Crossing the finish line at the Shelbyville Semistate signaled the official halfway point of J.T. Hodges’ high school cross-country career.
Though the Center Grove sophomore desired something better than a 63rd-place effort, there’s no questioning the favorable impression he’s made on the Trojans’ boys program.
This season, Hodges took individual honors at the Johnson County meet and Franklin Sectional — and now, he’s also the Daily Journal’s Runner of the Year in boys cross-country.
He also separated himself from the pack at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference meet. It was there Hodges blazed a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 44 seconds to reign supreme at Ben Davis.
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“I did feel that I had a better season than I did as a freshman,” said Hodges, who this past postseason secured fifth place at the Shelbyville Regional in a season-best time of 16:10. “This season I felt I could run 16 minutes way easier than I usually could.”
Hodges’ offseason work ethic surely played a role.
Another potential factor would be the growth spurt that took Hodges from being a 5-foot-6 ninth-grader to a sophomore standing 5-11.
Making the most of the newfound longer stride, Hodges insists his meet strategy remained centered on the course and weather conditions.
“I have the same strategy and mental attitude when it comes to competition,” he said.
As a freshman, Hodges made an immediate splash by winning sectional in 16:13.24 and coming in 20th the following week at the South Dearborn Regional in 16:39. Exposed to the extremely difficult Carmel Semistate, he came in 83rd with his time of 17:07.2.
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J.T. Hodges by the numbers
Johnson County meet;first;16:35
MIC meet;first;15:44
Franklin Sectional;first;16:18
Shelbyville Regional;fifth;16:10
Shelbyville Semistate;63rd;16:23.9
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Josh Campbell, Franklin junior: Maybe the county’s most consistent performer, the junior took second at county, fifth at sectional and third at regional. Campbell fared better than county champ J.T. Hodges at semistate, coming in 22nd.
J.T. Hodges, Center Grove sophomore: No sophomore slump here with Hodges winning the MIC, Johnson County and Franklin Sectional. His conference dominance at Ben Davis came in a personal-best time of 15:44.
Chandler McGaha, Franklin senior: The Grizzly Cubs’ senior fared well at county by coming in seventh. He later posted a 14th-place performance at sectional and lowered that to eighth place at regional.
Bailey McMahon, Whiteland junior: The Warriors’ lone top-10 performer at county (ninth), McMahon was the 26th-fastest individual at the sectional and 31st at the regional.
Ethan Pine, Greenwood junior: The No. 1 runner for the Woodmen, Pine came in sixth at the Johnson County meet. In the postseason, he finished 12th at the Franklin Sectional and ninth at the Shelbyville Regional.
Adam Russell, Center Grove senior: Russell’s last hurrah in prep cross country proved memorable. He was third at county, runner-up in sectional and sixth at the Shelbyville Regional.
Ethan Stanley, Center Grove sophomore: Like his classmate Hodges, this sophomore was a force to be reckoned with. Stanley took fourth at county and sixth at sectional before a 17th-place standing at regional.
Honorable mention
Brandon Albin, Greenwood; Andrew Bixler, Franklin; Sean Bowman, Indian Creek; Nate Decker, Indian Creek; Mitchell Ellis, Indian Creek; Jacob Fendley, Whiteland; Christopher Jones, Center Grove; Mika Long, Whiteland; Isaiah Lindsay, Franklin; Caleb McCort, Franklin; Bailey McMahon, Whiteland; Sebastian Martin, Center Grove; Nolan Miller, Center Grove; Steven Mills, Center Grove; Lucas Oskins, Greenwood; Ian Rimer, Greenwood; Jace Russell, Indian Creek; Tomy Sundheimer, Franklin; Will Tucker, Franklin.
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