TERRE HAUTE — When the high school track season was canceled this spring, Columbus North’s distance runners went to work on trying to become the best they could for cross-country.
Saturday afternoon, their work paid off.
The top-ranked Bull Dogs won their sixth boys cross-country state championship and their first since 2011 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. They also won in 2002, 2003, 2009 and 2010.
“Whether we’re the best team in Columbus North history, that’s to be debated,” North coach Danny Fisher said. “But we are the most important in my eyes because of the things they had to go through in the spring. These guys won this state championship back in March and April and May when they had to get out on their own and they didn’t have a coach to, so to speak, be there for them.”
The Bull Dogs put five runners in the top 26, led by a fourth-place finish from junior Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff. Senior Austin Pulkowski, who has autism and didn’t start running cross-country until his sophomore year, finished 16th.
“Honestly, whenever I joined cross-country, I didn’t think we’d ever win the state championship,” Pulkowski said. “But today, me and my teammates have proved me wrong.”
The Columbus North girls cross country team also competed Saturday at the state meet, placing third.
North’s only losses this season came when it did not run any of its top seven runners. The Bull Dogs won Conference Indiana, regional and semistate titles before capturing the big one on Saturday.
“Coming in as the No. 1 team, it’s always hard, but we didn’t let that get to us at all,” Stohr said. “We stayed focused and made sure we got the job done today. What we’ve accomplished this year is just amazing.”
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For more on the North Bull Dogs state win in cross country, see today’s Sports section on C1.
For more photos from the boys and girls cross country state meet, see today’s Sports section and therepublic.com.
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