McIntire becoming elite

Clint Anderson knew Bailey McIntire was going to be a special runner two years ago.
It was a month into McIntire’s freshman season when Anderson, the South Adams High School cross country coach, saw McIntire’s potential.
“It took a while, but … I don’t know if the training was different than the past, but a month into the competition his freshman season it was pretty apparent we had something special,” Anderson said.
But near the end of his sophomore season was when McIntire himself realized he was becoming an elite runner. It was during his second stint at the state finals when he came to the conclusion.
Now, as a junior McIntire is making his third straight appearance in the state finals, solidifying both his and Anderson’s assessments.
“He’s ready for this,” Anderson said.
McIntire and a field of 207 other runners begin the IHSAA boys cross country state finals at 1 p.m. Saturday on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
And there is no doubt McIntire, the fastest runner in Starfire history, is looking to return to Adams County with hardware around his neck.
As a sophomore, McIntire missed a state medal by one-tenth of a second. Daniel Fleace of North Harrison finished 20th, edging McIntire by a step.
The top 20 individuals earn state medals.
“His foot hit the mat before mine did,” McIntire said of the finish.
If that wasn’t enough of a drive to finish strong this year, the same thing happened to him at semi-state on Saturday when Mt. Vernon’s Aaron Rush edged McIntire for third place, beating him by less than a half second.
“We talked about that a lot,” Anderson said. “Then to have what happened at semi-state where (Rush) passed him at the end, it was a reminder.
“We’ve got to tighten up so we don’t have the same situation.”
That’s precisely what McIntire and Anderson have been focusing on during practice.
“I’m hoping to take that and help that motivate me to work hard at the finish,” McIntire said. “That’s what (Anderson) has been working on this week. He’s been telling me he wants me to hit another gear and I’ve been working on that.”
The field is strong. Out of the 24 teams that have qualified, 15 of them reached the state meet last year. Carmel, the top-ranked team in Indiana, is led by defending individual state champion Ben Veatch, a senior who is seeded No. 1 heading into Saturday’s race. Seeds are based on semi-state times.
There are also eight state medalists returning from a year ago, and out of the top 40 runners, 31 — 24 of them are seniors — reached state last season.
“The senior class is unbelievably strong,” Anderson said. “They’ve been that way for years. They’ve held form from the top end down. Seems like every year that group performs well.”
McIntire’s time of 15 minutes, 59.99 seconds, from the New Haven semi-state has him seeded 26th, and he is 4.49 seconds away from the 20th seed, Daniel Dalton of Valparaiso.
The strength of the field, however, won’t faze the Starfire junior.
“I’m part of that field so I think I can take that and hang with those guys,” McIntire said. “It’s going to be a tight race. I feel like there are going to be three, four or five guys that do their thing. Then it will be everyone else.
“Last year was more of a learning experience. It was my moment to realize I could be one of those guys that was up there. That last mile at state … I thought that group ahead of me, they were ‘those guys’ and I was me. This year I realized I am one of ‘those guys.’”
Anderson doesn’t doubt McIntire’s abilities.
“I think he’s going to do well,” he said. “He has always competed at a pretty high level. Only time this year he’s been up against elite level runners and maybe didn’t have his best race was (Sept. 26) at Culver Invitational.”
McIntire finished 15th.
“The more you face the top competitors the better you’re going to do,” Anderson said. “He’s always risen to the level of the challenge.”
McIntire is certain he can be competitive Saturday, and he said he’s not so worried about his time but his place.
“I know those people I want to beat and who I’m looking for,” he said, noting that last year as he was getting passed it broke his confidence. “I’m confident in what I can do and I’m confident more in my ability than last year.”
McIntire has improved each of his first two years at state. He finished in 16:19.1 in 2013 to finish 48th — the fastest freshman in the field — and he took more than 30 seconds off that time last year, coming in at 15:47.9.
“Every year I have gone to state I have (set a career-best time),” he said, even though his school-record time of 15:24.81 came at the Marion regional Oct. 17. “A lot of the guys I beat at semi-state, they had already beaten me before at other races.
“(Saturday) was me coming back and beating them.”