Previewing the Indiana's Ben Davis Invite

By Parker West for DyeStat

Last week in Indiana, the Terre Haute Savings Bank Invitational was nicknamed “The State Preview.” Ben Veatch posted Indiana’s fastest time so far in his season opener, but for the girls I don’t think you could find a more stacked meet than Saturday's Ben Davis Invitational. Here is closer look:

Girls Teams to Watch 

Pendleton Heights: Pendleton is slowly rising to the top of Indiana cross country. Led by the top runner in the state, with a handful of runners backing her up, Pendleton has their eyes set on a podium finish at state.

West Lafayette: Westfield may have the boys’ best duo in Indiana, but West Lafayette has one of the best girls’ duos in the state, and they’re twins. Lauren and Kristin Johnson were both on West Lafayette’s 8:58 state champion 4x8, and All-American 4xMile relays. With a little more depth, West Lafayette may be able to match, or even one-up, the boys team's success in October. 

Avon: Last year's seniors were crucial to the state runner-up team, but Avon hasn't completely fallen off the map. They’ve got a deadly frontrunner with Taylor Nicholson, with a few girls capable of going sub-20.

Girls Individuals to Watch

Taylor Nicholson: Last year’s state runner-up to Anna Rohrer in both cross country and the 1,600 meters, Nicholson looks like she’s ready to be back on top. She hasn't been tested yet this season, but with speed like hers, she’s definitely one to watch in any race she enters. 

Alex Buck: Buck is the only girl to run under 18 minutes so far this season. Missing the 2015 track season hurt her a bit, but she’s ready to make up all the lost time and races and be at the top of the state.

Lauren Johnson: Johnson, like Nicholson, is one of the girls who was runner-up to Anna Rohrer last season. In the 3,200, Johnson was second behind Rohrer in 10:54, after a fall in the middle of the race. In cross country, however, she was fifth behind the likes of Rohrer and Taylor Nicholson. Johnson has the third best time in the state this year of 18:08. 

Bailey Beery: Ben Davis was a breakout race for Beery two years ago, as she posted 17:50, which is still her PR. Last year in this race, she was second behind Nicholson. Beery had a disappointing race in the Semi-State last year and did not qualify for the state finals, but she made up for it by placing third in the 3,200 in 10:57.

Emma Wilson: Only a freshman, Emma Wilson has caught the entire state by total surprise. In just her second race of her high school career, she threw down a time of 18:02 and won by more than minutes. 

Of course, this raised some suspicion over how accurate the length of the course was, but critics soon stopped talking as Wilson won the “State Preview” meet last week on the state course in 18:11. She didn’t have much competition besides, oh I don’t know, Carmel! This freshman took down all of the Carmel girls and other top runners around the state. If she’s laying down nearly sub-18 times this early in her career, we may have another Anna Rohrer on our hands. This weekend should be the ultimate test of her ability against the state’s best runners.

Boys Teams to Watch 

Westfield: Westfield looks like they could be the best team in Indiana not named Carmel. With the best duo in the state of Aaron Bennett and Alec Hartman, who own PR’s of 15:51 and 15:44, respectively, they certainly bring a menacing presence to any meet they go to. No. 3 runner Sam Henthorn ran 16:15 last weekend. 

West Lafayette: The defending state champions lost some key runners from last year’s team, but still could post a top five at state. Led by last year’s third place finisher, Cooper Williams, the Red Devils want to get back on stage and sing another song to prove they’re not a one-hit wonder. 

Fishers: Fishers joins Westfield as one of the state’s top teams hailing from the dominant Hamilton County. They also have a solid duo in Trevor Thompson and Tristian Strobel. 

Greenfield-Central: Greenfield has been a questionable team since last year, but they’re finally starting to prove themselves. The Cougars are led by Zach Bishop, who has consistently been under 16:20, but he’s got some teammates right behind him. Just recently, juniors Tyler Morris and Jake Hansen both clocked 16:36, with sophomore Cooper Hanson dropping over 20 seconds off his time to post 17:03. If GC can keep this up, we may see some great things come from them.

Boys Individuals to Watch 

Cooper Williams: He ran 15:12 at the state finals last year to help his team dethrone Carmel to win the state title. In the spring, he anchored his 4x800 team to a state championship in 7:44, splitting 1:53. 

Aaron Bennett: Aaron has proven to be one of the best up and coming runners. Only a junior, Aaron has posted 15:51 this season, and looks to keep improving to try and help his team be at the top of the state.

Alec Hartman: When you have Aaron Bennett and Alec Hartman on the same team, you know you’ve got something special. Hartman is only 7 seconds ahead of his teammate, and has posted the 15th fastest time in the state. Hartman’s best time this year is also only .2 seconds behind Cooper Williams. 

Hari Sathyamurthy: The state champion in the 800 is looking to match his track success into cross country. Hari was 16th in last year’s state finals and has stated that he puts equal effort into cross, so we’re looking forward to seeing what Hari can do in a loaded field. 

Zach Bishop: After a rather disappointing junior track season, Bishop has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with. As a sophomore, he posted a 9:39 3200 on the track. Last year, his best time in cross country was 16:13, and so far this year he has already ran 16:14 and 16:17. He is due for his first sub-16 performance, and Ben Davis may be the place to do it.