Columbus North High School

November 3, 2024 - The Columbus North boys cross country team finished sixth and the girls tenth at the IHSAA State Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute on Saturday, November 2. Junior Jace Works (shown) finished fifteenth individually, earning All-State honors, to lead the Columbus North boys to a sixth-place finish with 203 team points, missing a fifth-place podium finish by just five points. Bloomington North won the championship with 105 team points. North’s Neal White finished 34th, Draven Martinez 68th, Denton Sluder 75th, Justin Reckers 97th, Jonny Klaus 103, and Logan Vanzant 170th in the 248-runner 5k race. On the girls side, Carys Glyn-Jones earned All-State honors with a 19th-place finish for the Bull Dogs. Tristan Works was 102nd, Kyleigh Wolf 117th, Emma Lowther 134th, Adira Sluder 135th, Rendy Zhong was 152nd, and Macy Eaton was 158th, earning them a tenth-place finish with 314 points. Carmel was the state champion team with 76 points. North’s boys were second in Conference Indiana, first at Sectionals, and third at Regionals. The girls were Conference Indiana champions, Sectional champions, and Regional champions. Head coach Rick Sluder commented after the meet, “I’m so proud of the way both teams competed today and in the weeks and months leading up to this race. One day does not define a season or a program. I am so proud of our program, how we train both in-season and in the off-season, how we compete, and how we treat each other. We have a proud tradition of excellence in Bull Dog cross country, and both of these teams have helped improve our culture.”