PENDLETON — Lapel senior Luke Combs is an unassuming athlete who isn’t loud or flashy with his talent. He goes out and does what he does, making the miles appear easy.

Combs won the Arabian Roundup Aug. 28 in 16:02, just a step away from finishing under 16:00 but 42 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.

Being alone throughout the race and the finish is a common occurrence for Combs, sometimes making regulating his pace harder.

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“It’s a little hard sometimes, but I’ve gotten kind of used to it,” Combs said. “It’s definitely harder, especially toward the end of the race. When you’re really tired, you hope to have someone there to push you a little bit.”

Each course has its own set of challenges, so Combs isn’t necessarily looking for a specific time in each race.

“In cross country, times can be a little irrelevant due to the fact that the courses are different. I think in the past, I may have focused on times too much, and that may not have helped me.”

This year he is focusing on being in front.

According to IndianaRunner.com, Combs is the No. 2 boys runner in Indiana high school cross country.

Last year’s sectional and regional winner, Combs finished ninth in the New Haven semistate. He knows the farther he goes, the stronger his competition for this year.

“Toward the ends of races, I’ll definitely have people with me, and that’s going to push me. Hopefully, that will bring out the best in me.”

The No. 1 runner in the state, Reece Gibson of Fort Wayne Concordia, is in the New Haven semistate.

Combs’ coach Darrell Richardson said his No. 1 Bulldog runner spent all summer training and is in great shape with the start of the season.

“He’s going to see to it that he doesn’t get beat,” Richardson said.

Pendleton Heights boys coach Alan Holden said Combs reminds him of another great area runner.

“I think of Brock Hagerman. He’s smooth, relaxed and makes it look effortless. I hope it carries on to the state,” Holden said.

Hagerman was a state cross country champion for Pendleton Heights in 2005.

Pendleton Heights boys finished second in the Arabian Roundup behind Hamilton Southeastern.

Holden said he was pleased with the finish and his team’s progress.

“Our main goal was to get five of our runners under 18:00. We had four,” Holden said. “You win a lot of meets by having a pack like that. They ran the way they were supposed to.”

Lapel boys finished 11th overall.

In the girls race, the Arabians finished fourth of 18 teams.

On Aug. 31, Pendleton Heights and Lapel competed in the Noblesville Invitational Hokum-Karem race.

Pendleton Heights boys won the event with Lapel finishing third. The duo of Combs and Jesse McCurdy were the winners of the event.

Sean Roan and Taylor Skalon formed the top-finishing team for the Arabians. They were third, followed by Avry Carpenter and Elizah Creel in fourth and Andrew Blake and Kyle Dinkut in fifth.

The Arabian girls placed fourth in the event with Laney Ricker and Katie Jones in seventh as the top Arabian pair. Gloria Richardson and Catherine Dudley were ninth.

The Arabians and Bulldogs compete Saturday, Sept. 7, in the Marion Invitational.