Editor’s note: While the coronavirus has shut down spring sports, we thought we would look back at the area’s best athletes from the past decade, the 2010s.
One requirement to be considered for these All-Decade teams is that the athlete must have competed at least half their careers (at least two years) in the years 2010-19 for in the sport for which they are being considered and must have finished their careers at an area school.
Today, the All-Decade Boys Cross-Country team:
Runner of the Decade: Michael Sublette, Columbus North (2012 graduate)
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The Bull Dogs captured three consecutive state championships from 2009-11, and in 2010 and 2011, they were led by top-10 finishes from Sublette.
Sublette finished ninth at state in 2010 and fifth in 2011, earning All-State honors both years. He helped North to a third-place finish in the Nike Cross Nationals in 2010 and led the Bull Dogs to a ninth-place NXN finish in 2011.
The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year in 2011, Sublette went on to run four years of cross-country and track at Princeton, where he was an All-Ivy League performer.
The rest of the All-Decade team, from oldest to youngest:
Andrew Diehn, Columbus North (2012)
Diehn was a huge part of the Bull Dogs’ three-peat state champions. He finished 19th at state in 2010 and 13th in 2011, earning All-State honors both years.
Diehn finished 19th in the Nike Cross Nationals in 2010 to earn Nike All-American honors and made the Foot Locker All-Midwest team in 2011. He went on to run four years of cross-country and track at DePaul.
Christopher Kelsey, Columbus North (2012)
Kelsey also was a key member of the Bull Dogs’ three straight state title-winning teams. He finished 43rd at state in 2010 and 12th in 2011, when he earned his second All-State honor.
Kelsey went on to run for one year at Butler.
Karson Tays, Columbus North (2013)
Tays was the No. 4 runner on the 2011 state champions, finishing 40th at state. He finished 21st in the 2012 state meet to make All-State, lead the Bull Dogs to a sixth-place team finish and earn The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year honors.
Tays went on to run one year at IUPUI.
Kaden Eaton, Columbus North (2014)
Eaton was part of the Bull Dogs’ 2011 state championship team, finishing 87th at state. He finished 39th at state in 2012 and 19th in 2013, earning All-State and The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year honors.
Eaton went on to run four years of cross-country and track at Belmont.
Andy Carr, Columbus North (2014)
Carr also was part of the Bull Dogs’ 2011 state titlists, finishing 101st at state. He finished 60th at state in 2012 and 19th in 2013, earning All-State honors and leading the Bull Dogs to a runner-up team finish.
Carr went on to run four years of cross-country and track at University of Indianapolis.
Seth Williams, Columbus North (2015)
Williams finished 74th at state in 2012, 17th in 2013 and fourth in 2014, when he led the Bull Dogs to a fourth-place team finish. He earned All-State honors his final two years and finished 24th in the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2014.
The 2014 Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year, Williams went on to run cross-country and track at Purdue.
Chase Ballard, Columbus North (2015)
Ballard finished 105th at state in 2012, 21st in 2013 and seventh in 2014. He earned All-State honors his final two years.
Ballard went on to run four years of cross-country and track at Belmont.
John Sluys, Columbus North (2019)
Sluys finished 78th at state in 2016, 101st in 2017 and 22nd in 2018, when he earned All-State honors and led the Bull Dogs to a sixth-place team finish. The 2018 The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year.
Sluys just finished his freshman year at Rose-Hulman, where he is running cross-country and track.
Matt Newell, Columbus North (2022)
Newell finished 77th at state in 2018 and earned All-State honors with a 14th-place finish in 2019, when he led the Bull Dogs to a fourth-place team finish and earned The Republic Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year honors.
Newell was the second-highest sophomore to finish at state and will enter his junior year as state’s the sixth-best returner.
