By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Another year, another set of new sectional records for Hamilton County girls track and field athletes.
The 800 run was the closest race of the night. Noblesville’s Summer Rempe (right) won by .02 seconds over Southeastern’s Ciara Kepner (left). The Millers’ Brinkley Cooper (center) was third. (Mike Kepner)
The 2024 girls track and field sectional took place at Fishers, with Hamilton Southeastern the official host. The Royals claimed their eighth consecutive sectional championship, surging ahead toward the conclusion of the meet to score 129.5 team points. Carmel was the runner-up, totaling 114 points.
“This sectional is so hard,” said HSE coach Julie Alano. “I was just telling them, the times out of this sectional are unbelievable.”
Southeastern got a boost from its performance in the 3200 run. The Royals went 1-2, with Elizabeth Butler racing home in a time of 10 minutes, 50.76 seconds. Maggie Powers placed second, clocking in at 10:53.58. Powers had already won an event, the 1600 run, in a new sectional record time of 4:54.47.
Freshman Anissa Lammie continued her remarkable rookie year by setting a new record in the 400 dash. Her winning time was 56.29 seconds. The Royals were also boosted by runner-up finishes from Elia Blackmore in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles, while EJ Shults soared to second place in the long jump.
“We ran better in the hurdles,” said Alano. “The long jump didn’t come in until much later, but I knew we had done well in that.”
The Greyhounds won four events, starting with a new sectional record in the 4×800 of 9:15.29. Larkin Taylor, Annabel Pollert, Olivia Cebalo and Kaitlyn Oshimura were the runners in that race. Carmel finished the meet with a close victory in the 4×400 relay; the team of Gabriela Grande Rosas, Sadie Foley, Cebalo and Emily Norris won that race in 3:54.64, just 0.12 seconds ahead of Southeastern’s Addison Smith, Lammie, Chloe Senefeld and Camryn McKinney.
Grande Rosas
Grande Rosas triumphed in the long jump in another close competition; her winning leap was 17 feet, 0.75 inches. Norris won the 200 dash in 25.07 seconds.
Noblesville, the defending state champion, scored 107 points for third place. The Millers also collected four event wins, including three in the field.
Hannah Alexander again dominated the throwing events, winning the discus in a new sectional record of 161 feet, 10 inches. Alexander also claimed the shot put in 44 feet, 9.75 inches, while Delaney Teachnor led a 1-2 finish for Noblesville in the pole vault. Teachnor’s winning vault was 12 feet, 3 inches, with Amelia Smith clearing 12 feet for second place.
Summer Rempe won the 800 run in the closest race of the night. Rempe clocked in at 2:15.66, holding off a fast-charging Ciara Kepner by .02 seconds. Brinkley Cooper placed third in 2:15.76 – one tenth of a second separated first and third places.
Fishers’ Mireya Benjamin (center) was part of the Tigers’ winning 4×100 relay. Pictured from left to right are
University’s Jayda Dawn, Westfield’s Claire Weddige, Benjamin and Southeastern’s Chloe Senefeld and Anissa Lammie. (Mike Kepner)
All three of those runners are advancing to Tuesday’s Lafayette Jefferson regional, along with any other finisher in the top three in each event. This sectional is also expected to receive several callbacks to the regional as well.
Fishers took fourth place with a strong total of 102 points. The Tigers had two event champions, starting with Maya Taylor. She led a 1-2 finish in the 100 dash, running that race in 12.04 seconds. Mireya Benjamin was second, and she joined Taylor, Zinnia Pineda and Kylee Black to win the 4×100 relay in 48.44 seconds.
Westfield scored 82.5 points. The Shamrocks were led by Lucy Hauser, who claimed both hurdles events. Hauser won the 100 hurdles in 14.94 seconds, then set a new sectional record in the 300 hurdles of 44.56 seconds.
Hamilton Heights’ Waverly Woolever won the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches.