From Coach Troy Davis –
The LaVerne Gibson Championship Cross-Country Course hosted the 40th Annual Girls IHSAA State Finals on Saturday morning in Terre Haute. In the girls race, Karina James, a junior from Lowell, won the individual title running 18:00 for 5 km. Carmel High School was the team champion with 52 pts. Other schools in the top five were Fort Wayne Carroll, Columbus North, Zionsville, and North Central.
Greensburgs Brenner Hanna was a top 20 finisher and a medalist at the state meet on Saturday. Brenner was competing in the IHSAA State Championships at Terre Haute for the fourth time in high school. She established a top 30 position after the first km. After that, she moved up steadily throughout the middle of the race and moved into the top ten by the fourth km. The senior placed 19th overall in a time of 18:52 to finish her high school cross-country career. She is the first Greensburg runner to earn an All-State medal in cross-country since Josh Hawkins in 1992.
Brenner shared these thoughts after the race. Im extremely happy with how I raced today and placing 19th was a great way to cap off my high school career. The competition has been high all year throughout the state, and Im proud I was able to solidify my stance within that group. Representing Greensburg these past four years has been nothing but fun, and I cant wait to see where the next step of running takes me.
Over the course of her time in high school, Brenner won the EIAC, IHSAA Sectional Dearborn, and IHSAA Regional Championships four times. She was also All-Semi-State the last three years. Brenner set a new school record for 5 km this season when she ran 18:09 at the Columbus North Classic.
Brenner ran a really smart race today. It was great to see her compete so well and finish on the podium here in Terre Haute. Shes had an outstanding senior season, noted Coach Davis. Im really proud of the way that Brenner has represented our running program over the last 4 years.