By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – With every stride he made, with every precious breath he took, with every move he made during a summer of early-morning training and 5K races, Jonah Bailey was watching the finish line – the IHSAA state championship race.
That’s the goal as Bailey and his Bedford North Lawrence teammates start chasing success in 2024. BNL has made eight appearances in the state meet, the last in 2012, and the IHSAA made that prize more difficult to grasp with last year’s state format change. The harder the challenge, the sweeter the reward.
Bailey, now a senior who qualified for two semistate races under the former system, will lead the Stars from the front of the pack, and BNL coach Nick Boyd will count on a supporting cast that includes an interesting mix of veterans and newcomers.
“We’re expecting to have a good year,” Boyd said. “We have a lot of youth, we have a lot of experience as well. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage, to run together and make a move as a team. Our goal is to be consistently good, ultimately to find a way to make it back to the state finals. BNL’s cross country history is rich, so we’d love to get back to the ethos of that.“
BNL advanced to its second straight regional last season, finishing a distant 23rd in the team competition. The top five at that level qualify for the state finals (the semistate level was eliminated last year), so BNL understands the ground that must be covered and the time that must be shaved.
“It’s pretty tough to get out,” Bailey said. “That’s the hard part. The more you run, the more comfortable you get. I think we have a good shot. My goal is to advance as a team, have a decent shot at making the state.”
Bailey certainly has the experience and mileage in his shoes to make a run. Team scoring requires five runners, which means the Stars will need contributions from returning sophomore Nick Lindley, senior Alex Nicholson (who is getting a late start), Eli McFarland, and promising freshman Tucker Inman.
“I hope the freshmen and sophomores, as two classes, really step up to the plate,” Boyd said. “I’m eager to see how the younger runners do. Jonah had a good summer, so I’m eager to see what happens when we start racing.
“The new format is difficult to make the state finals. It’s very competitive at the regional, there are a lot of good teams, a lot of good individuals. But I think it is doable.”
BNL will make its season debut on Aug. 17 in the Valley Kickoff meet at Terre Haute.
