Ethan Carroll has spent a lot of time over the past six years running around the streets of Brownstown and the track at Brownstown Central High School.
Carroll said since he has been in high school, he has never stopped running.
“I’ve ran continuously for two years now,” he said.
He said he runs in the winter with the Polar Bear Club in Brownstown and runs throughout the summer.
“I try to keep in shape all the time,” Carroll said. “Distance running is great. When you’re running continuously, you’ve just got to pace yourself. So if I’m running 10 miles, I’ll run the first five at a decent pace, and the last five, I just go as hard as I can.
“You never go as hard as you can on the way there, but on the way back, you can come back harder because you know you’re ending, you’re finishing. You can go out and run any time you want and relieve some stress or something. Just go out and run.”
He began running track and cross-country in seventh grade.
Carroll said this spring, he will run the 800- and 1,600-meter runs. He ran the 3,200-meter run last year and the first meet this season but plans to concentrate on the 800 and 1,600 the remainder of the season.
“I’m getting a little bit faster,” he said. “The 1,600 is probably my favorite. It’s a run-and-gun race. The 800 is a full sprint.
“The 3,200 relay is normally my favorite relay because each person runs an 800, so basically, it’s like running the 800. I like to lead. I like to get out there and make sure my team’s ahead before I come back. I’m looking for a 2:10.”
In the 800, Carroll is trying to get below 2:10.
The boys sectional is at Bedford, and Carroll said he enjoys running on that track.
“It’s a good track. It’s about like ours,” he said. “It’s a little older and a little harder, and I like the harder tracks. The track at Columbus East is soft. I’ve never ran on a new track like that one that is real soft, so it sort of messed with my running ability. I had to adjust.”
As far as the rest of the season, he said he wants to go out there and win races and earn points for the team.
“It’s going to take working hard in practice, and even if it’s a hard meet, working hard in the hard meet,” he said.
He said he enjoyed his time in cross-country and had a career-best time of 17:03 at Brown County, which happens to be Carroll’s favorite course.
“It’s flat, a very fast course,” Carroll said. “There’s only maybe two hills out of the whole course. There’s always a bunch of people, so you’re running so fast. Last year, I was the No. 3 runner. My freshman year, I was No. 8, but I moved up at the end of the year to No. 7. I got to run conference and sectional that year.
“I liked to be at six minutes or below for my first mile. The experience of going out and running different meets here and there, and even the Fort Vallonia race and all that is basically all the same. You just go out there and run your own race. Eventually, you get the handle on it.”
Carroll said he has enjoyed being a student at BCHS.
“The school is very nice,” he said. “I’ll remember everybody that has helped me out all the way through, between the teachers in the classroom, the coaches, making sure I have my homework done. You can get help from anybody.”
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Name: Ethan Carroll
School: Brownstown Central High School
Parents: Chuck and Stephanie Carroll
Sports: Track and field, four years; cross-country, four years
Athletic highlight: Cross-country regional qualifier
Organization: Lettermen’s Club
Plans after high school: Attend Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus
Favorite team: Indianapolis Colts
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