Two of the best female cross country runners in state history lead the way into Saturday’s state finals at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The girls race begins at 1 pm ET with the boys race to follow at 1:45 pm ET.
Defending state champion Ashley Erba of Warsaw and Mishawaka’s Anna Rohrer appear to be the prime contenders for this year’s individual crown. The two split a pair of meetings in September one week apart with both setting records in the process.
Last Saturday, the Erba set a semi‐state record at New Prairie by 46 seconds running a 17:06.9. The senior set the 5,000 meter state finals record in winning a year ago in 18:05.6. Rohrer, just a sophomore and running at New Haven, broke the course and semi‐state record by a minute in 17:03.96. If either happens to falter, eight others who finished in last year’s top 10 could be there at the end including Mackenzie Caldwell of Columbus North and Bobbie Burgess of West Lafayette. Caldwell has won each of her three tournament races while Burgess won the sectional and regional before finishing second to Erba at the New Prairie semi‐state. Avon’s Mary Abramson has also burst onto the scene this year winning at all three tournament levels after placing 98th overall in last year’s state finals as a freshman.
Carmel’s girls will be attempting to win their third consecutive team championship on Saturday and the Greyhounds appear to be the favorite having rolled to first place finishes at each tournament stop thus far.
On the boys side, the door is open for a new champion as you won’t see the name Futsum Zienasellassie again as the North Central phenom graduated after winning the last three years and taking second place as a freshman in 2008.
Only two of last year’s top 10 finishers in the state meet return including Hamilton Southeastern’s Troy Reeder and Valparaiso’s Ari Coulopoulos. Reeder finished third overall a year ago and has won each of his tournament contests in recent weeks.
Also sweeping their tournament races and expected to contend for the individual state championship are Connor Sorrells of Barr‐ Reeve and Zach Panning of Fort Wayne Concordia. Morgan Township’s Alec Kostelnik won his sectional and semi‐state races and finished runner‐up at the regional.
In the team competition, No. 5 Columbus North will attempt to become just the third school to win four or more consecutive championships. The Brown County semi‐state champions would join Anderson, which won seven straight beginning in 1946 and Carmel, which won four in a row from 1976-79.
67th Boys and 32nd Girls Cross Country State Finals Date: Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. Site: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Wabash Valley Sports Center, 599 S. Tabortown Road, Terre Haute, IN 47803 Course Layout Times: Girls at 1 pm ET; Boys at 1:45 pm ET. Admission: $8.00 per person. Feeder Semi‐States: Brown County, Carmel, New Haven, New Prairie.
Boys Lane Assignments | Girls Lane Assignments
Notables
Girls Teams Qualified (24) Avon, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Carmel, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Chesterton, Columbus North, Eastern (Greentown), Evansville Memorial, Fishers, Fort Wayne Concordia, Franklin Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Homestead, Huntington North, Northridge, Penn, Portage, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Valparaiso, Warsaw, West Lafayette, Westfield.
Girls Qualified without a Team (27)
- Angola - Ericka Rinehart
- Center Grove -Jordan Timmons
- Columbia City -Samantha Roush
- Elkhart Memorial -Sierra Moore
- Evansville North -Michaela Ward
- Floyd Central -Lydia Kotowski
- Fremont -Anna Aldrich
- Fremont -Abigail Hostetler
- Griffith -Taylor Austin
- Heritage Hills -Sienna Crews
- Indianapolis Cathedral -Katherine Free
- Indianapolis Cathedral -Emma MacAnally
- Jasper- Hannah Welsh
- LaPorte - Elena Lancioni
- Leo -Jennifer Emery
- Mishawaka -Anna Rohrer
- New Prairie -Rachel Thompson
- Noblesville -Kendra Foley
- North Harrison -Ashton Bosler
- Northfield -Jenna Halderman
- Oldenburg Academy -Sarah Billingsley
- Perry Central Cathryn Peter
- Plainfield -Samantha Woodford
- Rochester -Anna Bearss
- Seymour- Zoey Johnson
- South Bend Clay- Amanda Farrough
- Twin Lakes -Madeline Lilly
Most Consecutive Girls Team Appearances
32 by Carmel, 1981‐current.
Active Streaks of Girls Team Appearances (Three or more years) 32: Carmel. 20: Valparaiso. 9: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Terre Haute North. 6: Bloomington South, Columbus North. 5: Huntington North, Portage. 4: Evansville Memorial. 3: Fort Wayne Concordia, Terre Haute South, West Lafayette, Westfield.
Team Appearance Droughts Broken (10 or more years) None.
First Team Appearance
Fishers
Former Girls State Champions in the Field
Ashley Erba, 12, Warsaw (defending state champion).
Boys Teams Qualified (24) Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Carmel, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Columbus North, Evansville North, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Franklin Central, Goshen, Hamilton Southeastern, Hobart, Homestead, Indianapolis Cathedral, Lawrence Central, Lowell, McCutcheon, Mishawaka, Northridge, Terre Haute South, Valparaiso, Warsaw, West Lafayette, Westfield.
Boys Qualified without a Team (26)
- Barr‐Reeve - Damon Pruett
- Barr‐Reeve- Connor Sorrells
- Brebeuf Jesuit- Zack Snider
- Central Noble- Ryan Smith
- Corydon Central - Levi Taylor
- Crown Point- Alex Ray
- DeKalb- Mark Beckman
- Eastbrook -Joshua Neideck
- Elkhart Christian -Joel Hartman
- Evansville Central -Mitchell Harris
- Evansville Memorial - Alec Sievern
- Fishers -Calvin Kraft
- Fort Wayne -Concordia Zachery
- Panning Heritage Hills- Ben Woolems
- Glenn -Luke Runyan
- LaPorte -Anthony Didion
- Mooresville -Michael Passmore
- Morgan Township -Alec Kostelnik
- New Prairie -Nickolas Arndt
- North Central (Indianapolis) -James Huffman
- North Harrison -Jonathan Reynolds
- Northfield -Caleb Augustus
- Pike -Samuel Tebeje
- Prairie Heights -Nicholas Lagemann
- West Noble -Brandon Arnold
- Wheeler -Joel O’Shea
Most Consecutive Boys Team Appearances
37 by Carmel, 1976-current.
Active Streaks of Boys Team Appearances (Three or more years) 37: Carmel. 7: Bloomington South. 6: Columbus North. 5: Valparaiso. 4: Hamilton Southeastern. 3: Bedford North Lawrence, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Mishawaka, Terre Haute South. Team Appearance Droughts Broken (10 or more years) 52: Indianapolis Cathedral (1960). 16: Homestead (1996).
First Team Appearance
Lowell, Westfield.
Former Boys State Champions in the Field
None.