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IHSAA CROSS COUNTRY STATE FINALS: Miller rallies for All-State finish, school record to cap sophomore season
SEELYVILLE – Lessons learned from a week ago at Brownsburg paid off in a massive way for Landon Miller at the IHSAA Boys’ Cross Country State Finals Saturday afternoon.
The Greencastle sophomore finished with a new Tiger Cub School record of 15:29.3, breaking the record held by Andy Weatherford of 15:38, and placed 14th overall to secure an All-State finish, the highest placer for the school since Weatherford’s 10th-place finish in 2005.
“It was great,” Miller said about his run in the finals. “It was an entirely different atmosphere than anything I’m used to.
“(Greencastle head coach Brian Hammett) said I started out in 2:48 for my first 1K, which was a bit unexpected, but I stayed consistent after that.”
Brebeuf Jesuit’s Cameron Todd won the boys’ race in 14:55.5, having finished as runner-up at the Brownsburg Regional the week prior.
Carmel won the boys’ team title at a canter, totaling 76 points, well ahead of second-place Fishers on 185 points.
The WIC had a banner day as Indian Creek sophomore Libby Dowty won the girls’ race in a state-record time of 17:06.7 while Northview’s Ella Hayes finished 16th overall in 18:15.3 to earn All-State honors.
Homestead beat out Concordia Lutheran 108-115 for the girls’ team title.
Miller started in the farthest left-hand side box on the line and got off to a good start, allaying fears the wide position would be a hinderance to his race.
“It possibly helped,” Miller said about his spot on the starting line. “There were only four of us in the box, so it was nice, open lane on the outside and gave me plenty of room like I wanted.”
While still out fast, Miller said he found a groove in the chasing pack, after running with the lead group a week ago at Brownsburg, and used the right guides to make his move late in the race, closing down from 20th position as the final kilometer in the race was at hand.
“I was happy with the race I ran,” Miller said. “As I was coming across the two-mile mark, I heard someone yell that I was running around 9:58, 9:59, which I was very happy with.
“I really felt coming around the last turn with (Brownsburg’s) Ian Baker, that helped a lot as I pushed with him to come with him on the final straightaway.”
Miller’s close saw the sophomore overtake several runners in the final 600 meters, jumping from 18th place to 14th place by the time he crossed the line.
“I was really happy and surprised with myself,” Miller said about the closing stretch. “All praise to God as I couldn’t have done that by myself.
“My legs sort of went numb as I hit that final stretch. I pushed as hard as I could and it paid off.”
After missing the school record on what was considered a faster course, Miller finally took the top spot for himself at the biggest race of the season.
“It is somewhat weird, even after chasing it for an entire year,” Miller said about holding the school record. “It’s nice though. It’s a great feeling.”
Hammett said the start of the race was a little eye-raising but added the sophomore maintained his pace well and did everything right in the end.
“I’m just tickled to death at what he did,” Hammett said. “I was going to be happy with a top-50 finish and he blew my expectations out of the water.
“His first mile, I had him clocked at 4:42 and was a little worried he had gone out too hard but he sustained it, being in the 20s positionally and started taking them down one by one. He’s been the consummate hard worker in the past two years I’ve coached him and he deserves the adulation for all that he’s done.
“He’s a great kid, a great teammate and what he’s done has been phenomenal.”
Miller was the third underclassman to finish the race, .5 seconds behind Westview sophomore Noah Bontrager, who finished 13th overall, and six seconds back of ninth-place freshman Calvin Seitz of Jasper, both the top finishers in their class.
Seeing several fellow underclassmen succeed during the race was excited for Miller as he heads into the offseason, giving him additional motivation ahead of next year’s campaign as well as the upcoming track and field season.
“There is a freshman ahead of me (Seitz) who is doing insane things and it will be fun to see how the other sophomores develop over the next two years,” Miller said. “I’ve just gotta keep working in the offseason, keep pushing myself, doing everything I can to stay healthy and come back next year to do even better.”