Benton Central Jr-Sr High School

All cross country runners aspire to make a State Meet appearance. The IHSAA State Meet is held at the renowned LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. Host of Nike XC Town Twilight, Under Armour Pre-Nationals, Indiana Middle School State Meet, and NCAA Division 1 & 3 meets, LaVern has proven to display impressive feats of running. This year’s State Meet sparked a remarkable showing from Benton Central’s freshman standout Lillian Weigle. Lillian had familiarized herself with LaVern Gibson on a several occasions prior to this weekend, but it was her patience and determination that elevated her to the podium. Runners shot off the line and set a quick pace early on. Lillian found herself in 34th place after 1 kilometer but steadily worked her way up in the pack. She looked comfortable even as the race progressed through the winding, rolling hills. The last turn of the course opens to the final straight. A long straight. She hit the gas and kept passing, seemingly without effort the full length of the final stretch. These final few positions made all the difference and Lillian placed 23rd in the state, earning all-State recognition and 5th fastest freshman in the state. Her time of 17:57.60 broke her own school record time by 14 seconds! Saturday’s race featured 250 runners from across Indiana, each one earning the right to call themselves one of the fastest girls in the state. The top 25 get the special recognition of All-State. Benton Central Freshman Lillian Weigle is more than a local standout. She proved that she can run with the best. We are all excited to see what Lillian can do in her career and look forward to her next season in track.