By Daniyal Habib
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The men’s track team will begin Sectional today in the Carmel group. Twelve other schools are competing against Carmel including: Fishers, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Southeastern, Hamilton Heights, Lebanon, Noblesville, Sheridan, Tipton, Tri-Central, University, Westfield and Zionsville.

Brian Bates, Varsity distance runner and senior, said Noblesville will be the Greyhounds’ main competition. 

Bates said, “Noblesville, I guess, would be our next best competitor, but the Sectional belongs to us.”

The statistics certainly back Bates’s claim. Carmel has won the Sectional for the past three years. 

As far as advancing past the Sectional goes, Bates said he is also very confident.

He said, “As a team, I feel the distance team can really do some damage at State. I run the 4×800 and mile, and we have great depth in both of these events.

“Our distance team practically owns their events,” Bates said. “The distance squad scores a huge chunk of our points every meet, and it’s the backbone of our team’s success.”

Bates, along with seniors Logan Rosenberg, Luke McRoberts, Dan Kinn, J.D. Smith and Jarrett Smith, form the strength of the distance team.

“We even have distance runners that are competing as our top guys in some of the sprinting events,” Bates said. 

The track team failed to make it past the Regional round last year, but Bates said he hopes to return to the glory of two years ago, when the team made it to the State Finals.

Bates said that not much will change in terms of preparation now that the regular season has concluded. 

He said, “We will just keep it real and run like we have been all season. It’s gotten us pretty far in the regular season, so now we will work towards the ultimate goal.”

During the regular season, Carmel has racked up good results, winning four straight meets at one point, and placing in the top three in each of its first three meets. Bates, however, said he does not yet consider the season a success.

“If you meet all of your preseason goals, then I would consider the season a success,” he said. “Hopefully, we can continue our Sectional dominance and go far.”