HIGH SCHOOL

Izaiah Steury goes from child shepherd in Ethiopia to state champ in Indiana

David Woods
Indianapolis Star

TERRE HAUTE – It was a long way — 243 miles — from Steuben County in the northeast corner of Indiana to travel to the state cross-country meet. But compared to the 7,600 miles separating Izaiah Steury from his homeland, it was small sacrifice for supporters making the trip.

Steury, an Angola junior who was once an orphaned shepherd in Ethiopia, wrote another chapter Saturday in his improbable story. Seven years after arriving in Indiana as a child who did not know English and had never been a runner, he is a state champion.

► IN-DEPTH:How an orphaned Ethiopian shepherd became one of Indiana's top distance runners

Izaiah Steury of Angola finishing first with a time of 15:23.7 at the IHSAA Boys Cross Country State Finals held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Terre Haute, Indiana, October 31, 2020.

He will return here Nov. 15 in a bid to win a race organized by the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation. But even though this was a state title, not a national one, it was as consequential as it gets in Indiana.

Steury beat a field featuring Highland’s Lucas Guerra, the 2019 state runner-up, and Carmel’s Kole Mathison, bidding to become the third sophomore winner in 70 years. Although Steury’s 5,000-meter time of 15 minutes, 23.7 seconds might be modest, he was faster than Cathedral’s Cole Hocker ran in winning two years ago (15:25.1). And Hocker did become a national champion.

“I have no words to express because it’s been truly amazing,” Steury said.

So was the reception he received from the purple-clad Angola fans who crowded around him afterward, some carrying large placards with Steury’s photograph. He was adopted by a Pleasant Lake couple, Leroy and Tammy Steury. Tammy bought 50 tickets online for distribution.

“It’s what he’s worked for all year. And he got it,” Tammy said. “I knew he would.”

Steury ran 3,200 meters on the track in 8:57.17 at Nashville, Tenn., in August and was unbeaten this fall. So he was the favorite.

Cole Mathison (538) of Carmal, Izaiah Steury (464)  of Angola, and Lucas Guerra (757) of Highland lead the pack at the start of the IHSAA Boys Cross Country State Finals held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Terre Haute, Indiana, October 31, 2020.

But he made no attempt to seize control in the first kilometer. Footing was soft and the wind strong, so coach Brad Peterson instructed him to delay his big push until the midpoint.

Mathison ran with Steury stride for stride until almost 3,000 meters, and Guerra was close behind. So was Whiteland’s Will Jefferson, who paid for the early pace and finished 79th.

“I was on their hip, and they did all the work for me,” Steury said.

Mathison said he was waiting to see what happened “and respond in the moment.” He could only watch as Steury pressed ahead, beating Guerra by 11 seconds and Mathison by 13. Almost all of that margin came over the closing two kilometers

“God gave me the strength and wisdom to really run that perfectly,” Steury said.

In the team race, Columbus North executed just as perfectly. In team scoring, the champion Bull Dogs were 2-11-15-16-19.

“We can’t run any better than that,” coach Danny Fisher said.

The Bull Dogs placed five in the top 26 for 63 points, equaling the lowest score since Columbus North scored 43 in 2003.

Carmel was second with 112 and Brebeuf Jesuit third with 126. Center Grove was fourth with 191, cracking the top 10 for the first time in school history.

It was Columbus North’s first state championship since 2011, the last of five under coach Rick Weinheimer.

Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff finished fourth to lead the Bull Dogs. Austin Pulkowski earned all-state in finishing 16th with a closing kilometer of 3:10, second-fastest behind Steury’s 3:09.

► MORE ON PULKOWSKI:He coped with autism by running. Now he helped push Columbus North to a state title.

Carmel had three all-staters (top 25) for the first time since 2013, with Jacob Fisher 21st and Charlie Schuman 25th. Carmel, Fishers (fifth), Hamilton Southeastern (sixth) and Noblesville (seventh), gave Hamilton County four of the top seven teams.

Carmel coach Colin Altevogt said it was “pretty incredible” to have such a season, considering runners were without organized practices for months during the pandemic.

“It’s a testament to our guys and guys around the state to keep working — and putting themselves in a position when we could meet and practice — to do this good,” Altevogt said. “Three very good teams in the state this year. Four, five and six were really good as well.”

Cardinal Ritter’s Paul Stamm won the Mental Attitude Award. He finished 11th.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Boys state cross-country

TEAM SCORES

Columbus North 63, Carmel 112, Brebeuf Jesuit 126, Center Grove 191, Fishers 196, Hamilton Southeastern 228, Noblesville 235, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran 257, Zionsville 301, Guerin Catholic 302.

Bloomington North 335, Crown Point 344, Goshen 350, Jasper 375, Bloomington South 383, Warsaw 386, Chesterton 395, Penn 409, Floyd Central 423, Fort Wayne Carroll 423, Northview 541, Lake Central 558, Munster 563, Western 583.

TOP 20 INDIVIDUALS

1, Izaiah Steury, Angola, 15:23.7; 2, Lucas Guerra, Highland, 15:34.4; 3, Kole Mathison, Carmel, 15:36.4; 4. Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff, Columbus North, 15:44.2; 5, Mariano Retzloff, Penn, 15:45.4; 6, Karsten Schlegel, Concordia Lutheran, 15:49.4; 7, Travis Hickner, Noblesville, 15:49.9; 8, Jesus Garcia, Zionsville, 15:50.4; 9, Nolan Satterfield, HSE, 15:53.9; 10, Trevor Nolan, Brownsburg, 15:55.7.

11, Paul Stamm, Cardinal Ritter, 15:56.2; 12, Abe Eckman, Jasper, 15:57.2; 13, Cole Johnston, Goshen, 15:57.3; 14, Krishna Thirunavukkarasu, Brebeuf, 15:58.3; 15, Nate Killeen, North Central, 16:02.45; 16, Austin Pulkowski, Columbus North, 16:02.9; 17, Will Clark, Fishers, 16:03.1; 18, Ethan Baitz, Homestead, 16:03.3; 19, Kyle Clark, Bloomington North, 16:03.5; 20, Spencer Carpenter, Westview, 16:03.7.