Hamilton County once again showed the depth of its track and field talent at Tuesday’s Hamilton Southeastern girls track and field sectional.
Once the meet was done, many athletes were waiting to see if they got something that is familiar to actors: A callback. As it turned out, there are a large number of county athletes who earned a place on the regional stage.
There were a total of 45 Hamilton County callbacks to come out of the Southeastern sectional, thus earning a trip to this coming Tuesday’s regional at Lafayette Jefferson. Add that to those who already qualified (via top three finishes or state standards), and the county earned 81 places at the regional meet.
Hamilton Southeastern, the defending state and regional champion, had four callbacks, bringing its regional qualifier total to 19. The Royals got callbacks for Annice McFarland in the 400 dash, Ellie Pedersen in the 800 run, Ellie Johnson in the 3200 run and Madisyn Etheredge in the high jump.
Fishers received eight callbacks, giving the Tigers 17 qualifiers at the regional. Myah Donaldson earned a place in the 100 dash, with Gabby Lewis receiving a spot in the 200 dash. Other Fishers callbacks are Elizabeth Barrett and Abby Carter in the 1600 run, Vera Schafer in the 800 run, Johanna Strueder in the 3200 run, Katie Folta in the long jump, and the 4×400 relay.
Noblesville got six callbacks, and will have 12 regional qualifiers. Anna Hazelrigg and Bella Sharples-Gordon both earned spots in the 800 run, as did Kiana Siefert in the long jump, Lily Wilhelm in the high jump, Anna Kiser in the discus and Erika Knieper in the pole vault.
Carmel had five callbacks, bringing its total of regional qualifiers to 12. Aaliyah Thompson earned a place in the 200 dash, as did Brooke Waldal in the 3200, Leah Roebuck in the discus, Jenna Springirth in the pole vault, and the 4×800 relay.
Hamilton Heights received five callbacks as well, and will have eight qualifiers at the regional. Markaela Pugh earned a spot in the 200 dash and Lauryn Wiley got a place in the discus. The Huskies also got all three relays up to the regional.
Westfield’s three callbacks brought the Shamrocks’ number of regional qualifiers to six. Sydney Black received a place in the long jump, and Westfield will send its 4×800 and 4×400 relays up as well.
Guerin Catholic also got three callbacks. Ellie Schroeder received a spot in the 1600, this after qualifying in the 800 run by placing third at the sectional. The Golden Eagles also got places in the 4×800 and 4×400 relays, bringing their regional qualifier total to four.
Sheridan’s Heather Barker received a callback in the high jump. This gives the Blackhawks three regional qualifiers, with Becca Merritt representing the Blackhawks in the discus (winning the sectional championship) and the shot put (placing second).
Merritt, in fact, will have the top seed at the regional, as her discus throw of 141 feet, 10 inches was well ahead of all other regional qualifiers. Several county athletes will be top-seeded as well: Southeastern in the 4×800 relay (9:20.20), Carmel’s Phoebe Bates in the 1600 run (5:00.35), Fishers in the 4×100 relay (48.43), Fishers’ Ella Scally in the 200 dash (25.23), Southeastern’s Lulu Black in the 3200 (10:49.12), Southeastern’s 4×400 relay (3:54.72), Southeastern’s Tierra Sydnor in the long jump (18-8.5) and Noblesville’s Shelby Tyler in the high jump (5-11).
Here is a list of all regional qualifiers. Athletes and relays are listed alphabetically by team, as per the performance list on the IHSAA website.
4×800 relay: Carmel (Emily Hand, Annie Christie, Martha Hunter, Sydney Haines), Fishers (Abby Carter, Vera Schafer, Emma Gillespie, Elizabeth Barrett); Guerin Catholic (Isabelle Museck, Grace Vlasak, Sophia Woods, Allison Wozniak), Hamilton Heights (Abby Christiansen, Morgan Guthrie, Chloe Henderson, Abby Roth), Hamilton Southeastern (Maddie Mirro, Annice McFarland, Ellie Pedersen, Lulu Black), Noblesville (Maria Anderson, Bella Sharples-Gordon, Aubrie Deal, Anna Hazelrigg), Westfield (Hannah Fife, Sophia Brown, Julia Clark, ChristyAnn Delahunty).
100 dash: Riley Pennington (C), Ella Scally (F), Myah Donaldson (F), Alyssa Barker (HSE).
100 hurdles: Olivia Elkin (C), Lindsey Wormuth (N), Haley Boehm (W).
200 dash: Aaliyah Thompson (C), Scally (F), Gabby Lewis (F), Markaela Pugh (HH), Olivia Burgess (HSE), Barker (HSE).
1600 run: Phoebe Bates (C), Barrett (F), Carter (F), Ellie Schroeder (GC), Maria Mitchell (HH), Halle Hill (HSE).
4×100 relay: Carmel (Thompson, Pennington, Gill, Flora McKay), Fishers (Scally, Donaldson, Lewis, Grace May), Hamilton Heights (Markaela Pugh, Samera Henson, Jenna Peterson, Victoria Lopez); Hamilton Southeastern (Burgess, Mya Hammons, Tierra Sydnor, Barker).
400 dash: Emersen Carlile (C), Regan Wans (HSE), McFarland (HSE), Anderson (N).
300 hurdles: Katie Folta (F), Arianna Kelley (F), Sydnor (HSE).
800 run: Schafer (F), Schroeder (GC), Mitchell (HH), M. Mirro (HSE), Pedersen (HSE), Hazelrigg (N), Sharples-Gordon (N).
3200 run: Bates (C), Brooke Waldal (C), Tessa Kraft (F), Johanna Strueder (F), Black (HSE), Ellie Johnson (HSE).
4×400 relay: Carmel (Grogan, Thompson, Abby Kaufman, Mahalet, Zeruesenay), Fishers (Kate Baumgartner, Lilia Bodnar, Kelley, Chloe Schroeder), Guerin Catholic (Anna Jacoby, Joelle Klavon, Schroeder, Delaney Klee), Hamilton Heights (Pugh, Christiansen, Guthrie, Kelsey Smith), Hamilton Southeastern (Burgess, Hammons, Sydnor, Wans), Noblesville (Anderson, DeLaney Boles, Sharples-Gordon, Noelle Dennis), Westfield (Sarah Coates, Brown, Clark, Raychl Zimmerman).
Long jump: Scally (F), Folta (F), Sydnor (HSE), Jehnea Mirro (HSE), Kiana Siefert (N), Sydney Black (W).
High jump: Smith (HH), Madisyn Etheredge (HSE), Tyler (N), Lily Wilhelm (N), Heather Barker (Sheridan).
Discus: Leah Roebuck (C), Lauryn Wiley (HH), Anna Kiser (N), Becca Merritt (S), Zoe Pentecost (W).
Shot put: Merritt (S), Pentecost (W).
Pole vault: Jenna Springirth (C), Alison Casey (F), Kennedy Drish (HSE), Ella Wilhelm (HSE), Tyler (N), Erika Knieper (N).
Hamilton Southeastern’s Regan Wans was part of the Royals’ winning 4×400 relay team at Tuesday’s girls track and field sectional. Southeastern’s 4×400 team will be the top seed at this coming Tuesday’s regional at Lafayette Jefferson. (Kent Graham)