Courtesy photo
NASHVILLE – Bedford North Lawrence’s Jonah Bailey finished his season with a personal-best time during the IHSAA semistate race at Brown County on Saturday.
Bailey crossed the line in 55th place overall with a time of 17:03.6, just shy of his goal of breaking the 17-minute barrier. The top six teams, plus the top 10 individuals who were not members of qualifying teams, advanced to the state finals in Terre Haute on Oct. 29.
“I think I ran well,” Bailey said. “I didn’t beat 17, but I was close and gave it everything I had, placed very well compared to what I was projected. So this race will give me more and more confidence going on in my racing career. Hopefully I run consistent 16s next year and make it to state.”
New Albany’s Aidan Lord was the individual winner in 15:21.1. Columbus North won the team title with 55 points, followed by Floyd Central (117), Bloomington South (127), Bloomington North (131), Jasper (208) and Evansville Reitz (223 and winning a tiebreaker with New Albany for the final spot).
“Semistate is always an exciting race,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “Jonah’s goal, as always, is to run his best, regardless of the time, to walk away knowing you ran your best race, and he did just that today. Runners are always looking for the next best time, for Jonah that is breaking 17 minutes. While that didn’t happen today, it gives him some great motivation moving into track season and next fall’s cross country.
“He continues to gain valuable racing experience through competing in postseason races and it has certainly shown during the last two races. I am proud of how Jonah has ran all year and am excited to see what next year brings for both Jonah and BNL cross country.”
In the girls race, Columbus North’s Julia Kiesler was the champion in 17:17.6. Columbus North won the team title with 58 points, followed by Bloomington South (110), Floyd Central (140), Northview (143), Princeton (168) and Corydon (171).
IHSAA SEMISTATE
Saturday at Brown County
