Boys cross country: All-County team

Ty Garrett finished his high school cross country career competing for the same team he did as a freshman.

Hardly uncommon, really, until you factor in the two school years in between, when the Center Grove senior attended Valor Christian High School south of Denver, some 1,100 miles away.

Talk about navigating a course with turns.

Garrett, who spent his sophomore and junior school years in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, returned home prior to this school year and basically picked up where he left off.

His season culminated with a fourth-place performance at the state meet in a time of 15 minutes, 31.6 seconds, playing a crucial role in Center Grove’s best-ever third-place standing.

“It’s definitely been my most fun season, but then it’s also been kind of a journey to come back,” said Garrett, who as a ninth-grader helped the Trojans boys qualify for their very first boys state meet, leading the way with a 22nd-place performance. “It really didn’t feel like much of a task.

“I came back and it was like nothing ever changed. You don’t know what you have until you leave.”

Returning to Johnson County meant reuniting with classmates Parker Mimbela, Jarret Rockwell, Griffin Hennessy and Levi Farmer.

That quartet had gone on to experience success without Garrett, spearheading Center Grove’s fourth-place showing at the 2020 state finals and its sixth-place performance a year ago.

However, any concerns about Garrett’s return adversely affecting team chemistry and/or hurting someone’s feelings by filling a specific role were short-lived.

“It was immediate. Some of the guys were in contact with Ty even when he was gone,” Trojans coach Howard Harrell said. “Ty has a charisma to him where everyone likes him. In my 22 years as coach, he has the fastest time and had a great season by any measure.

“Ty is so competitive, he always aspires for a little bit more, but is grateful for the level he got to.”

Garrett’s best time this season was the 15:25.3 he clocked in September during the Eagle Classic at Brown County.

A week after the state meet, he blazed a 15:17.2 in Terre Haute competing in the NXR Midwest Regional Championships, an event not sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

In early November, Garrett, who carries a 3.9 grade-point average, signed a national letter of intent to attend Wake Forest University. He’ll major in mathematical economics and run cross country and track and field for the Demon Deacons.

Other schools pursuing him included Oklahoma State, Colorado and North Carolina.

“There’s a good balance of academics and sports,” Garrett said of Wake Forest. “They allow the professors to balance things out, and it’s a small campus but still an ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) school.”

What began as an adventure out west will continue on the campus in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Along the way, Garrett’s year-long return to Indiana is one he’ll always cherish.

“I would say that this season was good. I use that basic word, but I did go through ups and downs. I see it as a good thing that I made this decision,” Garrett said. “Everybody here is your friend to be your friend.

“You can see who people are. They’re good people, and I just know them so well. They’re just genuine, nice people.”

ALL-COUNTY TEAM

The 2022 All-County team for boys cross country:

Levi Farmer, Center Grove senior: Finished 44th at semistate and 113th at state meet … Academic All-State honoree.

Ty Garrett, Center Grove senior: Indiana’s Mr. Cross County and an Indiana All-Star … Sectional champion, fourth at semistate and fourth at state meet.

Samuel Grimes, Greenwood junior: Finished first at Johnson County meet … Placed eighth at sectional, fifth at regional and 58th at Shelbyville Semistate.

Parker Mimbela, Center Grove senior: Sectional runner-up who went on to place seventh at Shelbyville Semistate and 55th at state meet.

Kyle Montgomery, Center Grove junior: Crossed the line seventh at sectional, finished 19th at semistate and placed 70th at state meet.

Ty Murphy, Franklin senior: Finished in 12th place at sectional before coming in sixth at regional and 67th at semistate.

Lucas Neibert, Indian Creek sophomore: Took third at Western Indiana Conference meet … Runner-up at Johnson County meet, 10th at sectional, third at regional and 50th at semistate.

Matthew Nino, Whiteland junior: Sixth at Johnson County meet, 14th at sectional, fourth at regional … Concluded season with 75th-place effort at semistate.

Gavin Rockwell, Center Grove junior: Fourth-place finisher at Franklin Sectional … 28th at semistate and 36th at state meet.

Honorable mention

Henry Fleetwood, Indian Creek; Griffin Hennessy, Center Grove; Noah Greenwood, Indian Creek; John Gries, Greenwood; Jackson Neibert, Indian Creek; Jarret Rockwell, Center Grove; Ari Smith, Franklin; Isiah Tunis, Franklin; EJ Woodke, Indian Creek