By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The drama was nonexistent. Bedford North Lawrence knew the result before the race even started. Prophetic? Just mathematic. Five teams for five spots. That’s not hard to compute.
Despite the anticlimactic aspect, the Stars celebrated advancement during the IHSAA girls sectional race on Saturday. BNL finished fourth, setting up a totally different competition in the regional next week. That’s when the stress will return.
BNL strolled to the second stage of the state tournament series. The top five teams, plus the top 15 individuals who are not members of qualifying teams, advanced to the regional at Angel Mounds in Evansville. That’s how the BNL boys got three runners to the next round.
In the girls meet, No.3 Bloomington South (with the top four finishers) cruised to the team title with 19 points, followed by Bloomington North (62), Eastern Greene (80), BNL (83) and Linton (142) in the abbreviated field, although 12 other schools were represented by individuals.
Paige Voigtschild, in her usual lead position, paced BNL by finishing fifth overall in 19:53.2. The other scorers for the Stars included Claire Voigtschild (19th in 21:42.9), Madison Chandler (20th in 22:07.9), Gracie Simmerman (31st in 23:32.5) and Ashlynn York (32nd in 23:32.8).
“They ran well, pretty typical of what they’ve done all year,” BNL coach Amy Greenan said. “I’m proud of all of them. We’ve had a great season so far. They’re smart racers and they see the big picture. It’s exciting to see how they’ve progressed through the season.
“We told them you don’t have anything to stress about, you don’t need to run fast. Next week is when we need that, that’s what we were training for today. For our seniors, it’s their final home race, their swan song. They were motivated by that.”
South’s Aurelia Martoglio was the overall winner in 18:23.4. Area individuals who advanced included Mitchell’s Brinley Slaughter (23:50.7), Rilynn Fountain (24:04.5) and Eleanor Fountain (24:15.7), plus Orleans’ Abby Gulley (23:48.8).
The next hurdle will be much higher and difficult. The regional will include qualifiers from five sectionals, with the same culling for teams and individuals to the state finals.
“We’re looking for good times,” Greenan said. “We’re not expected to get out, so we will have a fun week. We’ve been working on our mental game, because everyone will be running their best races.”
In the boys meet, No.3 Bloomington North completely dominated the race, posting a perfect team score of 15 while hoarding the top seven spots. BNL was seventh with 182 points. Orleans earned the fifth spot with 159 while Mitchell just missed a team slot with 168.
BNL’s advancing qualifiers included Eli McFarland (30th in 19:03.4), Hayden Rich (31st in 19:05.1) and Samuel Strauser (35th in 19:19.8).
“It was a good glimpse of running, in and of itself,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “You put your heart and soul into running, and at the end of the day it doesn’t owe you anything. Some days you have it, some days you don’t. That’s the way racing goes. You toe up to run because you love to compete, love the shared experience.
”They ran hard, that’s all I ask, and put ourselves in a position to advance. Those three did a good job of doing that. It’s a great experience, it’s a good foundation for next year, to have three guys who will have experience in the regional.”
North’s Jackson Walker was the winner in 16:18.5. Mitchell got three runners out with Reece Grissom (18:17.7), Caleb Cheney (18:32.4) and Bentley Rayhill (18:49.3).
The regional qualifiers will advance to the state finals in Terre Haute on Nov. 1.
IHSAA SECTIONAL
Saturday at BNL
Boys results
Girls results
