Bloomington North Invitational
By: Drake Sterling
August 20th, 2011
This will be the first year that the Bloomington North Invitational is held. It is being held in place of the September 24th Bloomington Class Invitational. The race will take place at Lavern Gibson at the IHSAA State Meet Course.
We will get our first look at Lawrence Central, Bloomington South, and Franklin Central. All three are expected to finish in the Top 3-10 at the IHSAA Meet.
Start Time: 9:00 am
Schools Participating:
Bloomington North, Eminence, Martinsville, Monrovia, Indian Creek, Lawrence Central, Franklin Central, Austin, Crawford County, Silver Creek, Bloomington South, Lighthouse Christian Acad., Bloomfield, Edgewood, Brown County, Perry Central, Terre Haute South Vigo, Southmont
Teams to Watch: (Top 50 Preseason Teams)
#5 Franklin Central
#6 Bloomington South
#11 Lawrence Central
#33 Martinsville
Being that it’s only August 20th, this race could go to any of the top 3 teams. While it will be nice to show off their summer fitness, I’m sure these coaches are looking big picture and aren’t putting too much emphasis on this meet. Lawrence Central and Franklin Central seem to be mirror images of each other. They both boast a front runner and a very strong pack. Bloomington South has two front runners and a strong pack as well. The race will be too close to call.
Individuals to Watch: (Preseason Rank)
#2 Jason Crist – Sr. – Franklin Central
#15 Matt Dorsey – Jr. – Lawrence Central
#16 Carl Smith – Sr. – Bloomington South
#24 Mark Chandler – Sr. – Bloomington South
Jason Crist is the obvious favorite here. Again, it is early in the season and who knows what his race tactics will be. On a good day, one of the Bloomington South horses could knock him off. They usually run very well early in the season. The interesting aspect to watch will be Matt Dorsey. He had a fantastic Spring track season running a 1:51 on the teams National Caliber 4x8. Time will tell if he will breakout on grass as well.
The Chase Pack: (In no order)
Andrice Martin – Jr. – Franklin Central
Logan Hambrock – Jr. – Terre Haute South
Ross Periera – Sr. – Lawrence Central
Jackson Bertoli – So. – Terre Haute South
Matt Shaw – Sr. – Franklin Central
Jeremy Johnson – Sr. – Austin
Sebastian Kagemann – Sr. – Bloomington North
Leigh Nelson – Sr. – Martinsville
Sean Gassen – Sr. - Lawrence Central
Chandler Ball - Jr. – Lawrence Central
Cole Hester – Jr. – Lawrence Central
Nick Dhadwal – Sr. – Franklin Central
Kaleb Rich-Harris – Sr. – Bloomington South
Alex Newton – Jr. – Perry Central
Michael Staton – Sr. – Bloomington South
Andrew Webb – Jr. – Franklin Central
Brandon Hearrell – Jr. – Franklin Central
Alden Westcott – Jr. – Brown County
The chase pack will be fun to watch. We will see our first glimpse of how the top 3 teams worked this summer. Some will be at their fittest while others may have taken it a little too easy. Hambrock and Bertoli both come in off of a great track season and Johnson had a solid summer it appears. Leigh Nelson is the darkhorse here.