By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – A close meet can be good for a track and field team, although it is a little better if it involves a victory.
The Carmel boys track and field team had that close meet Thursday as the Greyhounds hosted the sectional at Carmel Stadium. The ‘Hounds were chasing Hamilton Southeastern for most of the meet, but took the lead after the 3200 run and held on to claim their third consecutive sectional title, scoring 158 points to the Royals’ 150.5 points.
The win was also the 28th sectional title in Carmel program history. Just as important, the Greyhounds had five wins and qualified 15 for next Thursday’s regional round at Lafayette Jefferson.
“It definitely helps us get ready for the tournament, because we know these meets are only going to get closer,” said Carmel coach Ken Browner. “Looking at the state meet, we feel if we can get everybody through, we’re one of the five or six teams that can win it, but we can’t make mistakes, either. And this helped us tonight, because if we would’ve slipped up somewhere, HSE would have got us. And so that just helped our guys and just let them know, ‘Hey, we got to be ahead of them these final two races.'”
The Greyhounds surged ahead thanks to their 1-2 finish in the 3200. Kole Mathison ran away with the race, finishing in 9 minutes, 4.30 seconds. Mathison was 20 seconds ahead of teammate Charlie Schuman, who placed second. That gave Carmel 18 team points, and turned a 14.5-point deficit into a slight lead. The Greyhounds then clinched the meet with a runner-up result in the 4×400 relay, followed by a 3-4 finish from Evan Brehl and Drew Franklin in the shot put.
Of course, the ‘Hounds were winning their share of events as well. James Philpott started a run of three straight Carmel wins on the track when he took the 100 dash in 11.29 seconds. That was followed by an incredible run from Mathison in the 1600, where he sailed home in a new sectional record time of 4:06.50. The Greyhounds then picked up a victory in the 4×100 relay. Philpott later won the 200 dash.
Carmel’s other regional qualifiers were the 4×800 relay team, Adom Quist in the 110 hurdles, Andrew Willman in the 300 hurdles, Aydrian Caldwell in the high jump (second place with 6 feet, 5 inches), Christian Peterson in the long jump, Greg Gottlieb in the 200 and Nolan Ring in the discus. The top three in each event move on to the regional, so Brehl qualified in the shot put as well. After that, the Greyhounds will likely get a handful of callbacks to regional with four at-large spots available, so Franklin could also be heading to Lafayette.
“We qualified everybody we expected through, which was good,” said Browner. “And we had some great performances.”
Southeastern had a great meet, with three event wins and a total of 14 regional qualifiers, with several callbacks on the horizon. The Royals began the meet with a win in the 4×800 relay, then soared to two field event victories.
Manraj Grewal won the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches. Not only was that a personal best for Grewal, but he also broke down a barrier.
“I’ve been stuck at that 6-4, 6-5 range for the whole year,” said Grewal, so for him to finally break through “was amazing.” Grewal tried for 6-9 and almost cleared it – “just hit it with my ankle,” he said. But he thought the jump was good and said, “my confidence is really high right now.”
Southeastern got a 1-2 sweep in the long jump. Michael Griffith won the event with a best jump of 23 feet, while Lamine Sall placed second, jumping 22 feet, 7 inches. Jack Greer took second in the shot put and Jackson Constantine placed third in the discus, while Alex Troutman was third in the high jump, giving HSE six regional qualifiers in the field, with callbacks possible as well.
Back on the track, Mason Alexander placed second in both the 100 and 200 dashes, while Nolan Satterfield was the runner-up in an exceptionally fast 800 run at 1:54.16. Other automatic regional track qualifiers were Will Gerig in the 110 hurdles, Andrew Knight in the 1600 run, Jaylon Cooper in the 400 dash and the Royals’ 4×100 relay.
Fishers placed third as a team with 125.5 points. The Tigers had five event victories, starting with hurdle sensation Tyler Tarter. The sophomore breezed to victory in both 110 hurdles (14.73 seconds) and 300 hurdles (39.08 seconds), and was also part of the winning 4×400 relay.
Keefer Sohengen also ran on the Fishers 4×400, this after cruising to a win in the open 400 dash (48.39 seconds). Joshua Forbes won the pole vault, clearing 14 feet, 6 inches. The Tigers also qualified their 4×800 and 4×100 relays on to the regional, while Makell Wiggins also earned a regional spot by placing third in the 400.
Noblesville placed fourth as a team and auto-qualified for regional in five events. Will Johnston tied for second place in the pole vault, then the Millers had four more third-place finishers: Christ Degni in the 100 dash, Joel Mumaw in the 1600, Ben Kern in the 300 hurdles and Asher Propst in the 3200.
Westfield took fifth as a team. The Shamrocks got a huge win from senior Kai Connor, who barreled to victory in the 800 run, clocking a new sectional record time of 1:53.75. It’s a new Westfield school record as well. Connor gave credit to his teammate Colin Lakomek for pushing him; Lakomek placed third and also advanced to the regional. Both men later ran on the Shamrocks’ 4×400 relay, which placed third to advance to regional.
“He’s running me down every practice and always challenging me,” said Connor. “It’s good to have a guy like that because without him, I wouldn’t be able to do any of this. I got a guy there every single day there every single day, always pushing me to do my best.”
Hamilton Heights finished in sixth place. The Huskies got two wins from its star thrower, Colin Wilson. The junior set a new sectional record in winning the shot put of 61 feet, 9 inches, this after placing first in the discus with a best throw of 170 feet, 5 inches. Peyton McQuinn tied for second in the pole vault, so Heights will be represented at the regional in three events.
Guerin Catholic’s best finish was fifth from its 4×400 relay team, while University’s Steven Scott took sixth in the 200 dash.
Team scores: Carmel 158, Hamilton Southeastern 150.5, Fishers 125.5, Noblesville 59, Westfield 40, Hamilton Heights 33, Lebanon 28.5, Guerin Catholic 14, Western Boone 8.5, University 7.
4×800 relay: 1. Southeastern (Nolan Satterfield, Ian Ross, Noah Anderson, Bennett DuBois) 7:58.58, 2. Fishers (Benjamin Greiwe, Colin Simons, Thomas Clark, Keefer Soehngen) 8:04.80, 3. Carmel (Andrew Cebalo, Connor Mallon, Thomas Biltimier, Connor Heagy) 8:07.61, 4. Noblesville (Noah Bushong, Alec Moor, Ronnie Neal, Jack Strong) 8:09.41, 5. Westfield (Joshua Barnett, Samuel Hinds, Owen Flynn, Luke Sullivan) 8:10.38, 6. Guerin Catholic (Ben Grissom, Ethan Hines, Jack Weber, Christian Geary) 8:27.93.
110 hurdles – Finals: 1. Tyler Tarter (F) 14.73, 2. Adom Quist (C) 15.48, 3. Will Gerig (HSE) 15.62, 5. Clayton Allen (HSE) 16.21, 6. Michael Schnurr (F) 16.27, 7. Peter Rooney (GC) 16.64, 9. Coleton Vondersaar (W) 17.59. Prelims: 10. Braden Seasor (W) 17.62, 11. Peyton Cash (N) 18.26, 12. Preston Pearson (HH) 18.46, 14. Aiden Helm (HH) 19.18, 16. Damon Winston (Sheridan) 19.63, 17. Nic Obuch (N) 19.88.
100 dash – Finals: 1. James Philpott (C) 11.29, 2. Mason Alexander (HSE) 11.39, 3. Christ Degni (N) 11.41, 4. Camren Avant (C) 11.48, 5. Christian Miller (HSE) 11.61, 6. Daniel Collier (HH) 11.66, 7. Sevin Barringer-Hoonhout (N) 11.73, 8. Joseph Syrus (F) 11.77, 9. Cade Parker (W) 11.78. Prelims: 11. Leo Morrow (F) 11.89, 13. Ryan Creager (W) 12.00, 16. Jayden Seaton (U) 12.33, 17. Cameron Parker (GC) 12.41, 18. Aaron Bauman (GC) 12.57, 19. Gavin Reners (S) 12.62, 20. Kevin Speck (S) 12.67.
1600 run: 1. Kole Mathison (C) 4:06.50, new sectional record, 2, Andrew Knight (HSE) 4:22.48, 3. Joel Mumaw (N) 4:24.01, 4. Weber (GC) 4:24.82, 5. Luke Shinneman (N) 4:27.39, 6. Austin Wilson (F) 4:30.52, 7. Nicholas Pulos (F) 4:32.16, 8. KJ Sweeney (C) 4:34.85, 9. Ash Caylor (HSE) 4:36.39, 10. Drew Lovelace (W) 4:43.61, 11. Charles Naas (W) 4:51.13, 12. Maxwell Fish (GC) 4:54.55, 13. Clay Forrer (HH) 4:57.78, 16. Ben Gleason (U) 5:19.73, 18. Owen Ascioti (U) 5:26.63.
4×100 relay: 1. Carmel (Cade Williams, Greg Gottlieb, Jaylen Zachery, Philpott) 42.32, 2. Southeastern (Kobe Dade, Miller, Ethan Falconer, Alexander) 43.10, 3. Fishers (Syrus, Morrow, Grant Shelton, Dawson Scally) 43.33, 4. Noblesville (Barringer-Hoonhout, Degni, Alex Thai, Ellis Tarver) 43.53, 5. Westfield (Dylan Walker, Dillon Thieneman, Parker, Creager) 43.82, 8. Heights (Alex Knepper, Chandler Thomas, Trey Ehman, Collier) 46.25.
400 dash: 1. Soehngen (F) 48.39, 2. Jaylon Cooper (HSE) 50.15, 3. Makell Wiggins (F) 50.91, 4. Gabriel LaBoyteaux (C) 51.03, 5. Cole Taylor (C) 51.16, 6. Bryce Gray (HSE) 51.57, 7. Steven Scott (U) 53.15, 8. Elliott Soderberg (N) 54.50, 9. Maxwell Woehler (W) 54.71, 10. Jacob Good (W) 54.74, 11. Nick Bauman (GC) 54.80, 12. Derrell Coleman (N) 55.43, 14. Carson Ney (S) 56.82, 17. Jesiah Achenbach (HH) 57.04, 18. Alex Gibbs (GC) 57.50, 19. Aidan Orton (HH) 57.53, 20. Gabe Moshe (U) 58.73.
300 hurdles: 1. Tarter (F) 39.08, 2. Andrew Willman (C) 40.74, 3. Ben Kern (N) 40.75, 4. Gerig (HSE) 41.40, 5. Quist (C) 41.59, 6. Schnurr (F) 42.04, 7. Jayden Bernavil (W) 42.11, 8. Allen (HSE) 42.40, 9. Jack Huisden (W) 42.44, 10. Tarver (N) 42.60, 12. Pearson (HH) 46.11, 14. Helm (HH) 46.58, 15. Peter Rooney (GC) 47.09.
800 run: 1. Kai Connor (W) 1:53.75, new sectional record, 2. Satterfield (HSE) 1:54.16, 3. Colin Lakomek (W) 1:55.41, 4. DuBois (HSE) 1:56.55, 5. Charlie Leedke (C) 1:57.13, 6. Alec Foster (F) 1:57.75, 7. Bushong (N) 1:58.83, 8. Moor (N) 1:59.37, 9. Dre Grogan (C) 1:59.46, 10. Steven Case (HH) 2:00.39, 11. Grissom (GC) 2:00.47, 12. Matthew Kim (F) 2:00.58, 14. Evan McNeany (GC) 2:13.36, 15. Evan Williamson (HH) 2:22.81, 17. Ascioti (U) 2:33.69.
200 dash – Finals: 1. Philpott (C) 22.56, 2. Alexander (HSE) 22.92, 3. Gottlieb (C) 22.94, 4. Walker (W) 22.97, 5. Scally (F) 23.31, 6. Scott (U) 23.53, 7. Robert Seay (F) 23.76, 8. Degni (N) 23.81. Prelims: 6. Thieneman (W) 23.57, 10. Coleman (N) 23.67, 11. Luke Moody (GC) 23.91, 13. Dade (HSE) 24.02, 14. Andrew Cowlin (GC) 24.30, 17. Speck (S) 25.31, 18. Seaton (U) 25.45.
3200 run: 1. Mathison (C) 9:04.30, 2. Charlie Schuman (C) 9:24.51, 3. Asher Propst (N) 9:28.01, 4. Tate Meaux (F) 9:33.15, 5. Caden Click (N) 9:40.29, 6. Samuel Quagliaroli (F) 9:41.53, 7. Garrett Mowry (W) 9:54.58, 8. Connor Sarkovics (HSE) 9:59.28, 9. Hines (GC) 10:16.69, 10. Luke Moster (GC) 10:28.53, 11. William Cummings (W) 10:48.13, 13. Gleason (U) 11:38.04, 16. Ascioti (U) 12:41.25.
4×400 relay: 1. Fishers (Wiggins, Tarter, Shelton, Soehngen) 3:19.01, 2. Carmel (Cole Taylor, Curran Eastes, Willman, LaBoyteaux) 3:21.61, 3. Westfield (Barnett, Connor, Landon King, Lakomek) 3:26.02, 4. Southeastern (Cooper, Gray, John McCoy, Sebastian Oskins) 3:28.73, 5. Guerin Catholic (Weber, Cowlin, Bauman, Matthew Dunlap) 3:32.95, 6. Noblesville (Coleman, Chase Alsup, Mumaw, Kern) 3:37.47.
High jump: 1. Manraj Grewal (HSE) 6-7, 2. Aydrian Caldwell (C) 6-5, 3. Alex Troutman (HSE) 6-0, 4. Paul Kelley (F) 6-0, T9. Tarver (N) 5-8; Robert Campbell (W) 5-8, 11. Tyler Runyan (HH) 5-8; Tyrese Burrell (F) 5-8, 13. Tyler Dikos (F) 5-6.
Long jump: 1. Michael Griffith (HSE) 23-0, 2. Lamine Sall (HSE) 22-7, 3. Christian Peterson (C) 22-7, 4. JonAnthony Hall (F) 21-4.5, 5. Syrus (F) 20-9, 6. Caldwell (C) 20-9, 7. Scott (U) 20-4, 8. Patrick Schramm (W) 20-1.25, 9. Aiden Garrison (S) 19-7.25, 11. Connor Meinerding (N) 19-1.75, 12. Reece Weyer (W) 19-0, 13. Tyler Runyan (HH) 18-2.5, 16. Sidney Weaver (N) 17-6.
Discus: 1. Colin Wilson (HH) 170-5, 2. Nolan Ring (C) 164-3, 3. Jackson Constantine (HSE) 163-8, 5. Spencer Lotz (HSE) 144-11, 6. Joel Gates (F) 141-3, 7. Jacob Gates (F) 139-3, 8. Josh Brown 139-3, 10. Drew Franklin (C) 127-11, 11. Hayden Netral (W) 120-4, 12. Dagan Johnson (S) 108-11, 13. Magwire Graybill (W) 107-2, 14. Tresdon Hamilton (S) 104-11, 17. Robert Sapienza (GC) 95-11, 18. Gabe Bellan (N) 84-8, 19. Luke Pierce (U) 68-5, 20. Andrew Moore (GC) 57-0.
Shot put: 1. Wilson (HH) 61-9, new sectional record, 2. Jack Greer (HSE) 53-5.25, 3. Evan Brehl (C) 53-3.25, 4. Franklin (C) 49-6.5, 6. Daniel Armstrong (F) 47-4, 7. Ja. Gates (F) 46-10, 8. Brown (HH) 42-11.75, 9. Josh Rodgers (N) 42-6.25, 10. Caden Bird (HSE) 41-0.5, 11. Vance Farrar (W) 41-0.5, 12. Reners (S) 40-10, 13. Sam Setmeyer (N) 39-9.5, 15. Sapienza (GC) 39-1.5, 16. Johnson (S) 38-4.5, 17. William Goodvine (W) 38-2, 20. Pierce (U) 34-11.5, 21. Moore (GC) 23-6.5.
Pole vault: 1. Joshua Forbes (F) 14-6, T2. Peyton McQuinn (HH) 14-0; Will Johnston (N) 14-0, 4. Seth Hargis (C) 13-0, 5. Jack Gerstner (HSE) 12-0, T6. Peyton Doty (F) 11-6; Connor Langsford (HSE) 11-6, 9. Alex Wilson (W) 10-6, 11. Kal Colter (HH) 10-0, T13. Alex Lara (C) 9-6.