By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The culling process that defines the IHSAA state tournament series, whittling down the original herd to identify the best, is not based on time. It’s based on position. Finish among the best, move on with the rest to the next race.
Bedford North Lawrence kept moving forward. That’s the goal.
In the girls race, the Stars matched their pre-race seeding, settling for third among the six teams that fielded a complete scoring roster. That meant their advancement was virtually – not completely – guaranteed. They still had to navigate the course, which Paige and Claire Voigtschild did with excellence while crossing in second and third place.
In the boys race, BNL dropped outside the team qualifying cut, finishing sixth. The top five qualify for the regional, but so do the top 15 individuals who are not members of advancing teams. That’s why four Stars earned tickets to the next round.
BNL, free of stress, scored 74 points in the girls race, settling behind Bloomington North (35) and Bloomington South (45).
“We were locked into third place,” BNL coach Amy Greenan said. “We told them to go out and have fun. I’m really proud. It’s hard to beat with a second and third, that takes the pressure off our younger kids.”
Paige Voigtschild was second in 19:09.72, while sister Claire was an easy third in 19:19.00. South star Lexi Kollbaum was the overall winner in 18:41.35. Paige was satisfied to let her go, with no need for energy expense that would not change the outcome.
“We didn’t need to push as hard as possible,” Paige said. “We weren’t too stressed.”
Other scorers for BNL included Ashlynn York (26th overall in 22:28.25), Maggie Minton (31st in 22:46.40) and Genevieve Walker (39th in 23:51.79).
That attitude will change next week in the regional at Crawford County, where the stakes will be higher and the pressure measurable. The same cuts for qualification will be made for the state finals.
“Next week we are not projected to make it out,” Greenan said. “But I think it’s looking good that we will have a couple more weeks of practice.”
“I hope to be in front,” Paige said. “It will be difficult because everyone starts out so fast, and the course narrows quick. We can’t get stuck too far back.”
While Paige will be chasing her third straight trip to the state finals, Claire will look to continue her senior-year surge and contend for a state spot. “I’m really happy with how the season has gone,” Claire said. “Everything has been working out.”
Mitchell’s Rilynn Fountain (25th in 22:26.57) and Eleanor Fountain (40th in 23:56.45 for the final spot) qualified for the regional as individuals.
In the boys race, BNL was sixth in the team competition with 154 points, missing the fifth-place cutoff by 20 points. Bloomington North won the team title with 31 points, edging Bloomington South (34), followed by Eastern Greene (115), Orleans (116) and Salem (134).
That opened the door for the parade of Stars in the individual qualifying. Hayden Rich set the pace, finishing 20th overall in 17:53.72.
“I was just trying to catch as many people for the team,” Rich said. “I was trying to hit my times, run the hills smart, not be stupid at the start.”
Other qualifiers for BNL included Eli McFarland (29th overall in 18:36.89), Sam Strauser (36th in 19:22.93) and freshman Linkin Guthrie (42nd in 19:42.10).
“You can’t fault the effort,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “They raced hard, they raced the course as they should. This is a positional race. Cross country is about time, but it’s about position. They raced hard, raced with passion, they were running their guts out. You have to walk away from that and say ‘Good job’ and shake their hand.”
Mitchell’s Bentley Rayhill (34th in 19:12.10) and Jacob Ritchison (46th in 20:04.62) also advanced as individuals.
Crawford County will host the regional on Oct. 24. The state finals will be staged on Oct. 31.
IHSAA Sectional
