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Kaeff wins pair as Clovers take sixth in sectional
Blundell also gets victory
TERRE HAUTE -- Cloverdale sophomore Tyler Kaeff dominated the hurdles events with two big victories on Thursday evening in the Terre Haute North boys' track sectional.
Kaeff won the 110 high hurdles in a time of 15.44, nearly one second faster than runnerup Seth Hillis of Terre Haute South.
Kaeff also decidedly defeated Hillis in the 300-meter low hurdles, winning in a time of 40.76 -- 1.55 seconds faster than Hillis.
The two victories by Kaeff, to go along with a win by senior Nick Blundell in the 800-meter run, helped the Clovers to finish in sixth place in the team competition -- just one point behind the much larger host school.
"We had a pretty good feeling about Tyler and Nick," Cloverdale coach Andy Tyler said. "Nick was the favorite to win the 800, and Tyler was favorite in the 110s. It's great to see their hard work pay off."
Coach Tyler said he's been working with Kaeff on how he goes over the hurdles, and the difference showed Thursday.
"We've been working hard on technique," Tyler said. "There are still a few things that Tyler does wrong. He's aware of it, and there are a few more things we need to fix before the regional."
Still, Kaeff's current technique is working OK.
"You can just see a difference in how he goes over the hurdles compared to the other guys," Tyler said. "He listens well and takes direction really well."
Tyler noted that Kaeff has a great combination of attributes that many athletes don't have.
"He's a very athletic kid and he'll work at it," Tyler said. "We're really proud of him."
Blundell's winning time was 2:01.41, nearly 1.5 seconds faster than runnerup Carson Kline of Terre Haute South.
"He's just a worker," Tyler said. "The 800 is the most brutal race you can run, and you feel like you're dying after that first lap."
Tyler explained that while other races are for longer distances, the pace of the event requires a much stronger effort on the first lap.
"He actually didn't go as fast on his first lap as we wanted him to," Tyler said. "We have a group of pretty good 800 runners, and they push each other every day in practice.
"You have to have 400-runner speed to compete, but you're obviously not running what a 400 PR would be. You really have to be able to move."
The three wins by Kaeff and Blundell were more than were achieved by any other school.
Kaeff and Blundell will advance to the Bloomington North regional next Thursday by virtue of their victories.
Three other Putnam County athletes are assured of advancing to the regional as individuals:
* Greencastle junior J.T. Matthews, who was second in the high jump;
* South Putnam senior Joe Masters, who placed third in the discus; and
* South Putnam junior Kieffer Vittetow, who was third in the 3,200.
It is possible that others could be added to that list, as some athletes who qualified in multiple events often will scratch their names from the list in their weaker events.
Terre Haute North boys' track sectional results
Team scores -- Terre Haute South 131, West Vigo 102, Northview 85, Sullivan 54, Terre Haute North 47, Cloverdale 46, South Putnam 38, Greencastle 28, North Central 26, South Vermillion 24.5, Clay City 17.5, Riverton Parke 16, North Putnam 9
High jump -- 1. Neal Greene (NC) 6-4, 2. J.T. Matthews (Gc) 6-2, 13. Jacob Sanders (Gc) 5-2, 15. Christian Zeffel (SP) 5-2
Pole vault -- 1. Carson Willis (Su) 13-0, 11. Justin Berish (Gc) 9-0, 12. Craig Helmers (Gc) 8-6, 14. Nicholas Theis (SP) 7-6
Long jump -- 1. Levi Melchert (NC) 20-9.5, 8. Christopher Murray (NP) 18-9, 10. Timmy Parker (SP) 18-7, 11. Garry Spencer (Cl) 18-2.5, 15. Brandon Barker (NP) 17-5.25, 17. Devon Young (Gc) 17-3, 18. Jacob Lewis (Gc) 16-10.75, 20. Christian Zeffel (SP) 16-5.25
Discus -- 1. Angelo Cooper (THN) 134-5, 3. Joe Masters (SP) 131-6, 7. Joe January (Gc) 121-8, 11. Christopher Jackson (Cl) 112-9, 12. Devon Workman (SP) 112-0, 13. Spencer Rhine (Gc) 110-2, 15. Dillion Binnion (NP) 102-2, 16. David Flannelly (NP) 97-9.5,
Shot put -- 1. Mikey Hettinger (THN) 52-5, 5. Joe Masters 46-8, 6. Carlie Capps (Gc) 43-2, 7. Elijah Williams (Gc) 43-2, 11. Dillion Binnion (NP) 39-2, 12. Devon Workman (SP) 38-10, 13. Andrew Rude (NP) 38-5,
4x800 relay -- 1. Terre Haute South 8:22.09, 2. South Putnam 8:25.06, 3. Cloverdale 8:43.96, 11. North Putnam 9:27.24
110 hurdles -- 1. Tyler Kaeff (Cl) 15.44
1,600 -- 1. Cam Trout (Nv) 4:30.45, 6. Braden Pershing (Gc) 4:54.71, 7, Logan Vandermark (SP) 4:5.44, 12. Caleb Duncan ( NP) 5:00.19, 15. Chad Stevens (Cl) 5:04.09, 16. Jacob Scott (NP) 5:08.86, 17. Ben Gellman (Gc) 5:09.37, 20. Dru Bottorff (SP) 5:11.00, 21. Nolan Maners (Cl) 5:16.86
4x100 relay -- 1. West Vigo 43.70, 8. Greencastle 47.19, 9. South Putnam 48.02, 10. Cloverdale 48.33
400 -- 1. Dylan Price (THS) 50.80, 4. Ethan Christy (NP) 53.06, 5. Ryan Heavener (Cl) 53.13, 7. Jacob Lewis (Gc) 54.24, 9. Andrew Monnett (Cl) 55.09, 17. Thomas Fanning (SP) 58.15, 20. Wyatt Summers (NP) 1:00.45, 21. Preston Headley (Gc) 1:01.96
300 hurdles -- 1. Tyler Kaeff (Cl) 40.76, 9. Blake Everts (NP) 45.00, 10. Jonah Sanders (SP) 45.22, 11. Jacob Wilkes (Cl) 45.77, 12. Jack Hutcheson (Gc) 46.19, 18. Christyan Proctor (NP) 49.98, 19. Peyton Jones (Gc) 49.19, 20. Connor Cain (SP) 50.80
100 -- 1. Ethan Roach (WV) 11.15
800 -- 1. Nick Blundell (Cl) 2:01.41, 4. Lorenzo Mainetti (SP) 2:06.05, 5. Austin Rumley (SP) 2:07.14, 10. Jacob Crawley (Gc) 2:12.04, 16. Dylan Webster (NP) 2:16.06, 18. Jackson Szczerbik (Cl) 2:18.37, 20. James Duncan (NP) 2:19.46, 23. Tylan Jones (Gc) 2:33.49
200 -- 1. Ethan Roach (WV) 22.59, 6. Samuel Bell (NP) 23.56
3,200 -- 1. Cam Trout (Nv) 9:38.24, 3. Kieffer Vittetow (SP) 9:46.51, 7. Clayton Wilson (Gc) 10:36.38, 11. Michael Crossman (SP) 10:56.20, 15. Caleb Duncan (NP) 11:10.30, 16. Edward Mannan (Cl) 11:20.76, 17. Rylan Hall (Cl) 11:42.37
4x400 relay -- 1. Terre Haute South 3:29.90, 3. Cloverdale 3:33.87, 6. South Putnam 3:48.02, 9. Greencastle 3:54.45