Columbus North High School

October 22, 2022 - The girls and boys cross country teams rolled through the competition at the Brown County Semi-state meet, and Julia Kiesler did it in record-breaking fashion. Kiesler set a new school and course record, completing the 5 kilometer course in 17:17, bettering her own school record by eleven seconds en route to her Semi-state title. Teammate Lily Baker finished second in 17:53, making the Bull Dogs teammates the only two runners to complete the course in under 18 minutes. The girls team rolled to an easy victory with 58 points, well clear of second place Bloomington South (110) and Floyd Central (140). Head coach Rick Sluder was very pleased with Bull Dogs’ fourth straight Semi-state title. “Julia Kiesler ran one of the best races ever in (program) history with her 17:17 effort to win. That establishes a new Columbus North school record and a new course record for Brown County's course." "Lily Baker ran fantastic to finish up a 1-2 finish overall. Breaking 18:00 is never easy and she did it again today. Brianna Newell was just behind her in 7th to give us three in the top seven to really give us a huge lead in the team standings. These two seniors added to their amazing four Semi-State performances with their races today," Sluder commented following the race. "Ellen White ran great to come in 24th overall and bear all other number-four runners by several spots to give us a huge advantage. Sydney Morlok finished 37th overall to round out our top five. Sydney finished 31 spots better than the next best number five runner to slam the door shut on our fourth straight title." "To round out our team, Jessica Meza and Julie Klaus finished 48 and 58 spots higher than the next best girls who ran 6th and 7th for their teams. Just amazing. Both of these girls would have been in the Top 5 for every other team in the Semi-state which speaks to both their talent and our amazing team depth." In the boys division, the Bull Dogs grabbed three of the top nine positions on their way to a 55-point team total, dominating Floyd Central (117) and Bloomington South (127) who finished second and third, respectively. Will Russell battled to a third-place finish in 15:36, with teammate Clayton Guthrie finishing fourth, and Mateo Mendez was ninth. Neal White (14th), Draven Martinez (25th), Adler Larson (28th), and Kellen Hottell (33rd) rounded out the Bull Dogs’ team finish. The State Finals will take place at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute on Saturday, October 29. The girls race will begin at 12:00 noon, with awards to follow. The boys competition will begin approximately 2:30 pm. Photos: The Bull Dogs girls and boys cross country teams will make a return trip to the State Finals on October 29 after their Semi-state titles at the Brown County Semi-state meet on October 22.