Starting Oct. 9, the women’s cross-country team will begin its trek to another state title. The team first goes to Ben Davis for the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) Championships. Following this meet, the team starts the State Tournament.

Major competitors of Carmel include: Avon, Columbus North and West Lafayette. The team will not face off against Columbus North and West Lafayette until state, but Avon will be at Northview Christian Life Church Home for semi-state.

The team submits a list of twelve runners that will be the only runners aloud to compete in the tournament. Head coach Mark Ellington said, “While some teams have 12 runners and plan on using their top 7 at each race, even going so far as to have a time trial for the other 5 runners at each meet, we believe that all 12 have earned the opportunity to represent Carmel HS in any race they are needed.”

The team views the upcoming weeks as a challenge. Kelcy Welch, varsity runner and senior, said, “Since we are the team to beat, people are wanting us to fail. We want to prove them wrong.”