East Central High School senior Callie Bentley is preparing for her fourth IHSAA Cross Country Finals race, which takes place Saturday at Lavern Gibson National Cross Country Course near Terre Haute.
Since ECHS opened its doors in 1974, there have been just seven years in which Trojan girls cross country runners have qualified for the state finals as an individual or on a team.
Bentley has qualified for four of those.
Kristal Studer (Class of 2009) was the first EC cross country runner to compete at state.
Rachel Campbell made it in 2021.
Bentley made it in 2022 as a freshman as part of the first Trojan team to qualify for the state finals.
As a sophomore, Bentley and teammate Jena Weiler both made it.
Last year, the EC girls qualified as a team for the second time in program history.
As the season comes to a close for all of the runners except Callie, there is a great spirit of accomplishment and joy,” said East Central cross country assistant coach Fr. Jonathan Meyer. “For Callie, we have great hope and continued gratitude for her persistence, leadership, and witness. This week will continue with training and plans for the State meet on Saturday!”