By BRAD BAUGHMAN, for The Democrat
Coach Rob Abraham and his Brown County High School cross-country runners have three events behind them already, and both the girls and boys teams have enjoyed some early-season success.
Abraham, in his 26th year leading the Eagles, has only six girls running this season. Three of those six, senior Eme Koester and sophomores Hadley Gradolf and Abby Fleetwood, return with experience and accomplishments.
Gradolf was a state qualifier last season, and Abraham calls the trio “a nice 1-3 punch.”
Five of the six runners were put to the test in the season’s inaugural event, the Valley Kickoff, hosted by Terre Haute South. The team finished 10th with Fleetwood finishing 13th to lead the way. Gradolf was just four spots behind her at 17th. Koester took 43rd, and freshmen Lexie Austin and Madalyn Purlee finished 112th and 136th, respectively.
In their home opener, the BCXC Challenge, the girls finished second to the state-ranked Columbus North Bulldogs. Gradolf and Fleetwood paired to finish fourth with a time of 19:11. Koester and Austin finished in 20:59, while senior Emma Debord and Purlee came in at 22:03. In the nonconventional event, two runners pair up to record a time, each running 2500 meters.
With only four girls able to compete in the Franklin Invitational on Aug. 29, the team could not score. Fleetwood and Gradolf ran well, however, grabbing third and 10th, respectively.
Abraham likes the makeup of his small squad and believes the team “could make a solid showing once we get into the state series.”
Numbers are not an issue with the boys team, as the Eagles returned their entire squad from last season and picked up some freshmen to sport a roster of 13 runners.
A semistate qualifier last year, sophomore Chase Austin hopes to make his first trip to the state meet this season. Austin finished fifth in the Franklin Invitational and 30th in the Valley Kickoff.
In the BCXC Challenge, the team finished second behind New Albany. Austin teamed with fellow sophomore Rafe Silbaugh to finish third with a time of 16:45.
Other runners Abraham will be counting on are senior Cameron Fox, junior Rhett Silbaugh and freshman Cord Smith. With his key runners healthy, Abraham has high expectations for his boys. “The boys are looking at being a semistate qualifying team,” he said.
This year’s teams will miss out on the prestigious Culver Invitational, which was canceled, but will pick up an invitational at Shelbyville to replace it. Runners will get another schedule change when they compete in the WIC championships on a weeknight instead of a Saturday, allowing them to participate in the Nike Twilight event on Saturday, Oct. 3.
After the season’s first three events, Abraham did not hesitate when asked to comment on the biggest challenges his runners face. “Learning to race as a team. We like to have a strong pack of runners, and they have to figure out how to work with their teammates,” he said.
A veteran coach in a storied program that has experienced its share of success, Abraham takes a simple approach to the season. “We are just trying to take the season a day at a time and work to the goal of getting far into the state series,” he said.
