MARION, Ind. — In open-class high school sports, it’s often difficult for mid-sized schools from Delaware County to make noise in the post-season. But in boys' cross country, larger schools are beginning to take notice of the Yorktown Tigers. The Tigers boast the 15th highest ranking in the state of Indiana. In the New Haven regional, they’re predicted to place second, which would mark their first trip as a team to the state finals in school history.
“Our goal is basically to make the state meet as a team, and this is obviously the first step, and I think that goal is still in place. I think this sectional performance is a great step forward on getting that,” said Wyatt Turner, a junior at Yorktown High School who took home the blue ribbon in Saturday’s sectional with a time of 16:02.4.
Turner was followed by fellow junior Isaiah Loney, who finished in second with a time of 16:20.1. Isaiah’s younger brother Thomas was sixteen seconds behind in third, and Freshman Louie Pevler was a close fourth, by three tenths of a second. Altogether, the Tigers placed in five of the top 6 spots at the Marion sectional, one point away from a perfect score.
Head Coach Jared Turner believes the key to the team's success is that they’re just as close off the course as they are on it.
“I mean, these guys have been running together since Middle School and they’ve put in a lot of sweat equity together. I know they really care deeply about each other and they want to do well for each other,” said Coach Turner.
The sentiment of togetherness isn’t just preached by the coaching staff, but is echoed by the runners as well. For Isaiah Loney, a runner who has always had a family member running alongside him, the sentiment has never been louder.
“We’re all like brothers, basically. I obviously have my brother on the team with me,” voiced Loney. “I mean, Wyatt and Cal are two of my best friends, and Louie, the freshman on our team, has been crazy and we’ve gotten close with him and even some (teammates) that aren’t in our top seven.”
For Yorktown, the New Haven regional will pose their toughest test thus far. But, Jared Turner knows just how hungry his runners are to show what they’re made of.
“We missed it by one spot last year. So, I know the guys still have a chip on their shoulder from that,” stated Coach Turner, in regards to reaching the state meet. “It’d be the first time in school history and the first time a Delaware County team has done it in over 40 years. So, that’s something we really want to do just for the community in general.”
“The stats say we’re seeded second, which, you know, the races aren’t run on spreadsheets, they’re run on the course,” added Loney.
The race in question will be run at Huntington University on Oct. 25, at 10:30 a.m.
For more information visit ihsaa.org/sports/boys/cross-country
Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.
