Columbus North’s Jace Works approaches the finish line to win the boys race in in the Brown County Sectional Oct. 18 at Eagle Park.
Dakota Locker | For The Republic
Four Columbus North seniors have experienced the heartbreak of sixth-place finishes in the past two Boys Cross Country State Finals races.
With the top five teams making the awards podium and earning medals, the Bull Dogs were two points out of that fifth spot in 2023 and five points out last year. That helped serve as motivation going into the 2025 season.
“Two years ago, it was like we were disappointed, but in that scenario, we were that team looking in, trying to get that podium finish,” senior Jace Works said. “But last year, we never thought of ourselves as the sixth-best team, so it kind stung even more. It definitely came back as motivation to help us for this year.”
The top-ranked Bull Dogs aren’t just hoping to finish in the top five Saturday when they compete in the state meet at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Their year-long goal is to win their first state championship since 2020.
Logan Vanzant
“Finishing sixth our sophomore year by two points and then last year by five points, that was never something we wanted to happen, and each year, it’s stung even more, so this year, we’re going to fight back and not just get fifth, but try to go for first,” senior Logan Vanzant said.
“Finishing sixth the past two years, going in there, we want to do well,” Works added. “We want to win. So we’re just remembering that we’re doing it for each other, and we want to break that sixth-place finish.”
Works led North with a 15th-place finish last year, earning All-State honors, then finished second in the 800 meters at the state track meet this spring. Works and Vanzant also ran on the Bull Dogs’ state runner-up 4×800 relay team in track.
Columbus North’s Denton Sluder approaches the finish line in in the Brown County Sectional Oct. 18 at Eagle Park.
Dakota Locker | For The Republic
Vanzant has run in the state cross-country meet each of the past two years, and senior Denton Sluder ran at state last season. North also has run the LaVern Gibson course at the Nike Valley Twilight the past two regular seasons, and some of the runners have competed in the Nike Cross Regional at the course.
“We’ve all ran this course many times, so we’re very familiar with the course, and with being in the track state finals and the cross-country state finals, once you’ve done it one time, you’re going to know how to do it multiple times,” Vanzant said.
“Besides the course itself, just the experience of running at the state meet will help us,” Works added. “Up front, it’s going to be competitive, but it’s going to be competitive, but it’s not going to be as big at the Nike Twilight Meet. So it just helps to know how to run that race well because there is going to be a little bit of gaps in there.”
Sam Steinmetz
Juniors Justin Reckers and Graham Pumphrey, sophomore Joseph Day and senior Sam Steinmetz cracked the varsity lineup this year and will be running in their first state cross-country meets.
“It has been a great experience, and I’m super hyped,” Steinmetz said. “I’ve seen what the team has done the past two years at state, and I’m so excited for this opportunity because I can contribute. Seeing all those other seniors finish in sixth place, I always felt so bad for them. I’m so excited this year.”
North coach Rick Sluder said the four varsity seniors, along with senior alternate Leyton Hottell, have been the leaders for the Bull Dogs since the end of last season.
“They’ve been the leaders in action and with words and spiritually,” Rick Sluder said. “All those pieces, they’ve been our leaders.”
North’s toughest competition figures to come from No. 2 Noblesville and No. 3 and defending state champion Bloomington North, teams the Bull Dogs have beaten multiple times this season.
“I think our chances are really good,” Denton Sluder said. “In past years, I feel like we’ve been in that chase group. But this year, we’ve been leading the state pretty much the entire season. We’re definitely in the best shape we can be in, and I guess that’s helped, but our teammates and coaches also have been helping us a lot with training and getting us to the best point where we can be.
“I feel like as a team, we’re just going to go over there thinking just like any other race because it is every other race,” he added. “It’s nothing special for us to go to state. We’ve done it a lot. So if we just go in there and have fun, we’ll win.”
