Putnam county athletes advance to regional

Friday, May 18, 2007
North Putnam's Griffen Dahlstrom was a surprise in the 400, finishing fourth to advance to regional.

PLAINFIELD -- While the host Quakers were pulling away from Avon late in the running to take the team sectional title, Greencastle boys' track coach Mike Schimpf was happy with his team's finish. The Tiger Cubs' 67 points were enough to place them third in the team competition.

"I thought third was about as well as we could do," he said.

Besides finishing third, the focus of Greencastle, and the other two Putnam County schools in attendance, was maximizing personal achievements and advancing any athletes with a chance to regional competition. Any individual or relay is automatically eligible for regional by placing in the top four at sectional. In total, five individuals from GHS, as well as the 3,200 relay team, will be in competition next Thursday at the Lafayette Jefferson Regional.

"We're happy to get some guys to advance. In terms of level of competition, the bar went up a little bit," Schimpf said.

The night opened with field events, in which two Tiger Cubs gained a spot in regionals. The first of these was Joel Bottom, whose long jump of 20 feet 7.75 inches brought him the sectional title. Bottom was the only jumper in the competition to clear the 20 feet mark.

In other field events, Jordan Lewis finished second in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet 10 inches.

On the running side, the night belonged, as expected, to Andy Weatherford. Weatherford won both the 1,600 and the 3,200 with late charges.

"I've had an eight-time sectional champ," Schimpf said of his senior. "That's pretty amazing."

Weatherford has won the 1,600 all four years. He has also won the 3,200 as both a sophomore and a senior and the 800 as a sophomore and junior. He is also the two-time defending state champion in the 1,600.

It's probably safe to say Plainfield's David Eichenberger is one person not sad to see Weatherford go. The Quaker distance runner led both the 1,600 and 3,200 until about three-quarters of the way through. Each time, though, Weatherford simply turned it on and ran away. He won each race by approximately four seconds.

The other two GHS runners advancing finished behind Weatherford in his two victories. Ben Wilson finished fourth in the 1,600, out-kicking Brownsburg's Chris Stanley in the last lap. Mark Jedele finished fifth in the 3,200, but will advance because Weatherford is scratching in the event at regional.

"Mark Jedele ran his best two mile. Since Andy scratched in the event, Mark gets to move on," Schimpf said. He added, the positioning in the 3,200 had worked out perfectly for his runners.

The Tiger Cub 3,200 relay team of Ty Buchanan, Camron Humphreys, Luiz Cardoso and Weatherford also advanced with a second-place finish.

Also scoring for the Tiger Cubs were Ashton Marshall (200), Humphreys (800) Buchanan (800), Nick Walkosak (pole vault), the 400 relay team of Andrew Birt, Steven Miller, Bottom and Jordan Hickam and the 1,600 relay team of Bottom, Humphreys, Miller and Ben Wilson.

One disappointment for GHS came when Ashton Marshall pulled a muscle in the 200, and could not compete in the 400 relay.

"It makes it hard for any relay team. I was really upset for Ashton," Schimpf said.

North Putnam had four performances good enough to advance. Probably the biggest surprise of any of these was Griffen Dahlstrom's 200. The Cougar sophomore came from the 11th seed in prelims to make the finals in one of the outside lanes. He then got even faster, running a 24.09 in the finals to finish fourth and advance to regional.

Dahlstrom was also on the 400 relay team that finished fourth. The team of Jerrett Ban, Kyle Rooker, Dahlstrom and Craig Wood ran a 46.46.

Two North Putnam jumpers also completed what was a dominating night for Putnam County in the long jump. Behind the victory of Greencastle's Bottom, Ban and Raine Young finished third and fourth, each with jumps of 19"11'. Ban placed ahead of Young on a judge's decision.

"I'm very pleased with our guys," said Cougar coach Kevin Lutes. "I'm especially proud of the guys who made it out."

Also scoring for the the Cougars were Wood in the 100, Shane Diebold in the 1,600, Young in the high jump and the 1,600 relay (Diebold, Brian Rhoden, Tim Mason, Wood).

"I am really pleased with the attitude our guys have had. They've given me their all every time they've been in a meet. You couldn't ask for a better group of kids," Lutes said.

For South Putnam, sectional marked the end of the season. While no athletes finished in the top four, there were some good performances from a couple of underclassmen. Junior Allen Riddell finished fifth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 110 hurdles. Freshman Adam Masters was seventh in the discus with a throw of 132"1'.

"Riddell and Masters both had good nights," coach Carl Coons said. Masters' throw was a personal best and Riddell's two scoring places in the hurdles were helpful to the team. There was a bit of disappointment for the hurdler, though.

"Allen was disappointed he didn't get out," Coons said.

However, hope springs eternal when there is still a next year.

"Allen's a junior and Masters is a freshman, so there's always next year," Coons said.

Also scoring for the Eagles was the 400 relay team of Zach Miller, Kody Terry, Josh Sanders and Ryan Flora.

Not to be lost in the excitement over advancing is the fact that sectional is the end of the season for most athletes. Lutes was able to put this in perspective, particularly for underclassmen.

"I was glad we were here and able to compete. Even the kids that don't make it on get to see some good competition and see where they need to get to for next year," Lutes said.

Lutes was also proud of his seniors' leadership.

"I've been extremely proud of my seniors and the way they competed. Shane Diebold, Brian Rhoden, and Craig Wood have had a contagious work ethic this year. I know their seasons ended more abruptly than what they would've wished, but the example they've set for upcoming athletes is a great legacy to leave behind. They have made my job coaching all the more enjoyable to do," Lutes said.

But for those who advance, things get even bigger. Next Thursday's regional at Lafayette Jeff begins at 5:30 p.m. Those who do well advance from Lafayette will be on the the June 1 state finals in Indianapolis.

"Now we get to see who goes to the big one," Schimpf said. "That's what we're focused on."

At Plainfield

Plainfield Boys' Track Sectional

Team results -- Plainfield 161.6, Avon 136, Greencastle 67, Southmont 48.6, Brownsburg 48, Danville 41, Tri-West 29.6, Cascade 29, North Putnam 25.6, Crawfordsville 17, South Putnam 11, Rockville 8, Western Boone 1.6

100 -- Wolfe (A) 11.13, Ray (P) 11.43, Yazdani (P) 11.56, High (A) 11.59, Fisher (Ca) 11.63, Hull (SM) 11.76, Goode (TW) 11.86, Wood (NP) 11.96

200 -- Ray (P) 22.92, Fisher (Ca) 23.65, High (Av) 23.69, Dahlstrom (NP) 24.09, Cochran (P) 24.26, Sparks (SM) 24.62, Marshall (GHS) 24.90, Wilson (A) 26.69

400 -- Smith (B) 51.89, Herring (A) 52.22, High (A) 52.82, Robinson (D) 53.26, Hull (SM) 53.43, Williams (P) 54.03, Salazar (B) 54.23, Woods (D) 55.28

800 -- Litz (P) 2:00.41, Raver (P) 2:03.62, Masterson (D) 2:04.29, Caraher (Cr) 2:04.92, Humphreys (GHS) 2:06.94, Maloney (B) 2:08.25, Cordier (R) 2:08.29, Buchanan (GHS) 2:09.25

1,600 -- Weatherford (GHS) 4:31.03, Eichenberger (P) 4:35.37, Surfus (A) 4:37.37, Wilson (GHS) 4:42.71, Stanley (B) 4:34.34, Litz (P) 4:45.00, Diebold (NP) 4:57.37, Calderon (Cr) 5:04.53

3,200 -- Weatherford (GHS) 9:44.59, Eichenberger (P) 9:48.50, Surfus (A) 9:58.56, Vicenzi (B) 9:58.76, Jedele (GHS) 10:06.50, Rusie (P) 10:23.29, Schmitt (A) 10:32.28, Oser (B) 10:41.23

110 H -- Scott (P) 15.18, Stinson (D) 15.45, Krenzke (A) 15.75, Myers (SM) 16.25, Yund (Cr) 16.52, Ridell (SP) 16.58, Taylor (R) 17.35, Cotten (Cr) 19.62

300 H -- Krenzke (A) 40.62, Scott (P) 41.05, Myers (SM) 42.38, Bruce (TW) 42.45, Riddell (SP) 42.48, Stinson (D) 42.78, Posthauer (SM) 44.07, Moore (TW) 44.15

400 R -- Avon 43.76, Plainfield 44.76, Tri-West 45.42, North Putnam (Ban, Rooker, Dahlstrom, Wood) 46.46, Brownsburg 46.63, Southmont 46.96, South Putnam (Miller, Terry, Sanders, Flora) 46.99, Greencastle (Birt, Miller, Bottom, Hickam) 47.26

1,600 R -- Plainfield 3:29.47, Avon 3:30.04, Brownsburg 3:35.18, Tri-West 3:39.35, Southmont 3:40.85, Crawfordsville 3:41.29, Greencastle (Bottom, Humphreys, Miller, Wilson) 3:43.49, North Putnam (Diebold, Rhoden, Mason, Wood) 3:43.91

3,200 R -- Plainfield 8:18.16, Greencastle (Buchanan, Humphreys, Cardos, Weatherford) 8:33.54, Danville 8:40.91, Brownsburg 8:41.58, Avon 8:44.45, Tri-West 8:46.55, Cascade 9:03.47, Western Boone 9:17.22

HJ -- Finchum (P) 6-00, Lewis (GHS) 5-10, Mikell (A) J5-10, Hinton (A) 5-08, Taylor (R) J5-08, Boykin (Cr) J5-08, Burkett (SM) 5-06, Pearson (WB) 5-06, Young (NP) 5-06, Johnson (P) 5-06, Lemmon (TW) 5-06

PV -- Yoder (A) 13-09, Sweet (P) 12-00, Cullison (D)11-06, Turner (P) 10-06, Michaels (SM) 10-00, Skelton (A) 9-06, Walkosak (GHS) J9-06, Challis (B) J9-06

LJ -- Bottom (GHS) 20-07.75, Ray (P) 19-11, Ban (NP) J19-11, Young (NP) J19-11, Suter (Ca) 19-09.5, Walls (TW) J19-09.5, Finchum (P) 19-04, Hinton (A) 18-10.5

SP -- Royer (A) 53-02.25, Hull (SM) 50-05.5, Schoening (D) 49-04.5, Wilson (P) 46-08.75, Bailey (B) 46-07.00, Jones (B) 46-00.25, McGrath (P) 44-10, Bernhardt (Ca) 43-06.5

D -- Bernhardt (Ca) 153-05, Heeger (A) 141-09, Burkett (SM) 138-10, McDaniel (A) 135-01, Allen (TW) 134-04, McGrath (P) 132-02, Masters (SP) 132-01, Wilson (P) 127-01

Next meet -- Greencastle's Weatherford, Wilson, Lewis, Bottom, Jedele and 3,200 relay; and North Putnam's Dahlstrom, Ban, Young and 400 relay team will compete at the Lafayette Jeff Regional Thursday, May 24.

COUNTY TRACK ROUNDUP

Three Clovers advance to regional

Staff reports

The Cloverdale Clovers boys track team walked away from the Bloomington North track sectional with an eighth-place finished and three athletes advancing to regional.

Christian Cheatham advanced in both the high jump and the long jump. Cheatham captured the high jump title with a height of 6-2 and finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 19-09 1/2.

Dylan Stone also advanced in field events with his toss of 44-05 1/2 in the shot put.

Nick Keefer was the Clovers lone runner to go on to regional as he finished fourth in the 300 meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 42.93.

Cheatham, Stone and Keefer will return to Bloomington North for regional action Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

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