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Tiger Cubs pull away late for County win
Although the Putnam County boys' track meet features dozens of athletes in action Thursday, it was Greencastle and Cloverdale going mano-a-mano for the win. Through 13 events the two squad were tied at 63-points each, but the Tiger Cubs were able to pull away at the end to get the win.
Greencastle won with 86, followed by Cloverdale with 72. South Putnam was third with 48 points and North Putnam rounded out the county teams with 38.
The difference came down to the 3,200-meter run. Greencastle posted a first and second place finish in the event, while Cloverdale placed fifth and sixth. It provided enough of a cushion for the Tiger Cubs to claim victory despite Cloverdale winning the final event, the 1,600-meter relay.
"It was fun. It was a really tight, good meet," Greencastle head coach Mike Schimpf said. "All the kids performed well -- both teams. My assistant coaches did great all year long. When it's county time, it's time to start performing and those guys have done a great job. The kids really showed up today."
While no records fell as they did in the girls', the action was white hot with GHS and Cloverdale combining for 13 wins.
Greencastle's Ryan Stevens and Hayden Stuckwisch earned two individual wins each. Stevens won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:42.09 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:27.31. Stuckwisch made his mark in field events, winning the high jump and the long jump. He won the high jump with a height of 6-4 and the long jump with a leap of 19-5.
Mac Shuee won the pole vault for the Tiger Cubs with a height of 11-6. Shuee dueled with South Putnam's Trent Workman, with both vaulters clearing 11-even. Shuee was able to skirt past the bar to post his winning height, while Workman had to settle for second place.
Greencastle took two of three relays Tuesday. The team of Stevens, Nathan Eubank, Elijah Brattain and Tyler Hudson won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:26.09. Stuckwisch, Shuee, Nate Haynes and Chad Keyt combined to win the 400-meter relay in a time of 43.35.
Schimpf said his team stepped things up Tuesday, with athletes such as Stuckwisch, Shuee, Ben Hesler and Nate Haynes performing well. He said a few of the usual suspects didn't far as well, but that was because of the load they carried.
"We had guys step up, but we had some guys that got lost in the wash maybe would be like Tyler Hudson and Elijah Brattain," Schimpf said. "The reason they got lost in the there was because I put them in the most grueling events. The 400 and 800, I feel like, are just brutal. They did both of those and were able to complete both of those. That's tough."
Cloverdale's impressive night started with Andy Lane capturing the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 16.90. That would be the start of six wins the Clovers posted on the night.
Bret Brumfield won the 400-meter dash in a time of 53.56, while Jourdan Smith and Cody Stout went 1-2 in the 300-meter hurdles. Smith won with a time of 43.60, with Stout placing second with a time of 43.83. Alex Law won the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.90.
Joe Rumley narrowly missed setting a new mark in the 800-meter run. Rumley's time of 1:58.46 was just .46 from equaling Jeremy Butler's record set in 1992.
Brumfield, Smith, Rumley and Devon Nees won the 1,600-meter relay in a time of 3:34.78.
North Putnam's Hunter Logan won both the discus and shot put on the night. He won the discus with a throw of 146-0 and won the shot put with a toss of 48-6.75. Tyler Shorter came out on top in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.46.
The teams will return to South Putnam for the West Central Conference meet Friday at 5 p.m. Schimpf said he expects to see the same effort out of the Clovers come Friday.
"We'll have to slug it out again. That's just what we're going to have to do and just have fun," he said.
Full agate for the 2012 Putnam County track meet will be in Thursday's edition of the Banner Graphic.