<p><strong>R</strong>unners credited with winning three sectional championships in their cross country career aren’t usually viewed as having anything left to prove.</p><p>Will Jefferson doesn’t see it that way.</p><p>The Whiteland senior looks forward to Saturday’s state finals in Terre Haute, and understandably so. He qualified for state as a sophomore but finished a disappointing 85th, and he failed to get out of semistate a year ago.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>In both cases, Jefferson was sick and not able to race the way he normally would.</p><p>“I’m pumped for it and actually happy I’m healthy for it,” said Jefferson, runner-up at last weekend’s Shelbyville Semistate in 15 minutes, 23.5 seconds. “Last year, I struggled the whole week leading up to (semistate), but I just decided to run through it.</p><p>“I didn’t know I had mononucleosis until the Tuesday after the race. It’s just been bad luck.”</p><p>Among those expected to run at or near the front with Jefferson on Saturday are Angola junior Izaiah Steury, Carmel sophomore Kole Mathison and Highland senior Lucas Guerra. Mathison placed ahead of Jefferson at semistate in 15:18.7.</p><p>Guerra and Steury took first at the New Prairie and New Haven semistates, respectively.</p><p>“The buzz around the state right now is there are between four and eight runners who can win, and Will is in that group,” Whiteland coach Gerry Emerson said. “He’s running substantially better than he was even last year. Will ran well at semistate, but state is the most important, and hopefully he is in the hunt at the end.”</p><p>While Jefferson looks to make the awards podium as an individual, Center Grove’s boys team is attempting to do the same. The Trojans placed 14th a year ago in their state finals debut, and they are determined to do better this time around.</p><p>“I’m not going to put a place number on it, but we want to go down there and we want to race and we want to compete,” Center Grove coach Howard Harrell said. “Wherever the chips may fall from that, it happens. We want to go there and redeem ourselves and compete the whole race.”</p><p>The Trojans are coming off a fourth-place showing at semistate, led by junior Raef Sauer and sophomores Griffin Hennessy, Drew Costelow and Parker Mimbela.</p><p>Johnson County is also represented in the girls finals after Franklin placed sixth at semistate. It’s the first time the Grizzly Cubs have made it this deep in the postseason; Franklin’s only previous state finals representation was having individuals qualify — Ali Trantner in 1997 and Lyndsey Wall in 2007 and 2008.</p><p>Leading the current Cubs are freshman Lauren Klem (seventh at semistate), senior Lillian Lacy (35th) and junior Jenna Newton (44th).</p><p>“We’re seeded around 15th, apparently, so I think we’ve got a lot to prove to a lot of the different teams,” Newton said. “It’s been to our benefit to be sort of an underdog. Just getting into the top 10 would be a crazy, but attainable goal.</p><p>“It’s surreal to think there are hundreds of teams in Indiana and we’re one of 24 still competing.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>IHSAA state finals</strong></p><p>When: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (girls) and 3 p.m. (boys)</p><p>Where: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Terre Haute</p><p>Local qualifiers: Franklin girls team; Center Grove boys team, Whiteland senior Will Jefferson</p><p>Admission: $10 per person</p>[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Scouting the state meet" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Girls</strong></p><p>Franklin finished sixth in the team standings to make it to state for the first time in program history. The Grizzly Cubs will need their best overall effort of the season to break into the top 10, though it is doable. Carmel’s dominance at the Shelbyville Semistate — six of the top 18 individual finishers — has poised the Greyhounds to possibly pick up their 19th state title. Top-ranked Fort Wayne Carroll, champion the past two years, looks to make it three straight behind the running of seniors Zoe Duffus, Shelby Christman and Ashlyn Minton.</p><p><strong>Boys</strong></p><p>Motivated by a disappointing 14th-place finish last season in its state finals debut, Center Grove feels it has what it takes to fare much better. The Trojans will benefit with an increased familiarity of the LaVern Gibson course, having run it twice during the regular season. Whiteland senior Will Jefferson is among a handful favorites to take home individual honors, while top-ranked Columbus North will try to hold off the likes of Carmel and Brebeuf to win its sixth team title and first in eight years.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
