Kaeff, Matthews seeking return to state track finals

All four Putnam County high schools will be represented at Thursday’s Bloomington North boys’ track and field regional, competing with qualifiers from sectionals at Bloomington North, Bedford North Lawrence and Jeffersonville in seeking to earn trips to the state finals next month.

Here is a look at each school’s participants:

Cloverdale

Junior Tyler Kaeff, a state finalist in both hurdles events, placed second to Blake Hills of Terre Haute South in both events in last week’s sectional.

“We still have a few things to fix and that should drop his times significantly,” Clover coach Andy Tyler said.

Drew Monnett also made it out of the sectional in the 300H. 

“He has gotten better every race,” Tyler noted. “He should have a strong showing at the regional.”

The Clovers will have two pole vaulters in the competition, with sectional runnerup Blake Willis and Jordan Berardi both in the field.

“I am confident Blake will perform better at the regional,” Tyler said. “He knows what he needs to fix and how to fix it.  I look for him to have a strong performance at the regional.

“Jordan has improved throughout the season.”

Tyler noted his 4x400 team also ran well at the sectional, placing third.

“They surprised many of the other teams with their finish, but not themselves,” Tyler said of Monnett, Elliot Williamson, Ryan Heavener and Kaeff. “They knew they had a good chance to make it out.”

Tyler was proud of his team’s effort at the sectional.

“We have had an up and down season, but they really fought hard at the sectional,” he said. “They take a lot of pride with when they step onto the track.”  

Greencastle

Seniors Clayton Wilson, Elijah Williams and J.T. Matthews will represent the Tiger Cubs at the regional.

Wilson placed third in the 3,200 in the sectional in 10:24.21

“Clayton did a great job of jumping in the fire and embracing it at the sectional,” Greencastle coach Craig Jordan said. “It was in the 80s, and the temperature greatly affected all runners in the race as they melted away. With this being his first time advancing to regionals on the track I look forward to seeing him rise to the occasion and come out with a personal best time.” 

Matthews won the high jump with a leap of 6-3, and is hopeful of matching his season-best height of 6-5 and earning a return trip to the state finals.

“J.T. had fun displaying his mad hops and easily won his first sectional title,” Jordan said. “He’s been on a streak for a bit now and I’m excited to see how much higher he’ll soar in the coming weeks.

“At regionals he’ll face off against two individuals who cleared 6-6 at their respective sectionals,” Jordan added. “He’ll need to be ready to go and most likely will need to hit the State Standard of 6-4 to punch his ticket to the state meet.”

Elijah Williams placed fourth in the sectional and Jordan thinks he can improve on that effort.

“Elijah was a little over three feet short of his best at sectionals but still placed fourth,” Jordan said. “He is a very focused and determined individual, so I strongly believe that he will analyze his performance and be ready to throw a big one at regionals.

“He has a season goal of reaching 50-0 and his best is 3.5 inches short of it, so I’m looking forward to seeing the intensity he brings,” he added. “If he can reach that goal, I believe he will find himself in the finals at regionals.”

North Putnam

The Cougars’ 4x100 relay team (consisting of Gage Bell, Jordan Bean, Ethan Christy and Chris Murray) placed second in the sectional with a time of 44.53, just .40 of a second behind West Vigo.

South Putnam

Kieffer Vittetow won the 1,600 in the sectional with a time of 4:33.31, and has one of the top times entering the regional.

The champions of the other sectionals ran 4:32.24 at Bedford North Lawrence, 4:34.68 at Bloomington North and 4:39.13 at Jeffersonville, putting Vittetow within one second of the top-seeded time in that event,

“I am very pleased with the growth out of this group of young men this spring,” Eagle coach Nathan Aker said. “From top to bottom, our guys have bought in and worked hard to get to where they are.  We are very proud of the personal records that have continued to have been reached throughout this process and recorded at the sectional meet in particular.  This meet was an outstanding finish to our ‘team’ season. 

“We look forward to continued growth throughout the offseason and a great opportunity in Bloomington next Thursday at the regionals.” 

Vittetow and senior Jonah Sanders, who will also be competing in the 300 hurdles are part of a group of upperclassmen who Aker said have been great ambassadors for the program. 

“We have a really good group of seniors that I would like to thank for their leadership, commitment, and perseverance,” said Aker, also including Johnathan Thibodeau, Jacob Maynard and Logan Vandermark. “They have been a pleasure for the coaches to have been around. They have each been excellent role models for the younger guys in our track program and for the South Putnam community.” 

Aker said the example they have shown both on the track and in the classroom is tremendous.

“We want to thank and wish all of them the best of luck in their future endeavors,” he said. “They each have extremely bright futures ahead of them.  We are very proud that they are and will always be South Putnam Eagles.”

Vittetow will also be competing in the 3,200 at the regional. Sanders will also be competing on the 4x400 relay team along with Blake Clearwaters, Michael Crossman and Austin Rumley.

Sanders received a “call back” for the 300 hurdles to be able to compete in the regional.

“I know he’s really happy that he earned a spot in the hurdles,” Aker said. “He’s had such a great year. He worked real hard this winter to prepare for the season. It’s great to see his hard work pay off.”

Aker noted the team chose its captains for the 2017 season at its annual Captain’s Dinner at Mama Nunz on Wednesday evening. 

Those honored were Sanders, Thibodeau, Vandermark and Vittetow.

Putnam County participants in Bloomington North boys' track regional

track competitors

Cloverdale – Tyler Kaeff, 110 high hurdles and 300 low hurdles; Drew Monnett, 300 hurdles; Blake Willis, pole vault; Andrew Berardi, pole vault; 4x400 relay team (Monnett, Elliot Williamson, Ryan Heavener, Kaeff)

Greencastle – Clayton Wilson, 3,200; J.T. Matthews, high jump; Elijah Williams, shot put

North Putnam – 4x100 relay team (Gage Bell, Jordan Bean, Ethan Christy and Chris Murray)

South Putnam – Kieffer Vittetow, 1,600 and 3,200; Jonah Sanders, 300 hurdles; 4x400 relay team (Blake Clearwaters, Michael Crossman, Austin Rumley and Jonah Sanders)