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Eagle duo hoping to reach medal stand
While South Putnam hasn’t had a state finals qualifier in track and field for at least 20 years, the Eagles feel fortunate to have two athletes to earn that distinction this spring.
Both senior Kieffer Vittetow and sophomore Aubrey Barker will have to surpass those outstanding efforts to earn a spot in the final eight and reach the medal stand, and both are hopeful that the increase in the competition level will result in the necessary performances.
Vittetow placed second in the Bloomington North Regional in the 1,600, less than one second off the pace, and is seeded 22nd for tonight’s state finals at Indiana University — 5.05 seconds behind the eighth-best seeded time.
Sophomore Aubrey Barker exceeded her previous best leap in the long jump by just under a foot to win that event in the regional, and is seeded 18th for Saturday’s state finals competition.
Vittetow, who will run for the University of Indianapolis this fall, has two goals for today’s meet.
He will have his last opportunity to break the school record of 4:20 in the 1,600 — and if he accomplishes that feat, he would finish in the top eight if the other seeded athletes run their standard times.
“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” Vittetow said. “The biggest part is that it’s more about going out stronger. I’m not strategically racing this time.”
Vittetow stayed around the middle of the pack during the first two laps at the regional, then turned on the jets in the final 800.
“If I can hit my splits that I want for the first half of the race, I think I can grind it out and get that 4:20,” he said. “I think for me the most important part of the race is at the end. In a lot of the faster times I’ve had, I’ve closed really well.”
Vittetow did not deny being nervous for the largest stage on which he will have competed.
“It’s an opportunity I’ll never get again,” he said. “I’m more excited than anything, and my head is really into it. I’m not looking forward to failing, and I’m super excited and I hope the best for myself.”
Vittetow graduated last weekend from South Putnam, and knows that regardless of the outcome that this is his final high school event of any kind.
He has been running less and less as the state tournament series approached, having a tough workout on Tuesday this week then planning to have much easier training sessions on Wednesday and Thursday before heading south to Bloomington today.
“Tapering is by far one of those things you have to take seriously,” he said. “I’ve been lowering my mileage gradually and going at it less and less intense.”
South Putnam assistant coach Heath Pruitt has worked a lot with Vittetow this season, and is
“I knew it was a goal of his, and he has a way of achieving the goals he sets for himself,” Pruitt said.”He’s pretty realistic of the goals he sets. We had a meet earlier in the season at Franklin Central where he split 4:24 in that race for 1,600 meters, and there was very tough competition there.”
Pruitt said he knew that Vittetow making it to the state finals was a realistic possibility after seeing results from the other sectionals feeding into the regional.
“This is what we have been toward all season,” he said. “We have loaded him down with workouts this season, and he has worked very hard for this.”
Vittetow’s seeded time is 4:26.78, and shaving off the nearly seven seconds he needs to hit his goal is possible, Pruitt said, but won’t be easy.
“In the first couple of laps is where he can make up that time,” Pruitt said. “He negative split in the regional, where his second 800 was faster than his first. He’ll probably come through the first 800 faster in the state meet than at the regional.”
Pruitt said that with “a really good race” it will be possible for Vittetow to place.
“When you get into competition at that level, it’s going to be a bevy of guys right there at 4:19 or 4:20,” he said. “We didn’t start his taper until last week, so this should be the freshest he’s felt all season. With the better class of competition, he’s going to have to bring his ‘A’ game.”
Barker, meanwhile, stands 7.5 inches away from the top eight.
Surpassing previous bests is no surprise for her, as her regional distance was 11.5 inches longer than her prior best leap.
She will have to have another increase this week in order to make the medal stand.
Regardless of the outcome, the state finals appearance will conclude an outstanding year for the versatile sophomore who transferred to South Putnam last summer from Greencastle.
Ankle injuries limited her ability to perform in volleyball for much of the season, but her inspired play in the sectional helped the Eagles to an upset win over favored Cascade and a narrow victory over Cloverdale in the finals to claim the title.
“Part of me thought I could get to the state finals, but anyone can do it if they put the work in,” she said. “My parents, teammates and coaches all thought I could do it.”
Barker recalls the leap at the regional that earned her the state finals trip, and admits that everything fell into place and felt good on her way down the running lane.
“After I landed, I knew it was going to be a good jump, but I didn’t think it was going to be in the 17s,” she said. “The entire approach felt really solid and my footing on the board sounded really good.”
Track and field competitors have to narrow down their footwork when given limited running room, like in the long jump or hurdles races.
Barker measures off 81 feet, nine inches on a tape measure and starts her approach there, taking exactly 15 steps before going airborne.
“While I’m running through my approach, I don’t really think about it,” she said. “I just feel it.”
There are many technical factors involved in being successful in the long jump, Barker said, but she thinks the most important has nothing to do with athletic ability.
“I think having the confidence to step out there is the most important thing,” she said. “Weight lifting, and everything that you’ve been doing all play a big role. The approach is probably the key overall — you have to have good speed going before you take off.”
Barker also admits having nerves in anticipation of the huge competition, but also feels excitement.
“My teammates are going to try to be there, and a lot of family members will be there,” she said. “I’m excited to be able to say that I’m going to state.
Barker also competed in the high jump at the regional. While both involve jumping, the high jump differs because there is a set height that athletes try to reach — while in the long jump athletes just jump as far as they can.
“I think they’re both extremely difficult events,” she said. “I think they both get overlooked because it’s ‘just’ jumping. To me, they are both pretty special events because not a lot of people can do them.”
Barker isn’t sure how much farther she can go, but wants to surpass her regional distance.
“I just need to keep on pushing myself and working hard,” she said.
Eagle head coach Brandon Welti said earlier this season that it was hard to imagine what the talented Barker could accomplish.
“She is good at just about any event we put her in ,” he said. “For the longest time, we had her focus on the 300 hurdles and didn’t even want her to do the long jump to keep her from getting hurt. She’s pretty persistent, and we gave her a shot.
“Clearly that has paid off; that’s where her passion is.”
Welti was watching her regional jump and could tell it was different than the others.
“Coming down the runway she had good speed, but when she hit the board it just sounded better,” he recalled. “There is just something about that sound. We knew right away it was a good jump.”
Welti acknowledges that Barker could likely play any sport offered in high school with minimal instructional time, and her overall skills make her ideal for the diverse nature of track and field.
“She’s an athlete and she’s competitive,” he said. “Those are two things that can help you to be good in any sport. We’re just fortunate she chose track.”
So how much farther can she jump?
“Getting it much higher than that is going to be difficult to do,” he said. “Continuing that rate of improvement is going to be a challenge. Everything has to go perfectly, but at the regional that’s exactly what happened.
“She just needs to duplicate that,” Welti added. “We just have to control the emotions and execute on what she’s been doing all year long to be successful.”
Putnam County track and field state finalists
At Indiana University
Today
6:35 p.m. — Kieffer Vittetow of South Putnam in 1,600
Saturday
3 p.m. — Aubrey Barker of South Putnam in long jump
6:35 p.m. — Emma Wilson of Greencastle in 1,600
8:15 p.m. — Emma Wilson of Greencastle in 3,200