Veatch, Johnson post state's fastest times

By Parker West for DyeStat

So much for any thoughts that the sectional round of the Indiana state cross country tournament would be boring. All around the state we saw amazing performances, as well as Indiana #1 times for 5K for boys and girls. 

First, Ben Veatch finally dipped under the 15-minute barrier at the Noblesville Sectional. 

Ranked US #4, Veatch opened up a 3-second lead on runner-up Gabe Fendel, around halfway through the race. With a kilometer to go, it was Veatch’s race for the taking. He crossed the line with an 11-second PR of 14:53. Fendel, the talented sophomore, was second in 15:24. The top 14 runners in this race were all under 16 minutes. 

Veatch wasn’t the only male performer who stood out. Curtis Eckstein, one of the biggest names in the state, ran all by himself, something he is used to. This time, though, he ran a new PR and IN#2 time of 15:06. What’s even crazier about this performance is he won by 71 seconds, ahead of his Oldenburg Academy teammate, Justin Fledderman. 

Another big matchup saw Brayden Law and Cameron Clements go at it in the FW Northrop Sectional. They have raced each other five times so far this season, and Law has won four, including today’s race. Law came out on top today with a 15:19 win over Clements’s 15:33. 

The girls, also, couldn’t have been much more exciting. Like Veatch, Lauren Johnson set a new fastest time in the state. She was previously #2 (17:41) behind Taylor Nicholson’s 17:38. Now, Johnson has the top spot with a new PR of 17:35 at the Harrison Sectional. 2nd place was her twin sister, Kristen, in a season best time of 18:28. 

Johnson wasn’t the only girl who ran fast. Back to the Noblesville Sectional, Carmel sophomore Maddie Dalton jump back to the top. Last year, as a freshman, she posted 18:03 at the state meet and looked like she was going to be Carmel’s top girl this year. This season, she has been battling a stress fracture in her back, so the fastest she has ran is 18:22. She won the Noblesville Sectional in 17:56, becoming the 7th girl this season to run under 18 minutes. 

“It felt amazing,” Dalton said, recalling her race, “The whole season I felt like God was just testing my patience and trust in him and helping me become more aware of how I feel.” 

Dalton, like her cousin Allie, is among the many favorites to win the individual state title on the girls’ side. Allie won her sectional race in 18:24, ahead of second place, Erin Sullivan, in 19:11. 

Back in September freshman phenom Emma Wilson squared off against the best in the state and finish 3rd behind Taylor Nicholson and Lauren Johnson. Today, Wilson beat Nicholson, leading the race wire to wire, 18:57 to 19:08. However, Nicholson doesn’t tend to go 100 percent in the tournament until the state meet, and since she was only 11 seconds behind Wilson, that’s dangerous. 

Since Indiana is only one of two states in the entire country who runs with a classless system, the state tournament takes a little longer than most states. Next week, we move on to the 2nd round of  the tournament, Regionals. The week after that, the tournament goes down to only four races, the Semi-States. Then, on October 31st, the race everyone has been waiting to see for months happens, the State Finals.