It wasn’t that long ago that the Brown County Semistate was considered the weakest of the state’s four cross-country semistates.
The boys and girls fields certainly got stronger in 2013 when realignment shifted perennial power Columbus North’s path through Brown County. Now, with the exception of the always-loaded Shelbyville Semistate, Brown County is competitive with the others.
On Saturday, four of the top 10 teams in the state coaches rankings, and six of the top 23 boys teams will be at Eagle Park. The top six in each meet earn spots in the Nov. 2 state finals in Terre Haute.
The Bull Dogs haven’t won semistate titles since the boys won seven in a row from 2009-15, and the girls won four in a row from 2012-15.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
North’s third-ranked girls team will be the favorite in this year’s race, but will face challenges from No. 5 Bloomington North, No. 8 Floyd Central and No. 10 Bloomington South. The Bull Dogs’ only loss to an Indiana team this season was to No. 4 Carmel, a loss they avenged late in the regular season.
"Bloomington North and Floyd Central are going to be very tough," Columbus North girls coach Rick Sluder. "But that’s our goal going in — to make them beat us. We’ll be full strength, and we’ve had a really good week of practice this week, so we feel really confident that we can give it our best and do really well."
The boys race likely will come down to a battle between No. 5 Bloomington South and No. 6 Columbus North. No. 13 Floyd Central, No. 20 Bloomington North, No. 22 Jasper and No. 23 Jennings County also are in the boys field.
The Bull Dogs and Bloomington South have split four races this season.
"Every time we have raced, it’s been within a handful of points," Columbus North boys coach Danny Fisher said. "It will come down to just beating people. We’re 100 percent healthy. Mentally and physically, we’re pretty fresh and sharp. We run most of the season on tired legs, but we’ve rested them a little bit, and they’re ready to go."
Three local individuals — Brown County’s Chase Austin, Hauser’s Ryan Ault and Columbus East’s Nick Walter — also will compete. The top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the state meet.
The Columbus East and Jennings County girls also will be competing. The Olympians received a boost last week when top runner Olivia Linnemann returned from an injury to run in the regional.
"I think she’ll be a little bit closer to her normal times," East girls coach Jesse Shoaf said. "Chloe (Krueger) and Laurel (Knight) and Olivia have been progressing well all season, and their goal is to (set a personal record) on Saturday. Our goal going in is just to work on individual times and really kind of focus on developing where we’re at compared to everybody else at this point."
The boys race begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by the girls race at 12:15 p.m.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Brown County Semistate cross-country
Where: Eagle Park, Nashville
When: 11:30 a.m. Saturday (boys); 12:15 p.m. Saturday (girls)
Who: 20 boys teams, including Columbus North and Jennings County and individuals Nick Walter (Columbus East), Ryan Ault (Hauser) and Chase Austin (Brown County); and 20 girls teams, including North, East and Jennings
Admission: $8
[sc:pullout-text-end]
