Indian Creek’s Libby Dowty, second from left, speeds away at the start of Saturday’s state meet.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
TERRE HAUTE
Seven Johnson County underclassmen gained some valuable state meet experience on Saturday.
One of those county runners already had plenty of state experience, having finished 15th as a freshman and winning the girls state title last year. But Indian Creek junior Libby Dowty was unable to repeat her championship, finishing sixth.
Dowty, who admitted to feeling nervous about defending her title, ran the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in 17 minutes, 48.79 seconds. That was about 40 seconds off the state record time she set last year.
“I’m really glad I got an opportunity to come here and run,” Dowty said. “It wasn’t what I wanted. I don’t think I did very good, but I know God is going to use it to make me a better person and grow me and make me better for next year.”
Dowty’s Indian Creek teammate, freshman Ella Neibert, finished 141st in 19:51.71.
The other two county girls qualifiers finished not far outside the top 25 that earn All-State honors. Greenwood junior Lily Rollings finished 31st in 18:38.93, and Whiteland sophomore Lena Shipp was 33rd in 18:39.78.
“I’m happy,” Shipp said. “I placed better than I was seeded, so that’s good. I knew what to expect. I wanted to make sure to have a really good finish and not get passed. It’s really rewarding for all the hard work I put in this summer and season.”
Fort Wayne Concordia junior Mallory Weller won the girls race in 17:12.19. Roncalli’s Tessa Mize was 86th in 19:10.5.
Meanwhile, on the boys side, Whiteland freshman Colton Watson finished 100th in 16:21.59, and junior Nolan Edens took 165th in 16:45.86. Center Grove junior Cameron Cox was 142nd in 16:35.75.
Fishers senior Sam Quagliaroli won the boys race in 14:46.81. Roncalli’s Sam Vaught was 202nd (17:02.6).
Carmel won the girls team title with 76 points to 92 for runner-up Concordia Lutheran. Bloomington North took the boys crown with 105 points to 115 for Noblesville.
