What-ifs surrounding Center Grove boys cross country are rapidly becoming outnumbered by what-ares.
Despite two top runners moving away in as many years, the Trojans, led by juniors Parker Mimbela, Griffin Hennessy and Jarret Rockwell, are ranked fifth and looking to construct a third consecutive memorable postseason.
That trio, along with senior Raef Sauer, also played key roles in the previous two.
“I think now we don’t really think about it. Some things just happen,” Mimbela said, referring to his one-time CG classmates now residing out west. “Each time we lose a varsity spot, each person has a chance to step up. It definitely does make us hungrier.
“Every team eventually loses runners, but we’re still a young team that’s getting better every year.”
Mimbela certainly has.
He placed first at the Ben Davis Invitational in 15 minutes, 54.3 seconds earlier this month, carving more than 50 seconds off his state finals time from last season; Mimbela’s 77th-place performance helped the Trojans place a program-best fourth in the team standings on the grandest of stages.
Center Grove coach Howard Harrell senses new confidence in Mimbela after advancing to the state track meet in the 3,200-meter run last spring.
“During his track season, Parker figured something out and things really began to click,” Harrell said. “He’s learned how to compete. When he gets into a race, he’s going in with the mindset that he’s going to win today.”
“Now, I’m trying to go to the front,” Mimbela said of the start of races. “I give a lot of credit to the training that we do here. About 80% of the sport is mental.”
On Saturday, Center Grove returns to the layout it just mastered as Ben Davis hosts the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference meet.
Helping the Trojans capture the aforementioned 18-team meet were Hennessy crossing the finish line second (16:10.2), Rockwell third (16:16.5) and Sauer sixth (16:24.4). Completing the lineup are sophomore Gavin Rockwell, junior Levi Farmer and senior Chase Ennis. Another senior, Brody Shadle, has also played a role in the team’s successes this season, as has Kyle Montgomery, a sophomore.
Montgomery, the squad’s No. 2 runner earlier in the season, is expected back soon after missing time due to quarantine.
“I would say that to a person, everyone has stepped it up a level and is having fun at the same time,” Harrell said. “Everyone is thinking about what is going to be, not what was.”
Fourth-ranked Carmel and No. 13 North Central are expected to challenge Center Grove for MIC team supremacy.
As ninth-graders, Mimbela, Hennessy, Jarret Rockwell and Sauer were part of the squad that qualified Center Grove for the state meet at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute for the first time in school history.
The 2021 team will have already competed at that site twice during the regular season, and the objective is to make a third trip. First, the Trojans will have to navigate their way through the postseason, which starts with the Franklin Sectional on Oct. 9.
At this point of the season, incentives are many and meets few.
“The main three goals are to win MIC, which we’ve never done in program history, win state and qualify for Nike Nationals in Oregon at the Nike headquarters,” Sauer said. “We’ve talked about how the next guy has to step up.
“We all have that chip on our shoulders and like to prove people wrong.”
