Huntington North boys cross country coach Curtis Hines said he wants his team “in the mix” when it comes to competing for a state championship. Some running experts have the Vikings as the team to beat.

“We want to compete with the best in the state of Indiana,” Hines said. “Our goal, ultimately, is we want to compete for a state title. I wouldn’t say winning a state title is an expectation. We want to be in the mix. If we are in the mix, and we win, we will be excited. If we don’t win, but do everything to the best of our ability, we aren’t going to be upset about that.

“I wouldn’t say we are in a position where everything is perfect. We have some stuff that we are going to have to deal with. We hope to be a lot better team at the end of October than we are right now.”

Huntington North lost only one senior, its No. 6 runner, from a team that finished 12th at the state finals. The Vikings were second at the New Haven Semistate.

“We finished 12th, and it was our poorest showing of the season,” Hines said. “They were absolutely devastated. Some of the schools that beat us last year at the state finals, we felt like we didn’t run that well.

“We are excited to get a chance to come back at them.”

Hines said the program has 27 runners, the most ever at the school, and that includes what could be the best 1-2-3 punch in the state in seniors Ross Ochs, Josh Graham and Austin Roberts.

“It is pretty competitive for spots,” said Hines, who added they have been dealing with some injuries and illnesses. “We have a couple of key guys whose summers didn’t go as they would have wanted as far as preparation. A couple of guys who we have pretty high expectations for aren’t going to start out where most people expect them to be.”

Hines mentioned five other teams – Carmel, North Central, Terre Haute North, Chesterton and Columbus North – that also have a realistic shot at a state title along with Huntington North.

Huntington North’s best finish at the state finals was the 2003 team, which finished fourth.

In northeast Indiana, Hines said Bishop Dwenger and Snider could be contenders.

Carroll, which finished as the state runner-up last year, graduated five of its top seven runners but will return junior James Martin, who was finished second and third at state the last two years.

Dwenger has the right combination of experience and talented youth, led by senior Luke Momper and sophomore Andrew Eckrich, to run with the best teams in the area.

“With the kids we have coming back, and the improvement we have made since last year, I think we have a pretty good shot at that,” said Dwenger coach Eric Ade, who said the team has set a top 10 at state as one of its goals. “We have a good mix of everything across the board.”

gjones@jg.net