Published: May 04, 2008 12:02 am            

PREP TRACK: Kokomo girls 2nd in league meet

Western boys, girls squads sweep Oak Hill Relays

Kokomo’s girls team earned a runner-up finish in the North Central Conference track and field meet Friday night at Marion. Kokomo’s boys team came in fifth place.

In the girls meet, Huntington North (108) won the title and Kokomo (99.5) edged Marion (95.5) for second place. Muncie Central (86), Richmond (81.5), Logansport (67.5), New Castle (51) and Anderson (33) rounded out the field.

“I thought we were outstanding. We weren’t supposed to be anywhere near where we finished. The girls competed very well,” Kokomo coach Dave Barnes said.

Ashley DeWitt and Whitney Weir led the Wildkats. DeWitt took first in shot put and third in discus with efforts of 39-31/2 and 102-10, respectively. Weir won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 49.71 seconds.

Also for the Kats, Mashilah Powell and Abby Hemmeger finished second and fifth, respectively, in high jump with Powell clearing 5-1; Rachel Pace and Hailey Rice took second and fifth, respectively, in pole vault with Pace clearing 8-0; Maddie Cassidy was third in the 400 dash (1:06.39); Kelly Hopkins was third in shot put (32-2); Nicky Parry came in fourth in the 3,200 run (13:17.82) and Alexis Stamper took fifth in discus.

The Kats’ best showing in the relay events came in the 4x400 where Cassidy, Hemmeger, Weir and Powell earned a third-place finish with a time of 4:24.17.

“We scored in 15 out of 16 events and we scored twice in most of the 13 individual events and that was huge,” Barnes said. “We had personal bests all over the place and it came in tough conditions. It was not an easy place to be [Friday] night — it was cold and windy.

“It’s a young team and that is what makes me proud. Mashilah Powell, India Jackson and Nicky Parry are seniors and they had good meets, but the bulk of our people are sophomores and juniors.”

In the boys meet, Marion (159) ran away with the championship on its home track. Huntington North (119) led the rest of the pack which included Richmond (85), Logansport (80), Kokomo (68.5), New Castle (45.5), Anderson (39) and Muncie Central (26).

The Wildkats’ best showing came in the 3,200 relay where Matt Wyss, Devin White, Brandon Sheline and Ian Holtson came in second place with a time of 8:33.61.

Also for the Kats, Damond O’Neal was third in the 300 intermediate hurdles (45.09 seconds) and fourth in the 110 high hurdles (16.64); Jerell Johnson and Cliff Burns finished 3-4 in the shot put with efforts of 48-51/2 and 46-4, respectively; and Jeremy Gilman took third in pole vault (10-0).

BOYS TRACK

Oak Hill Relays

Western dominated the Oak Hill Relays Friday night, racking up 103 points to win the seven-team invitational. Eastbrook was second with 69 points, followed by Rochester (63.5), Oak Hill (52), Northwestern (49), Tippecanoe Valley (11.5) and Carroll (6).

Kyle Brown was a triple winner for the Panthers, claiming first in the 100 (12.47). He teamed with Jerel Hall, Kyle Young and Alex Sigler to win the 1,600 relay (3:33.8) and ran with Ryan Elmore, Sigler and Hall to take first in the sprint medley relay (1:52.8).

Sigler also took three blues as he won the long jump with a leap of 20-41/2. Western also got an individual first place from Corey Scott, who won the 1,600 in 4:40.6.

The Panthers took two more relays, as Young, Kody Harmon, Chris Love and Zac Martinez won the 3,200 (8.42.8), and Trent Lawlyes, Aaron Van Auken, Indy Mathew and Patrick Lennon took the shuttle hurdle relay (1:02.87).

Lennon was second in the 110 hurdles, and teamed with Mathew, Hall and Brown to take second in the 400 relay. Young was second in the high jump, Dean Shepherd took second in the pole vault, Bart Shepherd was second in the discus and Mathew was third in the long jump.

For Northwestern, Cameron Bannon took second in the long jump and third in the 300. Bannon teamed with Jeremy Robison, Sam Freeman and Kory Kennedy to take second in the distance medley relay, and teamed with Steve Vas, Ryan Pattison and Robison to take third in the 1,600 relay.

Kennedy was second in the 1,600, Quintin Burkett was second in the shot put, and Robison, John McCormick, Pattison and Freeman teamed to take second in the 3,200 relay.

Madison-Grant Relays

Eastern took second place in the seven-team competition Friday night. Ethan Flick won the high jump by clearing 6-3 and Hansen Martin, Drew Maple, Mitch Padfield and Brett Buckmaster won the 1,600 relay in a time of 3:46.1 to highlight the Comets’ strong showing.

Also for the Comets, Kyle Land took second in the shot put and Caleb Gibson, Martin, Dylan Buck and Padfield finished second in the 3,200 relay.

GIRLS TRACK

Oak Hill Relays

Western racked up 105 points to distance itself from the field and win the seven-team invitational. Eastbrook was second at 71, followed by Oak Hill (68), Northwestern (59), Rochester (21), Carroll (21) and Tippecanoe Valley (9).

Western took first in five events, led by Cara Earlywine, Lacey Myer and Jenn Elliott. Earlywine won the 100 (14.04) and ran with Danae Rittmann, Jennifer Dale and Alleca Kerker to win the 400 relay (53.2).

Lacey Myer and Elliott ran with Kayla Gaskins and Corianne Myer to win the 3,200 relay (10:55.0) and they teamed with Sable Staller and Ashley Gaskins to win the distance medley (14:23.0).

Individually, Nikki McCracken won the pole vault (9-4) with Dale third. Kerker was second in the 100, Staller was second in the high jump, while Lizi Chandler was second in shot put and third in discus and Elliott was third in the 1,600.

Kerker, Maggie Talbert, Dale and Earlywine finished second in the 1,600 relay. Casey Herr, Earlywine, Rittmann and Kerker were second in the sprint medley. And Megan Legan, Taylor Ruch, Katie Tyler and McCracken were second in the shuttle hurdle relay.

Tribune sportswriters Bryan Gaskins and Pedro Velazco compiled this roundup.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.