Center Grove boys tennis coach Ivan Smith turned an eye to the future early in the 2015 season, inserting then-freshmen Trey Thixton and Nic Ballesteros into his varsity lineup.
Now seniors, Thixton and Ballesteros join classmates Mitch Runkle and J.T. Embrey to lead the fifth-ranked Trojans into the state finals. Center Grove plays No. 4 Floyd Central Friday afternoon in a quarterfinal on the Carmel High School courts.
Smith, who led teams to state championships in 2001 and 2008 after a pair of runner-up finishes in the late 1990s, considers himself fortunate to have seen so many outstanding groups of seniors. This latest one, he says, rates right up there.
“I don’t know if I thought their talent level was as high at that point as some freshmen we’ve played,” Smith said. “But I thought with the attitudes they had that it would create a good culture.
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“I told them after the (semistate) match on Saturday that they really needed to feel good about what they accomplished. They helped redefine the culture. They were able to take it to a finishing point to where we became relevant again.”
The process has been gradual; Center Grove won just five matches in 2015 and four the following season. A breakthrough started last fall with Center Grove advancing to semistate before losing, 5-0, to Park Tudor.
That marked the Trojans’ first regional championship since 2014.
Center Grove’s reemergence the past few seasons coincides with Smith altering his philosophy in the way he runs his high school and feeder programs. He and his coaches now attempt to identify talented players at an earlier age to get them playing tournaments in the offseason.
He’s also emphasizing more teaching time with his players, hopefully setting it up for future Trojan squads to enjoy success similar to this season.
“In middle school, our coaches said our class would have to be the ones to take the reins,” Embrey remembered. “We started with eight freshmen (in 2015), but now we’re down to four because other kids were in other sports.
“We were close our freshman year, but I feel the four of us have gotten a lot closer. Between our sophomore and junior years is when it really started.”
The left-handed Thixton is 17-9 at No. 1 singles entering Friday’s match against the Hilltoppers. Mitch Runkle has a 21-6 mark at the second singles position, while younger brother, Mason, a junior, plays No. 3 singles and is 22-5.
Ballesteros and junior Grant Herron are 22-5 this season as the Trojans’ top doubles pairing, as are Embrey and sophomore Dhrumil Patel at No. 2 doubles.
Mitch Runkle knows being a senior means including the underclassmen who will be counted on next season and beyond. The senior quartet is special, but hardly the whole team.
“We’re actually really close with the underclassmen. We try to be patient and include them in everything,” he said. “Every time one of us has success, it motivates us to keep working harder and harder.”
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IHSAA State Finals
Friday
At Carmel High School
Quarterfinals
Floyd Central vs. Center Grove, 3 p.m.
Carmel vs. Homestead, 3 p.m.
Saturday
At North Central
Semifinals, 10 a.m.
Championship, 2 p.m.
Admission: $5 per day
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