Carmel Girls Semi State Preview
By Coach Colin Altevogt
Girls Coordinator
With four teams ranked in the top five in the state, including the top three, the Carmel Semistate (formerly Franklin Central Semistate) is as tough as ever. Nine teams ranked in the final edition of the Indiana Runner rankings will be in attendance, with two other ranked teams having been ousted in previous round.
The following is an analysis of the teams and top individuals at the Carmel Semistate…
TEAMS
The Contenders
Carmel
The Greyhounds looked hard to beat heading into the season and have proven to be so thus far. Carmel hadn’t been beaten by an Indiana team all year (with the exception of a shorthanded squad at the State Preview) until a close loss to Noblesville in the sectional. Some health issues have arisen recently, but those seem to have been taken care of.
Sophomore sensation Renee Wellman should score very low points up front and teammate Sarah Bennett has been running well recently. The key for the ‘Hounds will be junior Alex Chitwood, who sat out the conference meet and ran better in the regional than the sectional.
Noblesville
The Millers ran shorthanded for much of the season due to some injuries. With everyone running, Noblesville has proven to be a state title contender despite being ranked fifth in the latest rankings. The Millers upended Carmel in the sectional before losing the tiebreaker at the regional to finish second. Expect the next couple meets to be very close as well.
Freshman Kendra Foley emerged in the regional as a legitimate frontrunner, blitzing the Brebeuf course in 18:35, five seconds behind the winner Wellman. Sophomore Helen Willman has shown the ability to run with Foley in big meets so her performance, like Chitwood’s for Carmel, will be the key to victory. The pack, which put all five scorers under 19:20 at Brebeuf, needs to close the door on other teams fourth and fifth runners quickly.
The Darkhorse
Franklin Central
The Flashes ascended atop the rankings until reaching number one following the Culver Invitational weekend. Since then, illness has abounded and performances have plummeted. The Flashes were didn’t run well with a shorthanded squad at the Marion County championship then lost with its full team at the Conference Indiana meet to Columbus North. FC dominated in the sectional and regional, though times were not highly impressive.
The 1-2 punch of Dani Sullivan and Jasmine Al-Anzi gives the Flashes great frontrunning. Freshman Carolyn Talhelm, who sat out the regional, also has potential to finish in the top 15 as an individual. The key will be Nadia Al-Anzi and Meredith Jackson, who were very fast midseason but haven’t run as well of recent.
Looking to advance
Cathedral
The Irish looked solid at the Brebeuf Regional, finishing just ten points behind Westfield. Cathedral is a pack-running team this season with no individuals that could realistically advance on their own. The Irish have been solid throughout the season, and one more good performance could return them to the state finals.
Center Grove
The Trojans lit up the MIC meet, nearly beating a shorthanded Carmel team. Sectional and regional performances were okay with freshman Tori Schoettmer emerging as a potential individual state finalist if her team can’t finish in the top six. CG is certainly a longshot as its depth has been suspect in the tournament. Sophomore Sammie Bolen will be the Trojans’ key.
Columbus North
The Bull Dogs have been solid in every meet so far, finishing well behind Franklin Central in combined results at FlashRock and Carmel at Culver. Beyond those two meets, North has won in every outing, including an exciting come-from-behind victory at the conference meet. Junior Jessica Richardson could finish in the top 15, but freshman Rachael Sollman will be the key as the Dogs continue their drive to the podium.
Lawrence Central
The Bears survived the guillotine at Brebeuf and now get a shot to advance to the state finals. Junior Erica Carlson is a potential top 15 individual and teammate Maddy Roach is as well, especially after winning the sectional. LC doesn’t quite have the depth of teams like Pike and Westfield so the front duo will be important.
Pike
The Red Devils are very close to a lock after a great regional performance in which four girls broke 20 minutes with a fifth at 20:06. The Sisters Greene will be important up top, but Pike should be able to get its five in before nearly every team other than Carmel, Columbus North and Noblesville. If they can do that, it should be enough to get the Devils to their first state finals in a long time.
Westfield
The Shamrocks started slowly but have established themselves as a state finalist contender. For the first time in a while, Westfield doesn’t have a great frontrunner. That’s necessitated that the ‘Rocks reinvent themselves as a pack team. Look for senior Bre’anna Smith, a member of a state championship team two years ago, to run well in potentially her last high school cross country race.
Looking for a miracle
Brownsburg
The Bulldogs have a great top trio but probably lacks the depth to advance. However, a breakout performance at five coupled with a low score through three runners could have Brownsburg pull out a big upset of many other teams.
Looking for the top ten
Franklin
The Grizzly Cubs have a young team with five runners that could potentially run under 21 minutes. That’s a far cry from a potential advancing team, but Franklin could sneak into the top half.
New Palestine
Courtney Edon leads a Dragons team that could finish in the top ten. Her single digit points could help New Pal leapfrog teams with a little bit more depth.
Warren Central
The Warriors were not particularly fast on a slow course at Rushville in the regional but have a good back and good frontrunner in Rebekah Jones who beat Jasmine Al-Anzi.
Happy to be here
Avon
All-Stater Maya Nagy leads the Orioles, who lack the depth for a potential state finals bid.
Batesville
The Bulldogs survived the regional round after winning its sectional championship.
Greenwood
The Lady Woodsmen were fourth at the Greensburg Regional and return five of their top six next season.
Plainfield
The Quakers were fourth at the Ben Davis with a top five made exclusively of freshmen and sophomores.
Roncalli
The Rebels have a pretty close pack. Their 1-5 gap was just over a minute at the regional.
Southport
The Cardinals are led by Warren transfer Kelly Hodges and finished fifth at the Ben Davis Regional.
Tri
Tri was able to advance by a point after running much better than Greenfield Central with the four and five runners.
Predictions
1. Carmel
2. Noblesville
3. Franklin Central
4. Columbus North
5. Westfield
6. Pike
7. Cathedral
8. Lawrence Central
9. Brownsburg
10. Center Grove
11. New Palestine
12. Warren Central
13. Franklin
14. Avon
15. Southport
16. Greenwood
17. Batesville
18. Roncalli
19. Plainfield
20. Tri
INDIVIDUALS
The Contenders
Dani Sullivan, Franklin Central
Sullivan holds the best time in the semistate alongside Carmel’s Wellman after running 18:23 at the Marion County meet. She has been solid in each race and has yet to lose. A win here would set her up well in an effort to run after the individual state championship the next week.
Renee Wellman, Carmel
Wellman has been great this postseason, easily distancing the field in the sectional and regional rounds. The ‘Hounds frontrunner is a state title contender. One point to start the scoring would be big for Carmel’s title hopes.
The Darkhorse
Maya Nagy, Avon
Nagy lost at the sectional to Brownsburg’s Maddie Webster but avenged that with a big win a few days later in the regional. If she can handle the early opening pace, Nagy could surprise some of the better known runners in the semistate.
Predictions
1. Dani Sullivan, Franklin Central
2. Renee Wellman, Carmel
3. Brooke Morgan, Hamilton Southeastern
4. Maya Nagy, Avon
5. Sarah Bennett, Carmel
6. Jasmine Al-Anzi, Franklin Central
7. Kendra Foley, Noblesville
8. Maddie Webster, Brownsburg
9. Helen Willman, Noblesville
10. Jessica Richardson, Columbus North
11. Erica Carlson, Lawrence Central
12. Alex Chitwood, Carmel
13. Courtney Edon, New Palestine
14. Tori Schoettmer, Center Grove
15. Rachel Kacer, Noblesville