Senior repeats after picking up another fifth-place finish at the IHSAA state final.
Jacob Mitchell will go down as one of the top boys' cross country runners at Bloomington North.
That legacy was built on the seniors' competitive nature. Whether training or racing, Mitchell hates being beaten or failing to meet his own high expectations. The bigger the occasion, the better he runs.
This season, Mitchell finished fifth at state for the second year in a row despite the fact that this year's finals were run at a faster pace. But he was prepared, having run the second-fastest 5k in school history in 14:49, one of five sub-15:15 times he recorded this season.
"His training had to be high quality and has been all the way through," North coach Charlie Warthan said. "He had good people surrounding him, which was very beneficial.
"He's a competitor, and when it comes down to it, if it gets competitive, he rises to the occasion. That's it exactly, his ability, when the stakes are high, to rise to the occasion."
For the second year in a row, Mitchell rises to become the Herald-Times Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. Warthan saw that competitive spirit come out many times.
"The run that stands out to me is last year's state meet," Warthan said. "He went out so hard at the beginning, and to be able to hang in there the rest of the race.
"His ability to dig down (going out so fast) wasn't the most intelligent thing to do, but his competitiveness allowed him to stay in the race and find the extra energy that took him to the end. He found it when you'd think it's not there. Finishing fifth and fifth, with a faster time this year, the state meet was a lot more competitive, and to finish as high as he did, that stands out."
Breaking 15 this year was a goal Mitchell set for himself, and he did it twice, covering the regional course in 14:59 while trailing only the eventual state champ.
This year, Mitchell had a less risky race strategy and a great feel for the competition.
"All those top guys know who the top players are and what they're capable of," Warthan said. "They knew who's in the lead pack. The strategy was to put himself in the mix, hang in there, stay relaxed as possible and when it's go time, give your best effort."
Mitchell was 12 seconds off the top, but had to finish strong to beat the sixth-place runner by .31. Having someone like Caelan D'Onofrio, who was just a few seconds back in 10th, to train with helped set the stage for both to take the medal stand.
"The last couple of years, he's had such a strong surrounding crew, somebody hangs with him and pushes him in workouts," Warthan said.
Mitchell became just the third three-time Conference Indiana champ, joining Columbus North's Christian Wagner in 2001-03, and the league was as good as it's ever been with the 2024 state team champs (North) and this year's winner (Columbus North) going at it.
And even on days when Mitchell wasn't happy with the time or result, it just made him work and compete that much harder.
"If he didn't live up to his expectations in a run or a race, he would be very disappointed," Warthan said. "But what he was able to do was channel that into working hard or changing things up for the next run."
2025 Herald-Times All-Area Boys Cross Country Team
Abe Brown, South, Sr.
Best time: 16:17.1. Sect: 11th. Reg: 35th. State: 209th (17:08.82).
Notables: Made a big jump to No. 2 in the Panthers' lineup, taking 40 seconds off the best time with a career-best race at the regional. 23rd at Conference Indiana.
Jake Gentry, North, Sr.
Best time: 16:07.5. Sect: 5th. Reg: 28th. State: 115th (16:30.72).
Notables: Ran in the low 16s all year, with his season best coming at regional. 18th in Conference Indiana. Repeat All-Area. Will run at DePauw.
Caelan D'Onofrio, North, Sr.
Best time: 14:56.2. Sect: 3rd. Reg: 3rd. State: 10th (15:21.91).
Notables: Third at Conference Indiana. Eagle Classic winner. Lowered best time by 33 seconds. Two-time state medalist. Signed with Butler. Three-time All-Area. IATCCC 4A All-State.
Tucker Inman, North, So.
Best time: 16:04.6. Sect: 6th. Reg: 30th. State: 194th (17:00.67).
Notables: 15th at Conference Indiana. Third at Eagle Classic frosh/soph race. Had six races, 16:31 or better.
Shep Jackson, North, So.
Best time: 15:53.5. Sect: 7th. Reg: 36th. State: 120th (16:31.46).
Notables: Second in frosh/soph race at Eagle Classic. 17th at Conference Indiana. Six races, 16:31 or better.
Jacob Mitchell, North, Sr.
Best time: 14:49.2. Sect: 4th. Reg: 2nd. State: 5th (15:13.20).
Notables: Repeat H-T Runner of the Year, earning his second state medal. Just the second three-time Conference Indiana champ. Second fastest 5k in school history with five races under 15:15. Top-10 in every race, winning Columbus North Invite, second at Eagle Classic. Signed with IU-Indianapolis. IATCCC 4A All-State. Four-time All-Area.
Chase Norris, South, So.
Best time: 15:36.5. Sect: 9th. Reg: 21st. State: 114th (16:30.02).
Notables: Panthers' top runner again, running five sub-16s. 8th at Conference Indiana, one of five top-10 finishes. Third at Mt. Vernon, eighth at Eagle Classic. Repeat All-Area.
Jackson Walker, North, Jr.
Best time: 15:43.9. Sect: 1st. Reg: 13th. State: 123rd (16:32.46).
Notables: First-time varsity runner had two sub-16 races, setting his career fastest at regional. 12th at Conference Indiana.
Caleb Winders, North, Sr.
Best time: 15:21.9. Sect: 2nd. Reg: 7th. State: 20th (15:40.23).
Notables: 5th at Conference Indiana, seventh at Eagle Classic. Had a career-best race at the regional. Took 22 seconds off the best time this season. Won first state medal. Three-time All-Area. IATCCC 4A All-State. Signed with North Carolina.
HONORABLE MENTION: Daniel Damico, South, So. (16:54.8); Noah Gallagher, Edgewood, Fr. (16:53.1); Liam Hogan, Owen Valley, So. (16:57.9); Aaron Hudson, Eastern Greene, So. (17:22.8); Monte Kester, Edgewood, So. (16:26.4); Oliver Moore, South, So. (17:01.9); Davin Norris, Edgewood, Jr. (17:18.7); Garrett Pitkin, South, Jr. (17:09.6); Luke Reinhart, South, Jr. (17:07.0); Jack Taylor, South, Jr. (17:13.3); Dillan Williams, Eastern Greene, Jr. (17:30.8); Matthew Zinkan, South, Jr. (17:07.8).
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: North's Jacob Mitchell leads IHSAA All-Area Boys Cross Country team
Category: General Sports
