TERRE HAUTE
Four consecutive state finals appearances and two walks to the awards stage might not qualify as a dynasty in the eyes of some.
Either way, it’s a time in Howard Harrell’s 22-year career he’ll never forget.
Moments after guiding Center Grove boys cross country to a program-best third-place finish at the state finals on Saturday, Harrell reflected fondly on the accomplishments of his five seniors — Ty Garrett, Parker Mimbela, Griffin Hennessy, Jarret Rockwell and Levi Farmer.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Harrell while standing near his team’s tent at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. “I’m really blessed to have this group of athletes, especially for four years in a row like this.
“It’s neat taking them in their infancy and bringing them all the way to their senior year.”
Carmel won its 17th title with 103 points, followed closely by Zionsville with 106. The Trojans scored 143 to eclipse their previous standard of fourth place here in 2020 (Center Grove just missed the stage a year ago with its sixth-place effort).
Garrett was the team’s lone individual to place in the top 20, his time of 15 minutes, 31.6 seconds good for fourth.
“I’m happy with the fact that I ran my race exactly how I wanted,” said Garrett, the Trojans’ top state finisher as a ninth-grader before attending school in Colorado the past two school years. “For the first 2K, I was in 25th.
“But I just followed my race plan and worked my way up. My best races have been ran that way. For the past few races I’ve been going out so hard with the top guys, and I just fall so far back.”
Junior Gavin Rockwell placed 36th in 16:09.9 for the Trojans. He was followed by Jarret Rockwell (42nd, 16:13.6), Mimbela (55th, 16:22.5), junior Kyle Montgomery (70th, 16:33.4), Hennessy (95th, 16:43.7) and Farmer (113th, 16:56.0).
Garrett, a Wake Forest verbal commit, appreciated the opportunity to complete his prep cross country career with runners he’s either teamed with or competed against since middle school.
“That’s been the best part,” he said. “If I’m being honest, I had higher expectations for myself this season. But we still had such a good season, and it was awesome.”
Added Mimbela: “It’s truly amazing to be part of this team for four years. Going into my freshman year I had found out that we had never made the state meet before. It seemed like every year we continued to accomplish one goal after another.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Indian Creek’s Libby Dowty capped her outstanding freshman season by donning a medal of her own after placing 15th in the girls race in 18:24.3.
Whiteland junior Tori Jackson also took part, finishing 53rd in 19:29.4.
My goal, really, was just to do my best,” Dowty said. “The race was a little faster than usual. I started a little further back, like 20-something, got up to 17th, and got to 15th the final straightaway.”
“Obviously, the goal is to medal, but I didn’t put a number in (Dowty’s) head,” Braves coach Brady Devine added. “Libby’s been doing this all year. That’s what I told her at the start line. I was like, just go run.”
Dowty and senior Abby Fleetwood are the first females from Indian Creek to advance to state. Fleetwood dropped out of the race approximately two kilometers in.
“She just said she completely lost her legs. Like, everything was numb,” Devine said. “I was over there hugging her at the tent, and told her, if it wasn’t for her, Libby wouldn’t have done this today. We may not even be here.
“It’s just that big of a leadership role that she’s played. Abby has been absolutely huge for Libby’s success.”
