injuries, so we’re kind of working around that."
Juniors Elizabeth Wahlman and Heather Sea return to the varsity, and sophomore Rilee Hicks was the No. 7 runner in the postseason. Junior Sam Sproles, a two-time state qualifier in track and field, is back after being injured last season.
Freshman Halle Franks has been one of the Panthers’ top three runners in practice so far. Senior Emily Waldo also figures to land a varsity spot.
"Halle as a freshman has stepped in and said ‘I’m not scared of anybody.’ That’s made Elizabeth step up. If we can get Emma healthy, we should be OK."
Brown County
After not having enough runners to score as a team last postseason, the Eagles have the minimum five runners to begin this year.
Junior Emelia Koester qualified for semistate as an individual. Junior Anna Fleetwood and senior Maris Wyman were regional qualifiers.
Freshman Abby Fleetwood figures to step in as the team’s No. 1 runner. Junior Emma DeBord, who ran as a freshman, also is back after not running last year.
"We’re working on trying to get a couple more runners out," Brown County coach Rob Abraham said. "The school size is smaller, and it’s a hard sell to get runners to come out for cross-country."
South Decatur
The Cougars will look to improve after finishing 10th in the South Dearborn Sectional.
Senior Sierra Kalli was a regional qualifier as an individual. Also returning are junior Ali Boilanger and seniors Claire Hamilton, Tori Storm and Brianna Browder.
Three freshman will look to land varsity spots in Abigail Collins, Elizabeth Flessner and Addison Baltus.
"We have a good mix of young runners and seasoned runners," South Decatur coach Bethany Fromer said. "Are early season goals are to get in shape, and stay mentally tough, set the tone for team early on and work together. Building team culture is always important. We work hard and play hard. We lift each other up when we get down. Having strong leadership from upperclassmen has always been key."
Edinburgh
The Lancers figure to have just enough to score as a team again this year after finishing ninth in last year’s Brown County Sectional.
The lone returner, Malkia Willard, currently is injured. Newcomers are sophomore Alyssa Funkhouser and freshmen Ceira Myers, Cloee Britton and Hannah Pile.
"They’ve been having some good runs," Edinburgh coach Amy Schilling said. "Funkhouser really has stayed up there. I think the freshmen will do a very good job helping us out."
Trinity Lutheran
The Cougars will begin the season with just four runners and are hoping to add a fifth.
Sophomore Sadie Nay was a regional qualifier as an individual last season. Her sister, senior Mya Nay, sat out last season after transferring from Madison.
"Mya and Sadie are super competitive with each other, which is super cool," Trinity coach Jennifer Hildreth said. "Mya ran with us last year, but didn’t get to compete in varsity races, so she’s super excited for this year."
Junior Abby Hildreth also returns from last season. New to the team is junior Bry Bailey.
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The 2019 girls cross-country schedules for Bartholomew County schools:
Columbus East
Aug. 21; at Brown County Challenge;5:45 p.m.
Aug. 24;at Zionsville Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Aug. 27;Columbus North;5:30 p.m.
Aug. 31;at Rushville Invitational;9 a.m.
Sept. 7;at Columbus North Invitational;9 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Ben Davis Invitational;9:30 a.m.
Sept. 28;at Bedford North Lawrence Invitational;9 a.m.
Oct. 5;HHC at Jeffersonville;9 a.m.
Columbus North
Aug. 21; at Brown County Challenge;5:45 p.m.
Aug. 24;at Zionsville Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Aug. 27;Columbus East;9:30 p.m.
Sept. 7;Columbus North Invitational;9 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Brown County Eagle Classic;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 21;Conference Indiana at Terre Haute;9:30 a.m.
Sept. 28;at Shelbyville Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Oct. 5;Nike Valley Twilight at Terre Haute;6:45 p.m.
Hauser
Saturday;at Austin Invitational;9 a.m.
Aug. 24;at Indian Creek Invitational;9 a.m.
Aug. 31;at Rushville Invitational;9 a.m.
Sept. 3;at Greensburg (with South Decatur);5 p.m.
Sept. 7;at East Central Invitational;9 a.m.
Sept. 14;at Whiteland Invitational;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 21;MHC at Blue River Park;8:30 a.m.
Sept. 28;Hauser Heritage Day Classic;9 a.m.
Oct. 1;at Morristown;5 p.m.
Oct. 3;at Greensburg Invitational;5 p.m.
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