Wilson leads strong group to track regional

Sunday, May 22, 2016
Aubrey Barker will be competing in the long jump and the high jump at the Bloomington North regional track meet on Tuesday.

A large contingent of Putnam County athletes will descend upon Bloomington High School North on Tuesday evening with hopes of qualifying for the girls' track state finals.

Greencastle coach Garry Anderson is pleased with the number of athletes who earned the regional trip, either through placing in the top three in the sectional or being added after other qualifiers scratched their names in some events to focus on their specialties.

"This is probably the biggest amount of qualifiers we've had in at least three or four years," Anderson said. "A lot of them are freshmen -- that's the big thing. I am so excited about these kids. They are all just 'gung ho' and they love to compete."

The success of the young Tiger Cubs has not been particularly surprising.

"We knew coming into the season they were good," Anderson said. "They were county and conference champions last year. There are also some who have never been in track that have blossomed."

Include in that group are Audrey Barker, who won the sectional high jump title and has the second best height entering the regional, and Bailey Shuee, a member of the 4x100 relay team.

Another surprise this year was the appearance of exchange student Rose Lemier-Maurichitch, a star sprinter in the 100- and 200-meter dashes who had not competed in any organized sporting activities in her hometown of Paris, France.

"She had never done anything at a competitive level," Anderson said. "She's an excellent athlete. She works very hard in practice, and she's very concerned with how well she performs."

Other freshmen in Tuesday's regional are hurdler Seelye Stoffregen, sectional shot put champion Jada Amis and Mika Mozawa, a member of the 4x800 relay team.

Oh yeah.

There's one more.

Some girl named Emma.

Emma Wilson will be attempting to duplicate her cross country state finals appearance of last fall, when she finished eighth, by qualifying in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

She hasn't lost a race in either event all season long, and the number of serious challenges to that string were few and far between.

Wilson's sectional-winning 1,600 time was 16.42 seconds better than the best of the winners from the other regionals, and Wilson's time in the 3,200 is roughly 20 seconds better than that of Bloomfield's Indiana-State-bound senior Alli Workman. The other two sectional winners are more than a minute behind Wilson's pace.

"I would say she's the favorite in both races," Anderson said. "She's just really mentally tough. She likes to work hard, and she'll work herself much harder than other people would."

Anderson considers her one of the top five female runners he's had in his lengthy career, and notes that her 1,600 time ranks in the top 10 in the entire state this season and her 3,200 time is just outside the top 10.

Her main focus is just on the timing devices, and if she takes care of business she'll be making a return trip to Bloomington next weekend for the state finals.

"She knows who she's going to be racing against," Anderson said. "She knows their times, and she's very good about the way she sets herself up for the race. She will go out quick and go out hard.

Wilson's best times could still be ahead of her, and -- like her primary opponents on Tuesday -- she could chop even more time off her finishes when put up against better competition.

"If she would get injured or if something strange happens along the way, she could have problems," Anderson said. "She takes care of herself."

Besides Wilson, Anderson feels his high jumpers (Barker and senior Allison White) are among those who could earn a top three placing and a state finals berth.

"Sprinters are so hard to judge," he said. "One bad step and you're gone. It's really hard to predict."

Senior Katerina King, who placed 25th in the state in the 100 as a sophomore, joins Lemier-Maurichitch in the sprinting category and has the experience to return to the finals.

Anderson said the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams have a chance, based upon their times, and Barker also could advance in the long jump.

"Those are probably the best who have the shot to get out," he said. "The rest are not slouches, but it's going to be harder for them. They're all capable of surpassing what they've done so far, and that's what it takes."

Junior Katie Haynes also competes on the 4x800 relay squad.

South Putnam

Eagle coach Brandon Welti said his 4x800 relay team had set qualifying for regionals as its goal all season, but it definitely didn't come easily.

For many of its participants, the road to Bloomington was a lot longer than 3,200 meters.

"Maddie McHugh was part of the record setting 4x800 relay team from last year that went to regional, and I know she really wanted to get back there," Welti said. "However, she was coming off of a serious injury that prevented her from running until mid-March, and then she got really sick and was out for another week in late-April. She hasn't been able to bounce back as quickly as she hoped, but things are beginning to click for her again and Maddie's getting really close to where she left off last season."

Welti noted that Julianna DeLano -- the only senior on the relay team joined by three sophomores -- has been focused on the open 3,200 meters her entire career, but this season she chose to focus on the 800 in order to better help the relay team have a shot.

"It paid off in a huge way and now she's going to regional in track for the first time," he said.

Welti also noted that Ally Nichols was a 400 runner, but this past cross country season showed her that she is also a strong distance runner.

"She was willing to give the 4x800 relay a try, and it has been a smooth transition," he said.

Welti also noted that Rachel Jones didn't even plan to do track this season.

"Thankfully changed her mind and is now a regional qualifier," he said. "All four of them have interesting back stories that leave me shaking my head on how they were able to come together and make it this far."

Welti said the biggest challenge they faced was getting everyone to run well on the same night.

"At sectional, with a change in the order as the trigger, they were able to all run personal best splits and knocked 20 seconds off of their previous best relay time," he said. "It was great to see, and 'excited' barely describes how they felt about it. Now they are just 6 seconds away from breaking the school record, so they a pretty pumped at the chance to go after it at regional."

Nichols will also be competing in the 800, after earning an at-large berth.

"I haven't allowed her to run the open 800 meters too often, so she is still new at this," he said. "Racing an 800 is a lot different than running as part of the relay. She's still trying to figure out pacing and developing stamina, but she's well on her way to becoming a solid 800 runner."

Welti does not expect Nichols to qualify for the finals this year, but feels the experience will help her over the second half of her career.

"With time and maturity, Ally could be a pretty imposing person to stand beside on the starting line," he said. "We know state isn't a realistic goal for this year, but long term it is something to shoot for."

North Putnam

Cougar coach Kevin Lutes also has a standout freshman in sectional champion discus thrower Emily Gasho.

"My biggest expectation for Emily is that she stay relaxed and focused on Tuesday," Lutes said. "Since she's never competed in a regional meet before, I'm not sure how she'll react. If she stays calm, I believe she can throw past her season best (105-0)."

Gasho's sectional-winning distance was 99-0, and except for Henryville's Hannah White (131-7.5) the competition for the other spots is tight.

"There is a pack of girls all throwing within 10 feet of each other that have a chance of placing in the top three, Emily included," Lutes said. "I want her to go, take in the experience, and perform as best she can."

Cloverdale

The Clovers will be represented by freshman Chelsea Edwards, who placed second in the sectional in the 400, and sophomore hurdler Paige Plamondon.

Plamondon was third in the sectional in the 100 hurdles, just .16 of a second behind Greencastle's Stoffregen.

Regional qualifiers

Greencastle

100 -- Rose Lemier-Maurichitch, Katerina King

200 -- Rose Lemier-Maurichitch

1,600 -- Emma Wilson, Adriana Pershing

3,200 -- Emma Wilson

High jump -- Allison White, Aubrey Barker

Long jump -- Aubrey Barker

Shot put -- Jada Amis

100 hurdles -- Seelye Stoffregen

300 hurdles -- Seelye Stoffregen

4x100 relay -- Bailey Lausee, Bailey Shuee, Seelye Stoffregen, Katerina King

4x400 relay -- Rose Lemier-Maurichitch, Allison White, Bailey Shuee, Seelye Stoffregen

4x800 relay -- Adriana Pershing, Katie Haynes, Mika Mozawa, Emma Wilson

Cloverdale

100 hurdles -- Paige Plamondon

400 -- Chelsea Edwards

North Putnam

Discus -- Emily Gasho

South Putnam

800 -- Ally Nichols

4x800 relay -- Julianna DeLano, Ally Nichols, Maddie McHugh, Rachel Jones

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