2023 ECI Runner End of Season Awards
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2022 ECI Runner Girls End of Season Awards
2022 ECI Runner Boys End of Season Awards
2021 ECI End of Season Awards
ECI Boys XC Awards
ECI All Freshman Team
Hayden Bradford (Muncie Central)
LJ Strange (Muncie Central)
Chet Clark (Muncie Central)
Logan Wulff (Wapahani)
Noah Colvin (Daleville)
Kedaar Nallamothu (Yorktown)
Lane Dance (Monroe Central)
ECI Freshman of the Year
Hayden Bradford (Muncie Central)
The Bearcat freshman showed plenty of improvement throughout the year as he finished the year among the best in ECI. Bradford’s high marks this year include running a PR of 17:07 at the North Central Conference Meet and finishing 3rd at the Delta Sectional. Bradford capped off his year with an individual advancement to the New Haven Semi-State where he finished 98th and was the 6th best finishing freshman in the entire meet.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Eli Chamberlain (Monroe Central)
Conner Walser (Union City)
Gabe Reynolds (Muncie Central)
Jonathan Loney (Yorktown)
Gavin Ashby (Cowan)
Harrison Calloway (New Castle)
ECI Sophomore of the Year
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Cook had another fantastic year for the Raiders that saw him be the individual MEC Champion and runner-up at the Delaware County and Sectional meets. The Wapahani runner also had a PR this year of 16:24 on the IWU course for the Wildcat Invitational. Cook’s successes also helped propel his Raider team to County, MEC and Sectional Championships in addition to a team semi-state berth as well.
ECI All Junior Team
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Clay Batio (Delta)
Aidan Moystner (Winchester)
Princeton Young (Muncie Central)
Payton Baker (Wapahani)
Sam Hinshaw (Shenandoah)
Caden Landis (Monroe Central)
ECI Junior of the Year
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Boggs was the model of consistency for the Raiders all year as he had impressive performances at all of Wapahani’s big meets this year including 5th at the Delaware County Meet, 7th at the MEC, 9th at Sectional, 23rd at Regional and running a PR of 17:41 at the New Haven Semi-State to finish 91st. Boggs also now has three All-County and three All-MEC awards on his XC resume as well as being a part of three Semi-State qualifying teams for Wapahani.
ECI All Senior Team
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
Brandon Ellis (Wapahani)
Kyler Shumaker (Monroe Central)
Drayden Gates (Wapahani)
Andrew Fewell (New Castle)
Skyler Dickey (New Castle)
ECI Senior of the Year
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Burris collected five individual invite wins in the 2021 campaign including winning the Meister Family Memorial Run, the Wapahani Invite, Randolph Southern Invite, South Adams Invite and the Randolph County Meet. Burris also ran a season best time this year of 16:52 at the South Adams Invite. Burris finished his high school cross-country career with a 40th place finish at the New Haven Semi-State, narrowly missing the cut for the state meet.
ECI Runner of the Year
Luke Harber (Yorktown)
Harber put four individual invite titles on his resume this year including winning the Taylor University County Clash, the Delaware County Meet, Muncie Central Invite and the Delta Sectional. Harber also ran a PR of 16:22 at the Wildcat Invite on the IWU course. In addition to his individual success, Harber also led his Yorktown boys team to the New Haven Semi-State where they advanced as a team for the first time since 2013.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Muncie Central Bearcats
As the 2021 season progressed, there may have not been another team in ECI with more upside than the Muncie Central Bearcats. Led by freshman and New Haven Semi-State qualifier Hayden Bradford, the entire Bearcat front seven was made up of underclassmen including fellow freshmen Chet Clark and LJ Strange, sophomores Gabe Reynolds and Daelin Green and juniors Princeton Young and Jonathon Jones. Muncie Central closed the season hard as they finished 4th at the North Central Conference Meet (with 4 runners breaking the 18 minutes), finished 4th at the Delta Sectional and the team narrowly missed semi-state at the Delta Regional where the team finished 7th.
ECI Team of the Year
Wapahani Raiders
The Wapahani squad ran well when it mattered most during the 2021 season, running their best races at the Delaware County, MEC and Sectional meets where the Raiders were victorious in all three. Leading the way for Wapahani this season was sophomore Nick Cook (who was the 2021 MEC individual champion), seniors Brandon Ellis and Drayden Gates and juniors Colton Boggs and Payton Baker. The Raider Rat Pack managed to place its top 5 in the top 10 in each of the Delaware County and MEC Meets with the group placing in the top 14 at the Delta Sectional as well. Rounding out the top seven were junior Jon Shrock and freshman Logan Wulff who gave additional depth to the Raider squad. Wapahani finished the year placing 15th at the New Haven Semi-State (the 2nd best team finish in school history.)
ECI Girls XC Awards
ECI All Freshman Team
Charlee Gibson (Blue River)
Anna Buskirk (Shenandoah)
Kayci Hill (Shenandoah)
Catherine Willis (New Castle)
Abi Covert (Daleville)
Tori Oliver (Yorktown)
Ally Romano (Yorktown)
ECI Freshman of the Year
Charlee Gibson (Blue River)
The Viking freshman had a stellar season highlighted by a Henry County Individual Championship, a runner-up MEC finish and a New Haven Semi-State qualifying spot where she finished just outside of qualifying for state in 42nd place. Gibson had a PR this season on her home course for the MEC Meet where she ran a time of 20:21 on the traditionally slow Blue RIver course.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Sydney Fellers (Blue River)
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Chloe Wicker (Blackford)
Faith Norris (Daleville)
Lilly Pierce (Union)
Katie Osborne (Monroe Central)
ECI Sophomore of the Year
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Coe’s successes of 2021 included her first career high school invite win at the Wapahani Invitational, a runner-up performance at the Randolph County Meet and a Semi-State qualifier spot. Coe ran a PR this year of 21:00 on the IWU course at the Marion Invitational. Coe also helped lead her team to Randolph County and MEC Championships as well a team regional qualifying berth.
ECI All Junior Team
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Ella Garvin (New Castle)
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
Alison Smith (Yorktown)
Rachael Stagge Yorktown)
Emmy Justin (Wes-Del)
Kendyl Thrasher (Wapahani)
ECI Junior of the Year
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Harvey’s 2021 XC accolades include three individual invite wins including the Richmond Hare Hounds Invite, the Rushville Classic and New Castle Invite. Harvey also had a fantastic post-season tournament that saw her finish 4th at the Connersville Sectional, 8th at the Rushville Regional and 39th at the always competitive Shelbyville Semi-State. Harvey also had an impressive PR of 19:35 that was run at the Marion Inv.
ECI All Senior Team
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
Lindy Wood (Jay County)
Grace Huisman (Yorktown)
Jaci Knott (Wes-Del)
Olivia Covert (Daleville)
Lauren Smith Cowan)
ECI Senior of the Year
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Robles concluded her stellar high school running career in 2021 with highlights of being the individual winner of the Delta Cross-Country Invitational, and runner-ups in five other invites (only finishing behind her own teammate Nicki Southerland in each of them) including the Taylor University County Clash, the Oak Hill Invite, the Delaware County Meet, the Connersville Spartan Invitational and the Delta Sectional. Roble’s also finished the last month of the season on an absolute tear where she ran well at the aforementioned Delta Invite that she won, was 6th at the highly competitive HHC Championships, 2nd at Sectional, 5th at Regional and just missing a state qualifying spot finishing 40th at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI Runner of the Year
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
The unanimous choice for ECI Runner of the Year for the second year in a row, Nicki Southerland has been absolutely dominating this year, finishing 1st in every meet she has completed through the Semi-State tournament round. Southerland currently rides a PR of 17:27 that she ran at the Maconaquah Invitational and just finished winning the New Haven Semi-State by a :23 second margin this past weekend. She goes into this weekend’s IHSAA State Meet at the Lavern Gibson Course in Terre Haute as the only runner in ECI to advance to the state round and will be amongst the favorites to win the individual title outright.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Blue River Valley Vikings
After missing three of their early season meets due to COVID, Blue River showed lots of improvement as the season progressed and ran their best meets at the season’s end. Highlighted by a Henry County championship at the end of September, the Vikings finished their season by tying for 3rd in the MEC, finishing 4th at the Pendleton Sectional and 7th at the Delta Regional (only 27 points away from a team advancement to the Semi-State.) Blue River also had two New Haven Semi-State qualifiers in freshman Charlee Gibson and sophomore Sydney Fellers. Junior Kelsey Porter and freshmen Lexie Cordell and Ella Schmidt round out the Blue River front five meaning that the Vikings will be bringing EVERYONE back for the 2022 cross-country season.
ECI Team of the Year
Yorktown Tigers
Highlighted by Delaware County and Sectional championships this season as well as a team New Haven Semi-State berth the Yorktown Tigers were the team to beat across ECI all season long. Led by lone senior Grace Huisman, the Lady Tigers relied heavily on pack running for their 2021 team success with juniors Alison Smith and Rachael Stagge running with Huisman near the front in most races with the quartet of freshmen Tori Oliver, Ally Romano, Sophia Goller and Aurilla Moulton rounding out the top seven. And with so many underclassmen returning (13/14 of the Yorktown runners were underclassmen) look for Yorktown to continue to be battling at the top of ECI in the years to come.
ECI All Freshman Team
Hayden Bradford (Muncie Central)
LJ Strange (Muncie Central)
Chet Clark (Muncie Central)
Logan Wulff (Wapahani)
Noah Colvin (Daleville)
Kedaar Nallamothu (Yorktown)
Lane Dance (Monroe Central)
ECI Freshman of the Year
Hayden Bradford (Muncie Central)
The Bearcat freshman showed plenty of improvement throughout the year as he finished the year among the best in ECI. Bradford’s high marks this year include running a PR of 17:07 at the North Central Conference Meet and finishing 3rd at the Delta Sectional. Bradford capped off his year with an individual advancement to the New Haven Semi-State where he finished 98th and was the 6th best finishing freshman in the entire meet.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Eli Chamberlain (Monroe Central)
Conner Walser (Union City)
Gabe Reynolds (Muncie Central)
Jonathan Loney (Yorktown)
Gavin Ashby (Cowan)
Harrison Calloway (New Castle)
ECI Sophomore of the Year
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Cook had another fantastic year for the Raiders that saw him be the individual MEC Champion and runner-up at the Delaware County and Sectional meets. The Wapahani runner also had a PR this year of 16:24 on the IWU course for the Wildcat Invitational. Cook’s successes also helped propel his Raider team to County, MEC and Sectional Championships in addition to a team semi-state berth as well.
ECI All Junior Team
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Clay Batio (Delta)
Aidan Moystner (Winchester)
Princeton Young (Muncie Central)
Payton Baker (Wapahani)
Sam Hinshaw (Shenandoah)
Caden Landis (Monroe Central)
ECI Junior of the Year
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Boggs was the model of consistency for the Raiders all year as he had impressive performances at all of Wapahani’s big meets this year including 5th at the Delaware County Meet, 7th at the MEC, 9th at Sectional, 23rd at Regional and running a PR of 17:41 at the New Haven Semi-State to finish 91st. Boggs also now has three All-County and three All-MEC awards on his XC resume as well as being a part of three Semi-State qualifying teams for Wapahani.
ECI All Senior Team
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
Brandon Ellis (Wapahani)
Kyler Shumaker (Monroe Central)
Drayden Gates (Wapahani)
Andrew Fewell (New Castle)
Skyler Dickey (New Castle)
ECI Senior of the Year
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Burris collected five individual invite wins in the 2021 campaign including winning the Meister Family Memorial Run, the Wapahani Invite, Randolph Southern Invite, South Adams Invite and the Randolph County Meet. Burris also ran a season best time this year of 16:52 at the South Adams Invite. Burris finished his high school cross-country career with a 40th place finish at the New Haven Semi-State, narrowly missing the cut for the state meet.
ECI Runner of the Year
Luke Harber (Yorktown)
Harber put four individual invite titles on his resume this year including winning the Taylor University County Clash, the Delaware County Meet, Muncie Central Invite and the Delta Sectional. Harber also ran a PR of 16:22 at the Wildcat Invite on the IWU course. In addition to his individual success, Harber also led his Yorktown boys team to the New Haven Semi-State where they advanced as a team for the first time since 2013.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Muncie Central Bearcats
As the 2021 season progressed, there may have not been another team in ECI with more upside than the Muncie Central Bearcats. Led by freshman and New Haven Semi-State qualifier Hayden Bradford, the entire Bearcat front seven was made up of underclassmen including fellow freshmen Chet Clark and LJ Strange, sophomores Gabe Reynolds and Daelin Green and juniors Princeton Young and Jonathon Jones. Muncie Central closed the season hard as they finished 4th at the North Central Conference Meet (with 4 runners breaking the 18 minutes), finished 4th at the Delta Sectional and the team narrowly missed semi-state at the Delta Regional where the team finished 7th.
ECI Team of the Year
Wapahani Raiders
The Wapahani squad ran well when it mattered most during the 2021 season, running their best races at the Delaware County, MEC and Sectional meets where the Raiders were victorious in all three. Leading the way for Wapahani this season was sophomore Nick Cook (who was the 2021 MEC individual champion), seniors Brandon Ellis and Drayden Gates and juniors Colton Boggs and Payton Baker. The Raider Rat Pack managed to place its top 5 in the top 10 in each of the Delaware County and MEC Meets with the group placing in the top 14 at the Delta Sectional as well. Rounding out the top seven were junior Jon Shrock and freshman Logan Wulff who gave additional depth to the Raider squad. Wapahani finished the year placing 15th at the New Haven Semi-State (the 2nd best team finish in school history.)
ECI Girls XC Awards
ECI All Freshman Team
Charlee Gibson (Blue River)
Anna Buskirk (Shenandoah)
Kayci Hill (Shenandoah)
Catherine Willis (New Castle)
Abi Covert (Daleville)
Tori Oliver (Yorktown)
Ally Romano (Yorktown)
ECI Freshman of the Year
Charlee Gibson (Blue River)
The Viking freshman had a stellar season highlighted by a Henry County Individual Championship, a runner-up MEC finish and a New Haven Semi-State qualifying spot where she finished just outside of qualifying for state in 42nd place. Gibson had a PR this season on her home course for the MEC Meet where she ran a time of 20:21 on the traditionally slow Blue RIver course.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Sydney Fellers (Blue River)
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Chloe Wicker (Blackford)
Faith Norris (Daleville)
Lilly Pierce (Union)
Katie Osborne (Monroe Central)
ECI Sophomore of the Year
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Coe’s successes of 2021 included her first career high school invite win at the Wapahani Invitational, a runner-up performance at the Randolph County Meet and a Semi-State qualifier spot. Coe ran a PR this year of 21:00 on the IWU course at the Marion Invitational. Coe also helped lead her team to Randolph County and MEC Championships as well a team regional qualifying berth.
ECI All Junior Team
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Ella Garvin (New Castle)
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
Alison Smith (Yorktown)
Rachael Stagge Yorktown)
Emmy Justin (Wes-Del)
Kendyl Thrasher (Wapahani)
ECI Junior of the Year
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Harvey’s 2021 XC accolades include three individual invite wins including the Richmond Hare Hounds Invite, the Rushville Classic and New Castle Invite. Harvey also had a fantastic post-season tournament that saw her finish 4th at the Connersville Sectional, 8th at the Rushville Regional and 39th at the always competitive Shelbyville Semi-State. Harvey also had an impressive PR of 19:35 that was run at the Marion Inv.
ECI All Senior Team
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
Lindy Wood (Jay County)
Grace Huisman (Yorktown)
Jaci Knott (Wes-Del)
Olivia Covert (Daleville)
Lauren Smith Cowan)
ECI Senior of the Year
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Robles concluded her stellar high school running career in 2021 with highlights of being the individual winner of the Delta Cross-Country Invitational, and runner-ups in five other invites (only finishing behind her own teammate Nicki Southerland in each of them) including the Taylor University County Clash, the Oak Hill Invite, the Delaware County Meet, the Connersville Spartan Invitational and the Delta Sectional. Roble’s also finished the last month of the season on an absolute tear where she ran well at the aforementioned Delta Invite that she won, was 6th at the highly competitive HHC Championships, 2nd at Sectional, 5th at Regional and just missing a state qualifying spot finishing 40th at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI Runner of the Year
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
The unanimous choice for ECI Runner of the Year for the second year in a row, Nicki Southerland has been absolutely dominating this year, finishing 1st in every meet she has completed through the Semi-State tournament round. Southerland currently rides a PR of 17:27 that she ran at the Maconaquah Invitational and just finished winning the New Haven Semi-State by a :23 second margin this past weekend. She goes into this weekend’s IHSAA State Meet at the Lavern Gibson Course in Terre Haute as the only runner in ECI to advance to the state round and will be amongst the favorites to win the individual title outright.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Blue River Valley Vikings
After missing three of their early season meets due to COVID, Blue River showed lots of improvement as the season progressed and ran their best meets at the season’s end. Highlighted by a Henry County championship at the end of September, the Vikings finished their season by tying for 3rd in the MEC, finishing 4th at the Pendleton Sectional and 7th at the Delta Regional (only 27 points away from a team advancement to the Semi-State.) Blue River also had two New Haven Semi-State qualifiers in freshman Charlee Gibson and sophomore Sydney Fellers. Junior Kelsey Porter and freshmen Lexie Cordell and Ella Schmidt round out the Blue River front five meaning that the Vikings will be bringing EVERYONE back for the 2022 cross-country season.
ECI Team of the Year
Yorktown Tigers
Highlighted by Delaware County and Sectional championships this season as well as a team New Haven Semi-State berth the Yorktown Tigers were the team to beat across ECI all season long. Led by lone senior Grace Huisman, the Lady Tigers relied heavily on pack running for their 2021 team success with juniors Alison Smith and Rachael Stagge running with Huisman near the front in most races with the quartet of freshmen Tori Oliver, Ally Romano, Sophia Goller and Aurilla Moulton rounding out the top seven. And with so many underclassmen returning (13/14 of the Yorktown runners were underclassmen) look for Yorktown to continue to be battling at the top of ECI in the years to come.
2020 ECI End of Season Awards
Girls Awards
ECI All Freshman Team
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
Sydney Fellers (Blue River)
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Katie Osborne (Monroe Central)
Gracie Baker (Monroe Central)
Allie Clamme (Blackford)
Freshman of the Year
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Matthews had quite an impressive season, as she was one of the dominant runners in ECI as a freshman. Accomplishments for the Trojan harrier included individual invite wins at the Hagerstown and Randolph Southern invitationals, going sub 20 minutes at the HHC meet and advancing to the Shelbyville Semi-State meet.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Leida Keihn (Jay County)
Shannyn Cox (Delta)
Kendyl Thrasher (Wapahani)
Emerson Justin (Wes-Del)
Delaney Strange (Muncie Central)
Sophomore of the Year
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
No one perhaps ran more solid down the stretch of the season than Brynn Wright did. After finishing 3rd in the MEC meet in the last week of the regular season Wright continued to run well in the tournament posting a 7th place finish at the Delta Sectional and then busting out a PR of 20:43 for a 12th place finish in the Regional to advance to the New Haven Semi-State where she was amongst the top finishers in ECI placing 81st.
ECI All Junior Team
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Grace Huisman (Yorktown)
Lauren Smith (Cowan)
Jaci Knott (Wes-Del)
Lindy Wood (Jay County)
Hope Edwards (Shenandoah)
Junior of the Year
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
The career arc of improvement for Keesling has been impressive, as she has shed multiple minutes off of her time every year to put herself amongst the top of ECI. This season, Keesling posted top 5 finishes at the Randolph County and MEC meets as well as running a PR of 20:34 at the Delta Regional to advance to the New Haven Semi-State, becoming the third Keesling sister to advance to semi-state in recent years.
ECI All Senior Team
Elizabeth Reece (Yorktown)
Ashleigh Brelage (Delta)
Ella Baldwin (Winchester)
Sara Barnhizer (Yorktown)
Sara Fugiett (Jay County)
Natalie Moulton (Yorktown)
Izzie Brown (Yorktown)
Senior of the Year
Elizabeth Reece (Yorktown)
The multi-sport star had another great season as she was one of four key senior contributors that helped lead the Lady Tigers to a Delaware County Championship and a team Semi-State birth. Individually, Reece posted top five finishes at the Taylor Clash, DCAA and the Delta Sectional and also ran a SR of 20:43 at the HHC Meet.
ECI Runner of the Year
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
The unanimous choice for ECI Runner of the Year on the girls’ side is Nicki Southerland. Southerland this year has been absolute dominant in her freshman campaign as the only blemish to her season thus far is a 2nd place runner-up finish at the New Haven Semi-State this past weekend. Looking forward, Southerland will be on the short list of state favorites this weekend and ECI Runner wishes Delta and Nicki the best of luck this weekend!
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Wes-Del Warriors
After finishing 7th in last year’s MEC Meet the Wes-Del Warriors showed tremendous growth this season to place 2nd in the 2020 edition of the MEC Meet. Leading the way for the Warriors was junior Jaci Knott who returned to the New Haven Semi-State for the third consecutive season as an individual. The Lady Warriors also improved their Sectional placing from a season ago, jumping from 10th last year to 6th, all while running this year’s Sectional without number two runner Emmi Justin.
ECI Meet of the Year
Delaware County Meet 9/8/20
The Girls team race seemed on paper to be one of the tighter competitions on the day. The Yorktown Tigers and Delta Eagles are the top 2 teams in the ECI Runner Top 5 Team rankings and have already met once this season at Taylor University in the County Clash, with the Eagles taking the victory over the Tigers that day. As the race began, a familiar sight took place, Nicki Southerland surged to the front with ease. She would run dominantly from gun to tape to collect her first individual County Title. She did so, once again, in record-breaking fashion. She would shatter the old Delaware County record by over a minute! The team race that developed behind her was XC at its finest. The Tigers and Eagles jostled back-and-forth, tilting the points battle several times. Also, individuals from Cowan, Wapahani, and Daleville made pushes for a top-10 “All-County” distinction. Southerland’s Eagle teammate Makayla Robles made a strong push in the final stretch to secure a 1-2 finish for Delta. But, close behind Robles was Yorktown’s Grace Huisman in 3rd. For 4th place, Yorktown’s Elizabeth Reece surged ahead of Cowan’s Lauren Smith in the final meters to pick up enormous team points for the Tigers. Smith would finish 5th and Delta’s Shannyn Cox would be close behing in 6th. Wapahani’s Kendyl Thrasher would display a great kick of finishing speed to hold off Yorktown’s Sara Barnhizer for 7th place. Finishing out the All-County spots would be Barnhizer in 8th, Cowan’s Brynn Wright in 9th, and Yorktown’s Natalie Moulton in 10th. The team race truly came down to team depth as the Yorktown Tigers pulled off a 3 point edge of the Eagles for their 5th straight County title.
ECI Team of the Year
Delta Eagles
The Lady Eagles improved throughout the season using a combination of front running and depth to propel them to the top of ECI as the season progressed. Led by state contender Nicki Southerland, Delta is also solidified by the likes of McKayla Robles (a state caliber runner in her own right), Shannyn Cox and Ashleigh Brelage. Accolades for Delta this year include winning a Sectional title, placing 3rd at Regional and finishing an ECI best 14th at the New Haven Semi-State.
Boys Awards
ECI All Freshmen Team
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Eli Chamberlin (Monroe Central)
Gabriel Reynolds (Muncie Central)
Conner Walser (Union City)
Harry Callaway (New Castle)
Ethan Colvin (Daleville)
Zach Crull (Blue River)
Freshman of the Year
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
The future is bright for this freshman as he piled up a number accolades in his inaugural high school campaign. Chief among them was a first place finish at the Delaware County Meet as well as a sub 17-minute performance on the IWU course. Cook finished his season at the New Haven Semi-State this year where there was only one other freshman runner in the 180-person field who finished ahead of him.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Clay Batio (Delta)
Wiley Close (Yorktown)
Caden Landis (Monroe Central)
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Landon Hutchens (Wapahani)
Gannon Crosser (Yorktown)
Donavan Osborn (Blackford)
Sophomore of the Year
Clay Batio (Delta)
This sophomore was solid all year long for the Eagles as he led the way for his team with impressive finishes all season. Highlights for Batio included running a PR of 17:23 at the Marion Invite, receiving all county honors at the DCAA Meet and advancing alongside teammate Lucas Fox to the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI All Junior Team
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
Andrew Fewell (New Castle)
Skyler Dickey (New Castle)
Michael Canfield (Muncie Burris)
Brandon Ellis (Wapahani)
Noah Kitterman (Blackford)
Junior of the Year
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
From starting out most of the year being Monroe Central’s “Robin” behind Tucker Burris, Miller emerged as his own “Batman” as the season progressed. Followed by runner up finishes in the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meets towards the end of the season Miller stepped up his game to notch a 5th place finish at Regional against some stiff competition and came within 2 seconds of a state berth with his 21st finish at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI All Senior Team
Griffen Miller (Wapahani)
Andrew Shrock (Wapahani)
Josh Stephenson (Muncie Burris)
Lucas Fox (Delta)
Caden Shumaker (Monroe Central)
Cole Whitehead (Yorktown)
Khoa Weston (Daleville)
Senior of the Year
Griffen Miller (Wapahani)
The Raider senior had a huge season for Wapahani as he helped lead his team to eight invitational wins on the year, including the Delaware County Championship. Miller’s top performances were marked by a 16:56 PR at IWU, an individual invite win at the County Clash Meet at Taylor University and leading his Raider squad to a team birth at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI Runner of the Year
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
The Monroe Central junior was dominant against ECI competition all season long with multiple individual wins including the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meets. Outside ECI, Burris was equally dominant securing more invite wins at meets in New Haven and South Adams and he also ran gusty races against competition in the Delta Regional and New Haven Semi-State solidifying this Golden Bear as one of the best small-school runners in the state of Indiana.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Daleville Broncos
After finishing 9th in the sectional meet a season ago this Bronco team made a huge jump for a 5th place sectional finish this season to earn a bid to the Delta Regional. Led by first-year coach Megan Yencer-Sargent, this Daleville squad was littered with quality young talent that rallied behind senior lead runner Khoa Weston to improve throughout the season. And with so many runners returning next year season the future is bright for these charging Broncos.
ECI Meet of the Year
Mid-Eastern Conference Meet 10/3/20
The boys race was Cross-Country at its finest with the matchup up front between Wapahani and Monroe Central. Two of the best small schools in the state, dueling it out in perfect weather conditions at the end of the year as teams are beginning to peak is everything a cross-country fan can ask for and this meet did not disappoint. Up front from the time the gun went off were the Bears, who used PR’s by Tucker Burris and Carter Miller to finish 1-2 and set a tone that Monroe Central was not going to go away in this meet without a fight. Next up was the counterpunch by Wapahani who followed with a 3-5 finish by Brandon Ellis, Nick Cook and Andrew Shrock. The rest of the meet got wild as it was settled in a :16 second span as Monroe Central’s Kyler Shumaker placed 6th (another PR ran by the Bears), followed by Raider runner Griffen Miller in 7th and then the eldest Monroe Central Shumaker (Caden) in 9th followed then by a pair of sophomore 5th men in Wapahani’s Colton Boggs narrowly edging out Monroe Central’s Caden Landis for 10th and 11th. Just wow, and as mentioned in the previous run-on sentence we’re talking about a :16 second span where all of this happens and here’s your plot twist; we’re not done yet. We’re only 12 seconds into this so far and at this point in the race 5 Bears have crossed the line as well as 5 Raiders. What does each team have in common at this point? Both squads have 29 team points which means the winner of the MEC came down to the all important 6th man and on this day it was Monroe Central’s Eli Chamberlain whose 12th place all-conference finish narrowly edged Wapahani’s Landon Hutchens who finished 13th. What a race.
ECI Team of the Year
Monroe Central Golden Bears
Coach Braun let it be known early in the year that the Bears would be after the “Triple Crown” this season (winning the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meet) and his squad definitely rose to the occasion in the meets that mattered the most capturing all three in the waning weeks of the season. In addition to the victories included in the “Triple Crown” Monroe Central also won the South Adams Invite and also advanced to the Semi-State meet at Huntington, a feat that eluded the sectional champion Golden Bears a season ago.
ECI All Freshman Team
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
Sydney Fellers (Blue River)
Addison Coe (Monroe Central)
Katie Osborne (Monroe Central)
Gracie Baker (Monroe Central)
Allie Clamme (Blackford)
Freshman of the Year
Sydney Matthews (New Castle)
Matthews had quite an impressive season, as she was one of the dominant runners in ECI as a freshman. Accomplishments for the Trojan harrier included individual invite wins at the Hagerstown and Randolph Southern invitationals, going sub 20 minutes at the HHC meet and advancing to the Shelbyville Semi-State meet.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
Lydia Harvey (New Castle)
Leida Keihn (Jay County)
Shannyn Cox (Delta)
Kendyl Thrasher (Wapahani)
Emerson Justin (Wes-Del)
Delaney Strange (Muncie Central)
Sophomore of the Year
Brynn Wright (Cowan)
No one perhaps ran more solid down the stretch of the season than Brynn Wright did. After finishing 3rd in the MEC meet in the last week of the regular season Wright continued to run well in the tournament posting a 7th place finish at the Delta Sectional and then busting out a PR of 20:43 for a 12th place finish in the Regional to advance to the New Haven Semi-State where she was amongst the top finishers in ECI placing 81st.
ECI All Junior Team
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
Makayla Robles (Delta)
Grace Huisman (Yorktown)
Lauren Smith (Cowan)
Jaci Knott (Wes-Del)
Lindy Wood (Jay County)
Hope Edwards (Shenandoah)
Junior of the Year
Olivia Keesling (Randolph Southern)
The career arc of improvement for Keesling has been impressive, as she has shed multiple minutes off of her time every year to put herself amongst the top of ECI. This season, Keesling posted top 5 finishes at the Randolph County and MEC meets as well as running a PR of 20:34 at the Delta Regional to advance to the New Haven Semi-State, becoming the third Keesling sister to advance to semi-state in recent years.
ECI All Senior Team
Elizabeth Reece (Yorktown)
Ashleigh Brelage (Delta)
Ella Baldwin (Winchester)
Sara Barnhizer (Yorktown)
Sara Fugiett (Jay County)
Natalie Moulton (Yorktown)
Izzie Brown (Yorktown)
Senior of the Year
Elizabeth Reece (Yorktown)
The multi-sport star had another great season as she was one of four key senior contributors that helped lead the Lady Tigers to a Delaware County Championship and a team Semi-State birth. Individually, Reece posted top five finishes at the Taylor Clash, DCAA and the Delta Sectional and also ran a SR of 20:43 at the HHC Meet.
ECI Runner of the Year
Nicki Southerland (Delta)
The unanimous choice for ECI Runner of the Year on the girls’ side is Nicki Southerland. Southerland this year has been absolute dominant in her freshman campaign as the only blemish to her season thus far is a 2nd place runner-up finish at the New Haven Semi-State this past weekend. Looking forward, Southerland will be on the short list of state favorites this weekend and ECI Runner wishes Delta and Nicki the best of luck this weekend!
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Wes-Del Warriors
After finishing 7th in last year’s MEC Meet the Wes-Del Warriors showed tremendous growth this season to place 2nd in the 2020 edition of the MEC Meet. Leading the way for the Warriors was junior Jaci Knott who returned to the New Haven Semi-State for the third consecutive season as an individual. The Lady Warriors also improved their Sectional placing from a season ago, jumping from 10th last year to 6th, all while running this year’s Sectional without number two runner Emmi Justin.
ECI Meet of the Year
Delaware County Meet 9/8/20
The Girls team race seemed on paper to be one of the tighter competitions on the day. The Yorktown Tigers and Delta Eagles are the top 2 teams in the ECI Runner Top 5 Team rankings and have already met once this season at Taylor University in the County Clash, with the Eagles taking the victory over the Tigers that day. As the race began, a familiar sight took place, Nicki Southerland surged to the front with ease. She would run dominantly from gun to tape to collect her first individual County Title. She did so, once again, in record-breaking fashion. She would shatter the old Delaware County record by over a minute! The team race that developed behind her was XC at its finest. The Tigers and Eagles jostled back-and-forth, tilting the points battle several times. Also, individuals from Cowan, Wapahani, and Daleville made pushes for a top-10 “All-County” distinction. Southerland’s Eagle teammate Makayla Robles made a strong push in the final stretch to secure a 1-2 finish for Delta. But, close behind Robles was Yorktown’s Grace Huisman in 3rd. For 4th place, Yorktown’s Elizabeth Reece surged ahead of Cowan’s Lauren Smith in the final meters to pick up enormous team points for the Tigers. Smith would finish 5th and Delta’s Shannyn Cox would be close behing in 6th. Wapahani’s Kendyl Thrasher would display a great kick of finishing speed to hold off Yorktown’s Sara Barnhizer for 7th place. Finishing out the All-County spots would be Barnhizer in 8th, Cowan’s Brynn Wright in 9th, and Yorktown’s Natalie Moulton in 10th. The team race truly came down to team depth as the Yorktown Tigers pulled off a 3 point edge of the Eagles for their 5th straight County title.
ECI Team of the Year
Delta Eagles
The Lady Eagles improved throughout the season using a combination of front running and depth to propel them to the top of ECI as the season progressed. Led by state contender Nicki Southerland, Delta is also solidified by the likes of McKayla Robles (a state caliber runner in her own right), Shannyn Cox and Ashleigh Brelage. Accolades for Delta this year include winning a Sectional title, placing 3rd at Regional and finishing an ECI best 14th at the New Haven Semi-State.
Boys Awards
ECI All Freshmen Team
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
Eli Chamberlin (Monroe Central)
Gabriel Reynolds (Muncie Central)
Conner Walser (Union City)
Harry Callaway (New Castle)
Ethan Colvin (Daleville)
Zach Crull (Blue River)
Freshman of the Year
Nick Cook (Wapahani)
The future is bright for this freshman as he piled up a number accolades in his inaugural high school campaign. Chief among them was a first place finish at the Delaware County Meet as well as a sub 17-minute performance on the IWU course. Cook finished his season at the New Haven Semi-State this year where there was only one other freshman runner in the 180-person field who finished ahead of him.
ECI All Sophomore Team
Clay Batio (Delta)
Wiley Close (Yorktown)
Caden Landis (Monroe Central)
Colton Boggs (Wapahani)
Landon Hutchens (Wapahani)
Gannon Crosser (Yorktown)
Donavan Osborn (Blackford)
Sophomore of the Year
Clay Batio (Delta)
This sophomore was solid all year long for the Eagles as he led the way for his team with impressive finishes all season. Highlights for Batio included running a PR of 17:23 at the Marion Invite, receiving all county honors at the DCAA Meet and advancing alongside teammate Lucas Fox to the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI All Junior Team
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
Andrew Fewell (New Castle)
Skyler Dickey (New Castle)
Michael Canfield (Muncie Burris)
Brandon Ellis (Wapahani)
Noah Kitterman (Blackford)
Junior of the Year
Carter Miller (Monroe Central)
From starting out most of the year being Monroe Central’s “Robin” behind Tucker Burris, Miller emerged as his own “Batman” as the season progressed. Followed by runner up finishes in the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meets towards the end of the season Miller stepped up his game to notch a 5th place finish at Regional against some stiff competition and came within 2 seconds of a state berth with his 21st finish at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI All Senior Team
Griffen Miller (Wapahani)
Andrew Shrock (Wapahani)
Josh Stephenson (Muncie Burris)
Lucas Fox (Delta)
Caden Shumaker (Monroe Central)
Cole Whitehead (Yorktown)
Khoa Weston (Daleville)
Senior of the Year
Griffen Miller (Wapahani)
The Raider senior had a huge season for Wapahani as he helped lead his team to eight invitational wins on the year, including the Delaware County Championship. Miller’s top performances were marked by a 16:56 PR at IWU, an individual invite win at the County Clash Meet at Taylor University and leading his Raider squad to a team birth at the New Haven Semi-State.
ECI Runner of the Year
Tucker Burris (Monroe Central)
The Monroe Central junior was dominant against ECI competition all season long with multiple individual wins including the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meets. Outside ECI, Burris was equally dominant securing more invite wins at meets in New Haven and South Adams and he also ran gusty races against competition in the Delta Regional and New Haven Semi-State solidifying this Golden Bear as one of the best small-school runners in the state of Indiana.
ECI Most Improved Team of the Year
Daleville Broncos
After finishing 9th in the sectional meet a season ago this Bronco team made a huge jump for a 5th place sectional finish this season to earn a bid to the Delta Regional. Led by first-year coach Megan Yencer-Sargent, this Daleville squad was littered with quality young talent that rallied behind senior lead runner Khoa Weston to improve throughout the season. And with so many runners returning next year season the future is bright for these charging Broncos.
ECI Meet of the Year
Mid-Eastern Conference Meet 10/3/20
The boys race was Cross-Country at its finest with the matchup up front between Wapahani and Monroe Central. Two of the best small schools in the state, dueling it out in perfect weather conditions at the end of the year as teams are beginning to peak is everything a cross-country fan can ask for and this meet did not disappoint. Up front from the time the gun went off were the Bears, who used PR’s by Tucker Burris and Carter Miller to finish 1-2 and set a tone that Monroe Central was not going to go away in this meet without a fight. Next up was the counterpunch by Wapahani who followed with a 3-5 finish by Brandon Ellis, Nick Cook and Andrew Shrock. The rest of the meet got wild as it was settled in a :16 second span as Monroe Central’s Kyler Shumaker placed 6th (another PR ran by the Bears), followed by Raider runner Griffen Miller in 7th and then the eldest Monroe Central Shumaker (Caden) in 9th followed then by a pair of sophomore 5th men in Wapahani’s Colton Boggs narrowly edging out Monroe Central’s Caden Landis for 10th and 11th. Just wow, and as mentioned in the previous run-on sentence we’re talking about a :16 second span where all of this happens and here’s your plot twist; we’re not done yet. We’re only 12 seconds into this so far and at this point in the race 5 Bears have crossed the line as well as 5 Raiders. What does each team have in common at this point? Both squads have 29 team points which means the winner of the MEC came down to the all important 6th man and on this day it was Monroe Central’s Eli Chamberlain whose 12th place all-conference finish narrowly edged Wapahani’s Landon Hutchens who finished 13th. What a race.
ECI Team of the Year
Monroe Central Golden Bears
Coach Braun let it be known early in the year that the Bears would be after the “Triple Crown” this season (winning the Randolph County, MEC and Sectional meet) and his squad definitely rose to the occasion in the meets that mattered the most capturing all three in the waning weeks of the season. In addition to the victories included in the “Triple Crown” Monroe Central also won the South Adams Invite and also advanced to the Semi-State meet at Huntington, a feat that eluded the sectional champion Golden Bears a season ago.
