Monte Kester is starting to put himself in some elite company when it comes to boys cross country at Edgewood.
That run to potential greatness actually took a big leap late last winter, coach Ben Francke said, when Kester had one last chance to qualify for the indoor state track meet in the 3,200. Running with several Columbus North runners who currently comprise the top boys cross country team in the state, he busted out a 20-second PR of 9:35 to get there.
Outdoors, his confidence got some further reinforcement. He dropped his mile time to 4:31 and in the 3,200 at the outdoor regional, ran fifth in 9:39.
"Seeing those times and the people he was racing at the end of the year, I pointed out after the regional, look at the top seven," Francke said. "Of them, six were top 15 at the cross country regional, where Monte was 50th (16:41).
"He was the only one not there, and those are the people he's racing now. He was racing kids he wasn't touching during cross country season."
He's had a couple other big moments this season. Breaking 16 minutes at table-top flat Cerland in Columbus is one thing, but to turn around and do it in a crowded field with some of the Midwest's top runners at the Nike Twilight Meet, taking 65th in 15:47, is another.
"He ran that race alone," Francke said, noting the rest of the team ran a different race. "As I walked up to him, he said, 'I'm feeling good and ready to go beat some people.' He goes to the line with a lot of confidence."
Just last week, in the Western Indiana Conference Championships, he came within four seconds (16:05) of former Mustang Austin Haskett's course record set in 2017. Haskett is the best Mustang there ever was (best time of 15:08 as a junior, best placing at state, seventh, as a senior) before running at Indiana University.
Running that time by himself, as Haskett did nine years ago, was probably more impressive to Francke.
"He's really running strong," Francke said. "He's doing a great job, and he makes me look better as a coach than I could ever make him look. He works incredibly hard. His work ethic is what helps him get to the level he's at now."
The progression has been constant. Last year, he was a steady runner in the mid-16s. He's able to stay patient early in races and pick up steam toward the end, using his 2:02 800 speed to pass runners in the final kilometer.
"We've increased his mileage a little bit," Francke said. "But I think it's just stacking two years of good work on top of each other. We've got him at 45-50 miles a week. We're not doing anything different here, it really just comes down to his stacking good, solid work."
Freshman year, he was the No. 7 man for a team that made it to state, running several races under 18 minutes. Now, he's the Mustangs' No. 1 and looking to do more than just get back for the first time since then.
"Who knows what will happen in the next three weeks, but we'll put top 25 out there," Francke said. "If he can get in the top 50, that's a good day. On a really good day, top 25 is possible.
"But the first week is sectionals, so we're looking more at a good team score. If he can get in there and break up that Columbus North pack and got get a top three, it'll be a big help."
Bloomington-area sectional lineups
The top five teams and the top 15 individuals not on those teams will advance to regional. Qualifiers from Bedford North Lawrence and Brown County will go to the Crawford County Regional, while those from Terre Haute will head to Brownsburg.
At Bedford
TEAMS (Girls 9 a.m./boys 10): Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Eastern Greene, Lighthouse Christian, Seven Oaks, Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomfield, Brownstown Central, Eastern (Pekin), Linton-Stockton, Loogootee, Mitchell, North Daviess, Orleans, Salem, Shoals, West Washington, White River Valley.
OUTLOOK: On the boys side, North and South will battle for the title depending on their pack's approach to the race, with Eastern Greene set to finish a solid third with one of its better teams showing a tight pack finish with its top five at SWIAC. BNL and Orleans likely follow. WRV's Landon Lundy is looking to break up an expected all-Bloomington top 10 led by South's Chase Norris and North's Jackson Walker and Shep Jackson.
South is the front runner in the girls race, led by senior Lexi Kollbaum, who will have BNL's Paige and Claire Voigtschild pushing her up top. North and BNL are next in line with Eastern Greene battling SWIAC champ Linton and Mitchell for the 4-5 spots. LCA's Elanor Farnam and Seven Oaks Sydney Bush will vie for individual spots.
At Brown County
TEAMS (Girls 9 a.m./boys 9:45): Edgewood, Brown County, Columbus East, Columbus North, Eminence, Greensburg, Hauser, Jennings County, Martinsville, Monrovia, North Decatur, Seymour, South Decatur, Trinity Lutheran.
OUTLOOK: The Edgewood girls are part of the top four (Columbus North, Greensburg and Seymour) that have separated themselves from the pack. The top four is strong behind Maggie McCormack, Avi Grile, Nerissa Zelhof-Arriaga and Josie Buckley.
No. 1 Columbus North boys will run away with it. That said, Edgewood is ranked fourth in a tight group that includes the host Eagles, Jennings County, Seymour and Columbus East. Kester expected to be among the few non-Bull Dogs in the lead pack, but the Mustangs need their 4-5s close to Noah Gallagher and Davin Norris.
At Terre Haute (Lavern Gibson)
TEAMS (Girls 10:30 a.m./boys 11:15): Owen Valley, Clay City, Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Central, North Vermillion, Northview, Parke Heritage, Riverton Parke, Shakamak, South Putnam, South Vermillion, Sullivan, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, West Vigo.
OUTLOOK: The Owen Valley girls had just four runners for the Western Indiana Conference meet and will have two of the stronger runners in Payton Lukowski and Isabelle Sylvester. If the Patriots can find a fifth, they'll battle Clay City, South Putnam, West Vigo and Northview for the next three spots behind the Terre Haute squads.
Terre Haute South and Northview are the top two boys teams with the next three spots a bit up in the air among several squads, including OV, which was fourth at the WICs. Lian Hogan should be among the front runners
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Edgewood XC's Monte Kester starting to stack up against the state's best