INDIANA STATE MEET

Sam Quagliaroli Runs Fastest Indiana Time Ever At LaVern Gibson To Win State Title; 'Swiftie' Mallory Weller Wins Girls Race Ahead Of Concert

By David Woods for DyeStat

Bobby Goddin PHOTOS

RESULTS

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Sam Quagliaroli was on a state champion team last spring. Yet it was hard to feel part of it all.

He broke his toe in April and was sidelined for the outdoor postseason. He could not contribute a single point to a Fishers team that won its first Indiana state title in boys track and field.

On a glorious November afternoon, Quagliaroli left disappointment and the competition behind Saturday. Now he, too, is a state champion.

“To have the track season go like that and watch all those boys go succeed without me, I’m super happy for them,” he said. “But it was a big motivator and it’s a big reason I’m here today, working through that all summer to try to go get mine.”

Moreover, he became the fastest boy at state on the storied LaVern Gibson Championship Course, running 5,000 meters in 14 minutes, 46.8 seconds.

Previous record was North Central’s Futsum Zienasellassie in 14:48.8 in 2011. Fastest Indiana boy on the course was Brebeuf Jesuit's Cameron Todd in 14:43.8 at the NXR Midwest in 2023.

Quagliaroli was seventh in 14:54.91 in the Nike XC Town Twilight meet Oct. 5. His aim is to return here in 15 days and qualify for nationals out of the NXN Midwest Regional.

His championship was another step on a journey that began in earnest after he quit playing hockey. He had been on the ice since age 5 but gave up that sport after his sophomore season.

He was pushed to the record by Westview junior Noah Bontrager, who finished second in 14:51.46.

“He was still there at 4K, and I knew it was going to be a battle,” Quagliaroli said. “I’m really grateful for him. With 600 left, I sent all the training going through my mind. Just, ‘quick strides, quick strides, turnover, turnover.’ Ultimately, got the job done.”

Bontrager was fifth in the state 3,200 in 9:01.69 as a sophomore, so the two might be destined for 2025 duels on the track.

Even more surprising was Danville senior Jack Hearld, whose mad dash to the line brought him third in 15:07.41. He was merely third in a regional.

Mishawaka’s Liam Bauschke was fourth in 15:08.69.

If the individual race was historic, the team race was more so.

Bloomington North won its first team title since 1980, a year in which a running website declared the Cougars national champions. That team scored 34 points, two off the state record, and won by 115, the second-largest margin in state history.

It is generally regarded as the greatest boys cross country team ever in Indiana. The team was inducted into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The coach then, as now, was Charlie Warthan.

“I didn’t know if I’d be fortunate enough to coach another group that would have a shot,” said Warthan, 74. “Just because that’s the goal and you have the ability to do it doesn’t necessarily mean you get it done.”

Bloomington North scored 105 off a 2-7-16-37-43 finish. Noblesville was second with 115, Brownsburg third with 172, Northridge fourth with 181 and Fishers fifth with 198.

Two-time defending champion Carmel was eighth with 272.

Warthan, who was 22nd in the 1972 Olympic marathon trials, used to run with the boys he coached. He can still accompany them on a bicycle.

Jacob Mitchell was Bloomington North’s top finisher in fifth. Caelan D’Onofrio was 13th, Caleb Webb 26th, Jack Holden 50th and Caleb Winders 59th.

Winders, a 1:49 runner for 800 meters, clocked 15:59.85 to put all five scorers under 16 minutes.

“Five under 16 minutes on this course is pretty incredible,” Warthan said.

The state championship was the first for Bloomington North in any sport since the last single-class boys basketball tournament in 1997.

 ‘Swiftie’ outruns favored girls

Turns out Swifties are swift afoot.

Mallory Weller is anyway.

Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran coach Scott Steffen said she “freaked out” Friday when the team bus passed by Lucas Oil Stadium, site of Taylor Swift’s Indianapolis concert Saturday night. She had tickets.

“First things first,” the coach told her.

She was first.

The junior runner broke away from a strong field to win the girls race. She covered the 5K in 17:12.19, beating two state champions and another Nike nationals qualifier.

And the best part? Weller need not choose which is bigger, state title or Eras Tour.

“I’ll have to see how the concert goes. But this is pretty high right now,” she said.

Ava Jarrell and freshman Anya Zoeller were second and third, making Pendleton Heights the first school to have teammates in the top three since Chesterton did so in 1996. Times were 17:21.42 and 17:35.09, respectively.

Jarrell is a state 3,200-meter champion. Zoeller’s 1,600 of 4:55.27 ranked No. 4 nationally among eighth-graders, according to athletic.net.

Macey Thompson of Lake Central was fourth in 17:36.63, Julia Score of Bishop Chatard fifth in 17:37.41 and defending champion Libby Dowty of Indiana Creek sixth in 17:48.79. Another freshman, Daphne Weller, sister of Mallory, finished eighth in 17:56.00.

Dowty won state last year in 17:06.7 and on Oct. 5 clocked 17:00.79, a record for an Indiana girl on this course. At last year’s Nike nationals, Dowty was 17th and Score 41st.

Weller was fourth in state track in the 800 in 2:09.87. She said her results suffered this season until she was diagnosed with low hemoglobin, or iron deficiency.

Dowty led through an opening mile of 5:28, Jarrell went ahead in the second kilometer, and Weller seized control before the closing kilometer.

“Once I made my move, I knew I had to stick with it,” Weller said.

In team standings, Carmel returned to the top after a three-year hiatus and extended its record to 20 state titles in this sport. (Valparaiso is second with five, none since 2004.)

With individual qualifiers displaced, Carmel scorers went 5-6-11-23-31 for 76 points. Concordia Lutheran scored 91 and was second for the second straight year.

The Greyhounds won under first-year coach Scott Williams, who arrived at Carmel after 33 years as a teacher, coach or administrator at Ben Davis.

“The program has a rich tradition, but you’ve still got to come down and get it done,” Williams said. “This team today, Concordia, they were tough.”

Lake Central was third, 2023 champion Homestead fourth and 2022 champion Noblesville fifth.

Teams outside Indianapolis and its collar counties took six of the top 10 team spots.

Carmel’s top finishers were sophomore Larkin Taylor in 10th and junior Sadie Foley in 12th.  No. 6 runner Olivia Mundt, a senior who was 71st, said Williams changed the culture and the workouts. The coach said he added core strength to the training in an attempt to reduce injuries.

“I think in years past, we all kind of had the mind-set, ‘it’s either you or nothing.’ We never thought that your teammates could really help you through,” Mundt said. “This year we learned that finding your teammate in a race just really helps propel you.

“Honestly, it makes you feel stronger when you can find a teammate to run with. And this year, we’ve all gotten so close. We all look at each other as family now.”

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.