By Dustin Dopirak
For the Daily Journal
Center Grove sophomore Griffin Hennessy finally caught up to Whiteland’s Will Jefferson in the bullpen beyond the finish line after about 3,000 meters in which he had to strain just to catch a glimpse of Jefferson’s back.
Hennessy had run a brilliant race himself at Saturday’s Franklin cross country regional, finishing the 5,000-meter (3.1 mile) race in 16 minutes, 9.6 seconds, more than 30 seconds ahead of the third-place finisher. However, Jefferson had defeated him by an even larger gap, finishing in 15:31.1 to claim his third straight individual regional title. The Whiteland senior had led from start to finish, breaking away from Hennessy and the rest of the pack about 500 meters in and spending the rest of the race expanding the gap between them.
So Hennsessy, who left shortly after the race for a soccer game, shook Jefferson’s hand when it was over, congratulated him, and told him, “I don’t know how you do it.”
Center Grove still claimed the team championship with ease, finishing with just 28 points to second-place Whiteland’s 61. Hennessy was one of four Trojan runners to finish in the top six. Center Grove also won the girls’ team championship with 59 points to Batesville’s 65. Greensburg’s Brenner Hanna won the girls’ individual title in 18:20.5 ahead of second-place Lauren Klem of Franklin, who finished in 18:38.9.
But the event provided another opportunity to marvel at Jefferson’s dominance of the region before the competition stiffens considerably at this week’s Shelbyville Semistate and then at the Oct. 31 state finals in Terre Haute. Even while the Liberty University commit was stacking sub-5-minute miles on top of each other, he seemed at ease, as if he was barely exerting himself while leaving his competition 300 yards behind him.
“He wanted to go out a little bit more relaxed than he did,” Whiteland coach Gerry Emerson said. “But when he went by me, I got the feeling that he felt fine and he was just going to keep it rolling.”
Without having to worry about racing anyone, Jefferson focused on his split times and preparing himself for the races he’ll have to run the next two weekends. Those were much more to his liking than the ones he ran last week when he ran the same course in 15:51.7 to claim the sectional title.
“I decided to just go out and run hard,” Jefferson said. “Pushed my first (1,000 meters) so I’m getting ready for the big guys at semis and states.”
Jefferson hasn’t finished better than eighth at semistate in his career or better than 85th in the state meet, but he seems primed to do much better in his final cross country go-around. He’s already run a 5,000-meter course in 14:59.6, the second-best time in the state this year, and he believes he can crack 15 minutes again at Shelbyville.
“I can’t deny I’m loving every minute of coaching him,” Emerson said. “I know this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of kid for a coach to have.”
Center Grove claimed the team title in part because the Trojans near the front of the pack didn’t try to follow Jefferson when he broke away. They kept their paces steady and their pack close to the front. All five of their scoring runners placed in the top 11. After Hennessy, freshman Kyle Montgomery, sophomore Parker Mimbela and senior John Aldan Galt finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
“Will is in another class by himself,” Center Grove coach Howard Harrell said. “You have to run smart, and if we went out with him, that’s not running smart. He’s running a little too fast for us right now. They played it smart and they let him go and they ran their race.”
The Center Grove girls squad, meanwhile, claimed its regional title after finishing second in the sectional race on the same course by focusing less on time and more on who they were running against. The Trojans put three runners in the top 12 and five in the top 23 to claim the title. Freshman Lilly Brunsman led the group with a third-place finish and junior Mary Hodges finished fifth.
Coach Wes Dodson picked out competitor for each Center Grove runner to beat, and for the most part, the Trojans executed.
“After last week we got a reality check that we need to focus on racing and beating other girls,” Hodges said. “We were all more focused on our time last week. It made us a lot more competitive.”
Franklin’s girls finished third behind top-10 finishes from Klem, Lillian Lacy (sixth) and Jenna Newton (ninth). Whiteland and Indian Creek were fourth and fifth, respectively, with the Braves advancing to next week’s semistate as a team for the first time in school history. Greenwood’s Selena Piñon finished eighth to qualify individually.
On the boys side, Center Grove, Whiteland, fourth-place Greenwood and fifth-place Franklin earned four of the five team semistate berths. Owen Harder of Greenwood Christian and Jack Mitchell of Indian Creek also qualified as individuals.
