Springs Valley Community High School

Carson Brown became the second Springs Valley Blackhawks cross country runner to compete at the IHSAA State Finals on Saturday. The senior followed in Alan Marshall's footsteps by making his way to Terre Haute, then created footsteps of his own beyond Marshall's. Not only did Brown run on Saturday, he ran well. So well, in fact, that he placed 11th: the best any Blackhawk has ever placed. He finished with a time of 15:29.61, just two seconds short of his school record, thanks to a strong push to close the race. In the final 1,000 meters of the race, Brown passed a bunch of runners to move from 28th to 11th. Though cross country is an unclassified sport, Brown was the highest finisher from a school traditionally considered a "small school" belonging to Class 1A or Class 2A. His closest small-school competitor — Eastside junior Andrew Strong — finished seven seconds behind him in 25th. With his strong finish, Brown earned All-State honors, becoming the first Blackhawk to make an outright All-State team rather than a classified one. This should be more than enough to propel him to a strong track season this spring.