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STATE CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW: Miller looks for podium finish at Laverne Gibson Saturday
When the runners at the IHSAA Boys’ Cross Country State Finals line up across the starting stretch at the Laverne Gibson Championship Course Saturday at noon, anyone close the north side of the viewing area will see a purple jersey huddled into Box 1.
It’s where Greencastle sophomore Landon Miller will launch his attack on the course and the field, aiming for a top finish at the finals, having qualified from the Brownsburg Regional last week.
On the flat, speedy track at Brownsburg East Middle School, Miller finished 11th overall in 15:45, having started out near the front of one of the fastest regional fields in the state.
“I was not planning on how fast I started out,” Miller said about the early flourish. “It got me where I needed to go, but I wish I had more energy left at the end of the race.”
As Greencastle rarely crosses paths with the likes of Carmel, Zionsville, Brebeuf Jesuit and other major players in the team state title race, the regional round was a learning experience for the sophomore when it came to how some of the state’s best runners navigate big meets.
“I learned that the guys don’t start as fast as I was expecting,” Miller said. “When I saw the gap, I thought I had a chance but they progressively got faster at points.
“I will have to learn how to do that at some point if I want to be at the tip top.”
Miller will be running at Laverne Gibson for the second time in three weeks as the course hosts the Terre Haute North Sectional, a field the Tiger Cubs were shifted to this year, while Greencastle has also raced at the course during the season.
While not as fast as Brownsburg, Miller said he competed a bit better at the state course.
“Laverne is very different,” Miller said. “It’s a more professional-level race. Brownsburg is very, very fast.
“Laverne usually has the better competition and is much more about being technical and at your best. I would say I compete better at Laverne, not in the time sense as all my PRs are based at Brownsburg, but for placement, I do better at Laverne.
“Luckily, having run there at sectionals, I know what I need to do, the places where I need to push myself the most and also know where to speed up and slow down to conserve energy,” Miller added.
The field is the largest that Miller will have run in as 25 teams, meaning a minimum of 75 runners, plus 75 individual qualifiers, will take to the course Saturday.
Joining Miller in Box 1 will be Greensburg’s Thomas Gorman, Bluffton’s Tyler Godwin and Frankton’s Hunter Smith, with Wabash next to the quartet in Box 2.
Miller said it was quite a bit wider than he was used to but said it wasn’t necessarily a disadvantage.
“Between all the training I’ve got from my coach and being in the right mindset, I’ll focus on doing my best, let God take the glory and leave the race to Him,” Miller said. “It will be interesting starting in Box 1 as I don’t think I’ve ever started that far outside.
“I’ve been close to the finish side before but not the crowd side of the line. I don’t know if the placement will help or hurt me as the course does a good job of making sure everyone is evenly placed, but it’ll be interesting to be that far to the outside.
“Normally, I like that because it gives me a lot of room to work with,” Miller added.
While the field is stacked with the best the state has to offer, Miller said he was aiming to show he belonged with the best and, if the state record happened to fall this weekend, that would be OK, too.
“I would love to go for the school record a gain but my ultimate goal is to get into the top-25,” Miller said. “It would be nice to have a medal to show that I was there, did that and come back next year.”