News
Fishers' Quagliaroli sets course record, Bloomington North wins team title
TERRE HAUTE – Fishers won its first IHSAA state championship in boys track and field on June 1. Yet it was hard for Sam Quagliaroli to feel part of it.
He broke his toe in April and was sidelined for the outdoor postseason. He could not contribute a single point.
On a glorious November afternoon, Quagliaroli left disappointment and the competition behind Saturday. Now he, too, is a state champion.
“To have the track season go like that and watch all those boys go succeed without me, I’m super happy for them,” he said. “But it was a big motivator and it’s a big reason I’m here today, working through that all summer to try to go get mine.”
Moreover, he became the fastest boy at state on the storied LaVern Gibson Championship Course, running 5,000 meters in 14 minutes, 46.81 seconds.
The previous record was North Central’s Futsum Zienasellassie in 14:48.8 in 2011. Fastest Indiana boy on the course was Brebeuf Jesuit's Cameron Todd in 14:43.8 at the Nike Midwest Regional in 2023.
Quagliaroli was seventh in 14:54.91 in the Nike XC Town Twilight meet Oct. 5.
His championship was another step on a journey that began with earnestness after he quit playing hockey. He had been on the ice since age 5 but gave up that sport after his sophomore hockey season.
He was pushed to the record by Westview junior Noah Bontrager, who finished second in 14:51.46.
“He was still there at 4K, and I knew it was going to be a battle,” Quagliaroli said. “I’m really grateful for him. With 600 left, I sent all the training going through my mind. Just, ‘quick strides, quick strides, turnover, turnover.’ Ultimately, got the job done.”
Bontrager was fifth in the state 3,200 in 9:01.69 as a sophomore, so the two might be destined for 2025 duels on the track.
Even more surprising was Danville senior Jack Hearld, whose mad dash to the line brought him third in 15:07.41. He was merely third in a regional.
Mishawaka’s Liam Bauschke was fourth in 15:08.69.
At the race’s midpoint, during an uphill climb, Hearld said he didn’t slow as he usually does.
“I figured out how to have a little more in me,” Hearld said.
If the individual race was historic, the team race was more so.
Bloomington North won its first team title since 1980, a year in which a running website declared the Cougars national champions. That team scored 34 points, two off the state record, and won by 115, the second-largest margin in state history.
It is generally regarded as the greatest boys cross-country team ever in Indiana. The team was inducted into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The coach then, as now, was Charlie Warthan.
“I didn’t know if I’d be fortunate enough to coach another group that would have a shot,” said Warthan, 74. “Just because that’s the goal and you have the ability to do it doesn’t necessarily mean you get it done.”
Bloomington North scored 105 off a 2-7-16-37-43 finish. Noblesville was second with 115, Brownsburg third with 172, Northridge fourth with 181 and Fishers fifth with 198.
Two-time defending champion Carmel was eighth with 272.
Warthan, who was 22nd in the 1972 Olympic marathon trials, used to run with the boys he coached. He can still accompany them on a bicycle.
He started to list the runners who were key to this championship, and he ended up naming every one.
“You win by 10 points,” he said, “every place matters.”
Jacob Mitchell was Bloomington North’s top finisher in fifth. Caelan D’Onofrio was 13th, Caleb Webb 26th, Jack Holden 50th and Caleb Winders 59th.
Winders, a 1:49 runner for 800 meters, clocked 15:59.85 to put all five scorers under 16 minutes.
“Five under 16 minutes on this course is pretty incredible,” Warthan said.
The state championship was the first for Bloomington North in any sport since the last single-class basketball tournament in 1997.
Contact David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
Fishers' Sam Quagliaroli named Mental Attitude Award recipient
During the awards ceremony, Sam Quagliaroli of Fishers High School was named the winner of the Charles F. Maas Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Executive Committee.
This year's individual state champion, Sam became the second Fishers runner to wear the crown and first since 2008. He finished third in last year's event.
Also an exceptional student, he maintains a 4.6 GPA and will graduate summa cum laude in the spring while being named an AP Scholar of Distinction.
Sam is the son of Richard and Michelle Quagliaroli of Fishers, Ind. and will attend Indiana University beginning next fall to study finance and run for the Hoosiers' men's teams.
The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability and is nominated by their principal and coach.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Fishers High School in the name of Sam Quagliaroli.
