Matt Newell sent shockwaves through the Indiana distance running world this spring when he won sectional and regional titles and finished 11th in the Boys Track and Field State Finals in the 1,600 meters as a freshman.
This fall, Newell picked up right where he left off, albeit in a sport with a little greater distance. The Columbus North sophomore won North Regional and finished second in the Brown County Semistate and 14th at the state finals to earn The Republic Cross-Country Runner of the Year honors.
“I think it was a very successful season,” Newell said. “I accomplished a lot of personal goals and a lot of team goals, so I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Mainly after the state meet last year in track, I had built a lot of confidence, and it kind of just snowballed into this cross season.”
Newell’s 14th-place state finish earned him All-State honors and a spot on the medals podium. It also led the Bull Dogs to a fourth-place team finish and earned the team a place on the medals podium, as well.
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“I definitely had the confidence that I could do really well at the state meet,” Newell said. “I’m really happy with where I am right now, but the job isn’t done.”
Newell ran a personal-best 15 minutes, 36 seconds for 5,000 meters (3.1 miles) in the regional at Ceraland. That time ranks second among sophomores in school history, just six seconds off the sophomore time put up by Christian Wagner, who went on to win a state cross-country title his senior year, along with back-to-back 1,600 and 3,200 state titles in track.
That 15:36 time put up by Newell is tied for 14th-best overall in North history.
“He had a huge sophomore season,” North coach Danny Fisher said. “Anytime you’re the No. 1 runner the entire year for the fourth-best team in the state, you’re a pretty talented runner. What I’m most impressed with is him showing up every day ready to run. He has the fitness to compete with anybody in the state, and he made a big jump in racing. He’s not afraid to go up against the best juniors and seniors in the state. He’s a year or two farther down the road than I thought he would be.”
Following cross-country season, Newell took about three weeks off. He is working on some biomechanical aspects of his running in preparation for what he hopes will be another big year in track.
“I’m pretty fired up for this track season,” Newell said. “I think I can do really well at state.”
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The 2019 The Republic All-Area Boys Cross-Country team:
Matt Newell, Columbus North: The sophomore won the North Regional and finished second in the Brown County Semistate and 14th at the state finals.
Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff, Columbus North: The sophomore won the Brown County Sectional and finished third at regional, sixth at semistate and 26th at state.
Andy Stohr, Columbus North: The junior finished fourth in the regional, 16th at semistate and 47th at state.
Austin Pulkowski, Columbus North: The junior finished eighth in the regional, 49th at semistate and 66th at state.
Evan Carr, Columbus North: The sophomore finished 11th in the regional, 34th at semistate and 80th at state.
Collin Pruitt, Columbus North: The junior finished ninth in the regional, 36th at semistate and 99th at state.
Will Kiel, Columbus North: The sophomore finished 15th in the regional, 88th at semistate and 145th at state.
Carter Leak, Jennings County: The senior won the Southwestern (Hanover) Sectional and finished second in the regional, 15th at semistate and 69th at state.
Gavin Hendrix, Jennings County: The junior finished second in the Southwestern Sectional, seventh in the regional, 10th in the semistate and 88th at state.
Lane Elsner, Jennings County: The sophomore finished third in the Southwestern Sectional, sixth in the regional and 101st at semistate.
Chase Austin, Brown County: The freshman finished second in the Brown County Sectional, 13th in the regional and 44th at semistate.
Honorable mention
Columbus East: Nick Walter. Columbus North: Sam Hobbeheydar, Carson Littrell. Hauser: Ryan Ault. Jennings County: AJ Siener, Drew Stroud.
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