Both Northview and South teams, Zeck, Smith, others heading to cross country semistate at Brown County

Oct. 22—For high school runners, track season comes in the spring.

But the Wabash Valley's best from Indiana have one more hurdle to clear — figuratively speaking — before reaching the cross country state finals.

Several long-distance specialists, including sectional champions Dylan Zeck of Terre Haute North (boys) and Peyton Smith of Linton (girls), will compete Saturday in the Brown County Semistate. These two, plus other individuals and both teams from Northview and Terre Haute South, qualified for this weekend by faring well in the Edgewood Regional last Saturday.

The semistate girls race will start at 11:30 a.m., followed by the boys at 12:15 p.m. Both last 5 kilometers. Admission is $12 per person, with children 5 and younger getting in for free.

The top 10 individuals from non-advancing teams and the first six qualifying teams from each of four semistates shall advance to the state finals Oct. 29 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in eastern Vigo County.

"I am certainly looking forward to running better than I did at the regional [where he finished fifth]," said Zeck, a senior. "It was a tough course that I had never run on before. I have been battling allergy and breathing issues this season, but recently I've been better. So, between feeling better and running on a familiar course, my main goal is to qualify for the state championships. Running a PR [personal record] would be a bonus.

"It's probably going to be the most competitive semistate of the four I have competed in [since his freshman season]. The spectators are great at this course, and as long as it's dry, it should be fun."

"Brown County's course is my favorite and I'm very grateful to be returning to the semistate for the third time," assessed Smith, a junior. "I'm excited to see how the race plays out and I'm hoping for a PR. My coach [Bill Doyle] has been telling me to just trust in my splits and stay confident in my pace which has has eased my nerves a little bit. I'm excited to race against the intense competition and see how I can fit into that competitive mix. The competition at semi-state always drives me to race my best. I'm hoping to place in the top 15 and go sub 18:30."

Zeck, who fought off Northview junior Jcim Grant to win the sectional two weeks ago, realizes Grant placed third — two spots ahead of him in the regional. Not surprisingly, Northview boys coach James Grounds hopes it happens again.

"Jcim has a really great shot at being a top-10 runner at the semistate," Grounds told the Tribune-Star. "After a season of watching him every day at practice, my coaching staff, team and myself believe that he's a top-five runner in a tight battle at the front. He just needs to get out, stay focused and believe in his fitness."

Team-wise, Grounds believes the Knights can be competitive in the semistate, although qualifying for the state finals may be more difficult than in recent years. Northview was the girls regional champion in 2020 and 2021, but Grounds' squad needed a fourth-place finish in last weekend's regional to make it to the semistate in 2022.

"Semistate will be a big challenge this year, but one I feel the boys are prepared for," he mentioned. "We go in as a bit of a long shot to earn one of the six qualifying spots. This is a big change from the way we've entered the last couple semistates, but I'm excited for the fact that the boys feel they have something to prove. Whether we get a spot or not, I'm confident this will be a great meet for our kids. Our team has been focusing on the mental side of things lately and are more prepared for races as we wind down."

Terre Haute South came in fifth, right behind the Knights, in the Edgewood Regional. So the Braves' season is dangerously close to being over.

"We always enter a season thinking about getting back on our home course for the final meet of the year — the state championship," South boys coach Josh Lee pointed out. "With a large graduation from the varsity roster of 2021, we knew that would be an extraordinary feat. But we have replaced those roster spots with some new runners and have made great improvements all season. That improvement, along with the front running from standout junior Ethan Aidoo, has earned us a spot at the semistate.

"Ethan is going to make a run at his first-ever individual state championship appearance while the rest of the guys will try to wrap up their season repeating some of the magic we found in back-to-back PR-filled races at LaVern [Nike Twilight and the sectional]. The youth we have added to our program this year and will add next year are a sign of a very strong future ahead for Terre Haute South cross country."

Meanwhile, team points compiled from the Edgewood Regional last weekend showed South fifth again and Northview second.

"Going into the season, this was the goal for the girls," emphasized South girls coach Jon Lee, Josh's brother. "Train hard and race hard throughout the season, progress as competitors and give yourself a shot to race your fastest at the end of the season. Brown County and the semistate is the place to do that.

"The girls are fired up and ready to run. They had to compete for spots and worry about their place last weekend in order to advance. We were on the outside looking in and they made it happen. This week, the goal is more individual-based as we find ourselves toward the bottom of the rankings. The goal is to go after new PRs. We will put seven girls on the line so we want seven new PRs. If we run fast, we should finish much higher than our team ranking going in."

Northview girls coach Tim Rayle has the Valley team most likely to qualify for the state finals. The Knights are ranked 25th in the state in the latest Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches girls poll.

"The past few weeks, we have been dogged with illnesses that keep hanging on," Rayle mentioned. "Due to these illnesses, our girls find themselves in an unusual position of being on the bubble to make it to the state finals.

"Columbus North, Floyd Central and Bloomington South are currently the top three teams in the semistate. Princeton, Edgewood, Corydon Central and us will be fighting for the final three spots for the Big Dance."

Rayle admitted that even if his top girls put forth their best times of the season, Northview may not score enough points to run another week as a team.

"There are currently six other very good teams that could make the semistate podium," he explained. "Our top five runners had solid races in the regional meet [Ellia Hayes, Halle Miller, Gnister Grant, Katie Morrison and Aubrey Miller]. We'll need equally solid performances from our top five for scoring purposes, plus our Nos. 6 and 7 runners will be counted on to push the scores of the Princeton, Edgewood and Corydon Central teams back enough for us to have a chance of hitting our goal of making it to the state championship."

—Illinois sectionals — Illinois high school runners will kick off their state tournament with the regional round Saturday.

Marshall, which has some of the best female runners in the Valley, will compete at Chrisman. Casey, Robinson and Hutsonville will participate in the Newton Regional at Lake Land College's course in Mattoon.