SHELBYVILLE --— The Shelbyville XC Semi-State is the toughest of the four venues. The likes of Carmel, Guerin Catholic, Zionsville, Bishop Chatard, Noblesville, and plenty of other top teams from around the state compete for a spot at the State Finals. The tough competition didn’t stop Crawfordsville’s Ryan Miller and Sophia Melevage, along with Southmont’s Faith Allen from giving it their all on Saturday. In the end all three runners saw their seasons come to an end but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort.
Allen who had made the trip all four years, had her best finish of her career with a 29th place finish (19:12). Miller ended who was back for a second straight season placed 54th (16:38) while Melevage in just her sophomore season was also back for a second straight year.
While the goal for Allen was to break through and make it to the State Finals, both her and Southmont coach Shelley Allen were pleased with how she raced in what was the final cross country race of her career.
“Faith ran better today than she has all season,” Shelley said. “You can’t ask for much more than that because that’s how we train. She had her best time and her highest placing at this course so at the end of the day I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Faith ends her career holding the Southmont school record with a time of 18:51 and this season claimed her first Sagamore Conference title at the conference meet. She has saved some of her best runs for her senior season.
“It was one of my better runs for sure this year and I think I left it all out there,” Faith said. “There’s just so many talented runners here at the semi-state and I love running with them. Everyone here loves the sport and are really good at it so to be able to compete against this kind of competition is pretty special. I’ve put in a lot of work these last four years and I’m excited to see what I’m able to do in college.”
Shelley the past four years has been able to wear both the coach and mom hat watching her daughter succeed at the highest of levels and she knows while it’s sad to see it come to an end, how special these last four years on the XC circuit have been.
“It’s just been awesome to watch her train, run and race these last four years,” she said. “I’ve gotten to have a front seat to it and she continues to impress me time and time again.”
Like Shelley with watching Faith run, Crawfordsville coach Megan Craig was just as proud of both Melevage and Miller as the duo completed their second stint at semi-state.
“Having the opportunity to return to Semi State this season is the result of hard work and dedication to the sport,” she said. “This dedication is not just from the athletes, but also the community of families and friends that are here to help make this program a success. The races today closed out our 2022 season just one meet away from the state finals.
As the races came to an end, I realized that the perfect race, and the ideal finish doesn’t happen near as much as we would like. Today might not have been the perfect race but it was another opportunity to race with the state’s best. What we take away is experience for next year and a hunger to be better for the next time we return to the starting line.”
The season for both Athenian teams was one to remember. Both teams advanced out of the sectional, they maintained their dominance over th county with another title there, and each performed exceptionally at the SAC meet. Craig reflected on the season that was for her teams.
“There is a lot to celebrate,” Craig said. “We had 21 runners total this season, a very full roster for a school our size. The boys and girls swept the county meet, and placed 2nd and 3rd in the conference meet. We finished with 5 first team all conference runners and both teams advanced to regionals after finishing 4th place in a tough sectional. We saw Ryan Miller break another school record. It’s not uncommon for us to feel like a small fish in a big pond in these championship races. All season long we make it a habit to compete with top notch teams that push us to be better. I’ve had the privilege to see first hand the quality of high school running continuously shatter the ceilings of what has been done in previous years.”
This officially closes the book on another outstanding XC season here in Montomgery County. Stay tuned to future editions of the Journal Review sports as we’ll reveal the runners of the year and our All-Area teams.
