Brebeuf Invitational Preview
By: Stephen Bain
August 16, 2009
This is the first meet of the year for the majority of teams in the field. Of course, all coaches will say that the early meets hold little importance. While I agree with this, it is impossible not to get fired up for the Brebeuf Invitational. 15 teams are registered for this meet, with 9 of those teams being ranked in our current Top 25 in the state, with others being previously mentioned in the top 50 preseason preview.
Just take a look at how the team race looks on paper:
#2 North Central
#3 Carmel
#8 Zionsville
#10 Fishers
#12 Franklin Central
#13 Warren Central
#15 Hamilton Southeastern
#20 Center Grove
#24 Lawrence North
Bishop Chatard, Brebeuf Jesuit, Lawrence Central, Perry Meridian, Pike, Southport
Questions to be answered:
What varsity squads will be there?
Center Grove nor Carmel ran their squads last year at this meet. But it is possible that they will be there this year and change the look of the results from last year.
[all future questions are assuming they will be]
Who is #1?
Both Carmel and North Central have been in discussion for being the #1 team in the state. Time to start giving reasons why.
How good are the freshman?
Franklin Central will be looked at by teams across the state wondering how good their line up can be. Coach Eric Kellison was quoted saying a majority of the varsity line up will consist of his young athletes, but there is no telling what their potential is for this season. Crist went 16:47 here last year, and improved tremendously throughout the season. That time could be used as some sort of indicator.
A quick look at the Top 25:
#2 North Central – Last year this team came into the meet as a question mark. This year, there are few questions to the abilities of the Panther’s potential.
#3 Carmel – The greyhounds are the defending state champions. It is unknown if the varsity squad will be in attendance this year, but if so, you can expect the typical Carmel pack to be near the front.
#8 Zionsville – The team lost last year’s identify in Dylan Sorensen (Georgetown) but will be looking to establish themselves amongst the state’s best
#10 Fishers – Looking to continue the school’s tradition of being one of the best programs in the state. Warnecke is sure to have his guys competitive with a new look after losing both front runners in Alex and Drew Shields.
#12 Franklin Central – Everybody knows that Jason Crist will be in the mix, the question is whether the freshman class is as good as they are said to be. However, don’t expect the freshman to be as good as they will be, in August.
#13 Warren Central – This team has received a lot of talk in the message boards, but will be looking to finally get to do the talking with their legs on the grass.
#15 Hamilton Southeastern – Always a team in the mix of all the Northern Indy action. This year will be no different although the Royals are looking to avenge their early post-season departure.
#20 Center Grove – They did not run their varsity last year, but should be there this year due to the scheduling of the Under the Lights race. They only help make this field that much deeper.
#24 Lawrence North – The Wildcats ran great here last year and return most of those athletes. No reason to expect anything different.
Race team favorite: Carmel
Team that may surprise: Lawrence North
A look at the front of the race:
Top 5 Returners:
Futsum Zeinasellassie (10) – North Central [15:55]
Josh Millares (11) – Fishers [16:32]
Jason Hoard (11) – Brebeuf Jesuit [16:35]
Zack Grese (12) – Lawrence North [16:44]
Jason Crist (10) – Franklin Central [16:47]
Add in Carmel front runners [Christ Walden (11), Tom Ohlman (12), Dan Porter (12)] and Southport’s Lance Nelson (12). With the addition of a few of the top team’s 2,3 guys in the mix, it should be a fast pack up front, but perhaps not as fast of a winning time this year.