(All photos by Suzanne Diehn)
A year ago, the Columbus North boys cross country team essentially viewed Nike Cross Midwest as a reward for a terrific season.
This fall, with their sights set on earning one of the region’s two spots at Nike Cross Nationals, the US #3 Bulldogs are approaching Sunday’s meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, as more of a steppingstone.
The celebration after winning the Indiana state championship for the second year in a row – and fourth title in the last nine – was more subdued than in 2009 because the team’s runners and longtime coach Rick Weinheimer believe they have some unfinished business.
“We didn’t know what to expect (at Nike Midwest) last year and we weren’t as focused as we should’ve been,” said Columbus North senior Gabe Ocasio. “This year is totally the opposite. We want to redeem ourselves. We don’t want the Illinois teams coming in and smashing us like they did last year in our home state.”
The Bulldogs finished fourth behind three Illinois squads at Nike Cross Midwest in 2009. The top two (York and Neuqua Valley) received automatic berths and Loyola Academy was awarded an at-large bid to Nike Cross Nationals. Columbus North went home.
York (US #6), which won last Saturday’s state meet, leads this year’s Illinois contingent into Nike Midwest.
“I think we’re looking forward to the challenge very much as a team,” Weinheimer said. “We’ve been challenged individually. But, being honest, there really wasn’t a meet going in that the guys weren’t sure they would win. The guys on the line there (at Nike Midwest) know everybody has to get the job done.”
“We can’t take anything for granted,” Ocasio said. “We’ve got to have our best day on the same day.”
Last year’s disappointment at Nike Midwest was something of a wake-up call for the Bulldogs. It convinced a roster with five of its top seven back to put in more miles over the summer and in season, and run them faster.
“We pretty much dominated the season in Indiana last year,” said junior Christopher Kelsey. “We got to regionals and it felt like a lot of us were in a huge pack. We realized we had to put in a lot of work to compete at the regional level.”
Columbus North, undefeated and unchallenged this fall, believes it’s different from last year’s squad because of its front-runners. With any one of three guys capable of finishing first on a given day, the trio pushes each other and goes after opposing No. 1's.
Juniors Michael Sublette (ninth, 15:40), Andrew Diehn (19th, 15:58) and senior Ocasio (20th, 16:00) were within 20 seconds of each other at the Indiana State Championships on Oct. 30 in Terre Haute. All three finished before the No. 1 for runner-up Noblesville en route to a 76-point victory (94-170) on the 5K course.
“Last year, a lot of guys were right at 16 minutes or just under,” Kelsey said. “This year, we have a lot of 15:30s and 15:40s. It really helps in big meets.”
The Bulldogs’ Nos. 4-6 at state – junior Kelsey and seniors Andrew Beiriger and Jonathan Baldwin – were separated by just eight seconds.
Kelsey paced a Columbus North pack that went 3-4-5-6-7 at the Sept. 4 Artesian Classic in Martinsville in which it would’ve defeated the rest of the 13-team field, 25-30.
Sublette, Diehn, Ocasio and Beiriger all cracked the 15:50 barrier in a convincing semi-state win Oct. 23 in Carmel.
The Bulldogs’ No. 5 has yet to be beaten by another team’s No. 3 this year. Oftentimes, Nos. 6 and 7 are up there, too.
“We’re just as good with the depth (as in ’09), but I think we’re stronger up front,” said Weinheimer, in his 33rd year as coach of the boys and 29th with the CN girls. “Our guys up front were scoring too much to match up (last year). I think certainly it is (my best team), if you compare the times.”
That’s saying something, since Weinheimer’s 2002 team finished as the US #3 and the 2003 squad was #5 in the days before there were Nike Cross Midwest to settle matters over 5,000 meters.
“We went into the season and our goal was to run for a national title and place well at nationals,” Kelsey said. “We all knew we wanted to go to nationals. It was always a thought in the back of our heads.”
Columbus North is also hoping that familiarity – Nike Midwest will be contested on the same course as the Oct. 30 state meet – and last year’s experience at regionals can help the Bulldogs become one of the 22 teams to reach the Dec. 4 Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.
“I think the word I would probably use (to describe the mood of my team) is eager,” Weinheimer said. “We’re excited and training is going real well. We’re really looking forward to it.”
“We’re pretty optimistic,” Ocasio said. “I think if we go in there and do what we can do, we can control the race. Our top three can definitely be up in the top 30. We’ll get our top five in and see what we’ve got. I think we have a pretty good chance.”