Wilson faces tough field today; 'Revamped' 4x400 relay seeking school mark

Friday, June 3, 2016
Corrie Romer practices making a handoff to Allison White on Wednesday. Romer is a new addition to the 4x400 relay team which will compete in the IHSAA state finals today.

Today is the day that Emma Wilson's undefeated 2016 track season is put to the test, as the talented Greencastle freshman meets her toughest competition so far in the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls' state finals at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex.

Wilson is seeded eighth in the 1,600-meter run, approximately 12 seconds behind the top seed, and has the fifth-best 3,200-meter seed time at 10:50.55. The top 3,200 seed is 6.65 seconds faster than Wilson.

Wilson is the only freshman in the top eight seeds of either race, and is one of few freshmen to advance this far.

Among the 27 runners in each race, Wilson is one of two freshmen in the 1,600 and one of five ninth-graders in the 3,200.

Emma Wilson hopes to place in the IHSAA track and field state finals today as she competes in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

"She's got a good shot as placing very well in both of them," veteran coach Garry Anderson said. "I would not be at all surprised to see her do exceptionally well. As to whether she would win or not, it would be 'iffy'."

Anderson rates her chances of winning as being better in the 3,200 between her two events.

"If she had a good day, she could win the 3,200," Anderson said. "The 1,600 would require a little bit more experience. There are some experienced girls in there, and one of the girls who is now a junior won it as a freshman.

"I would never count Emma out on anything," he added. "She surprises people."

Wilson started running in the fifth grade.

"It was something I wanted to try," she said. "My parents [both Owen Valley graduates] were runners. I think they were pretty good."

She admits to being "a little bit nervous" for this week, but hopes the experience of having competed in the cross country state finals in October will help her tonight.

"I am going to go with the same strategy, and try to keep up with someone that is at the same pace I am," she said. "Usually the stopwatch is my biggest opponent, but this meet it's probably going to be other people."

Practice this week has consisted of not necessarily re-enactments of the actual race formats, but mostly general mileage to maintain stamina.

"On Tuesday, we did accelerated sprints," Wilson said. "We started at the 200-meter line and sprinted to the finish."

That technique served her well in the 1,600-meter run at the Bloomington North regional, as Wilson was even with another runner after three laps but bolted out ahead to win easily.

Wilson has set no individual goals for time or placement, and honestly hasn't paid any attention to the difference in time between her and the people seeded ahead of her.

"I am just going to go run," she said.

The 4x400 relay team has had to undergo a personnel change since the regional, as exchange student Rose Lemier-Maurichitch returned to France after last weekend's graduation.

Fortunately, senior Corrie Romer has recovered from injury to replace Lemier-Maurichitch and regain her spot as the first leg in the relay for tonight.

Senior Allison White runs the second leg, while freshmen Bailey Shuee and Seelye Stoffregen complete the last half of the race.

"Corrie is a very capable 400 runner, that's her specialty," Anderson said. "She's going to step right in there and fill her spot. Their goal is to break the school record [4:08.1, just one second faster than their best time].

"If they break it they'll be really happy. "

First leg: Corrie Romer

Romer suffered hip flexor problems in cross country last fall, which came back this spring after her swimming season was over.

She also sprained a muscle in the bottom of her foot.

"I'm falling apart," she laughed during practice this week. "But I only have to run one lap, so I'll be all right."

Romer wasn't sure how the relay team would perform in her absence, with the two freshmen (and the inexperienced Lemier-Maurichitch) being so new to high school track.

"After a couple of meets, I knew they were going to be fine," she said. "I was really excited at regionals when they qualified. I knew they were going to get it, especially when Seelye took off on the last lap."

Like many of her teammates, Romer felt badly that Lemier-Maurichitch was not able to finish out the season.

"She had worked really hard all season. Being involved in track for the first time and going to the state meet it shows how good of an athlete she is."

Romer, who will attend Purdue this fall to major in engineering, knows the long odds the relay team is up against but shares the optimism of her teammates about breaking the school record.

"We are running against the best," she said. "My personal goal is to beat at least one team. Running the first leg, the goal is to get the lead keep it knowing that and no lead is big enough. I'll take that mentality with me."

Romer admits that feeling bittersweet about the official end of her high school career tonight is cliche.

"I'm excited, but not really nervous," she said. "I'm not trying to work toward anything athletically after this. Honestly it's time to retire.

"It's my last time to run, so I might as well have fun."

Romer will take one special memory from tonight regardless of the outcome.

"I finally get to compete in the state finals in something," she said. "That has been my goal for 12 sports seasons."

Second leg: Allison White

White shares the sentimentality of tonight's huge stage with her classmate.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," she said. "It's going to be so cool to be there and see all those people there watching you run. It's going to be amazing saying I've made it to state, and being able to say that was my last high school activity."

White said that qualifying for the state finals has been a goal of the group all season, even though it took some outstanding efforts to make that dream a reality.

"Once the heat before us ran in the sectionals, a team did a lot better than expected," she said. "We had to do better in our heat just to make the finals. We were in third, but Seelye Stoffregen passed a THN girl and put us in second. It was amazing; we were just so happy."

White knows what her strategy is for tonight.

"For the second leg, I run in my lane until after the first 100 meters, and then I can cut in," she said. "I try to pass people there and get ahead of anyone I can. In the past few meets, there have been times when I was passing someone and at the same time someone else was passing me. It's crazy."

White has a big adjustment to make tonight, since she will be taking the baton from a different runner.

"We only need to shave off one second for the school record, so we've been working hard on the handoffs to try to get it done," she said."

Third leg: Bailey Shuee

Shuee had been a softball player during the spring and summer sports seasons through middle school, but was recruited to track by Stoffregen and has no regrets.

"I wanted to try something different and I tried track," she said. "I am very glad I did it; I love it. Making it to the state finals has been a really cool accomplishment.

"It was kind of a goal all season, but this is my first year of running track so it was kind of a far-fetched goal."

Shuee admits she needed to be trained how to run a lap around the track at a competitive level.

"At the beginning of the year, I was not a 400 runner," she said. "Corrie hurt her quad, and they put me in her place. In this relay you have to have a lot of heart; there's no way you can do this race without it."

Shuee feels the huge stage at the meet will be beneficial for trying to top the school record.

"I'm really nervous, but I think it's going to be awesome to be there as a Greencastle Tiger Cub," she said. "We don't go to state very often, and it's going to be very crowded.

"I think we can get a good time from being so amped up for the state finals."

Anchor leg: Seelye Stoffregen

Perhaps no member of the relay team needed a boost from qualifying for the state than Stoffregen, who admittedly had two subpar performances in the two hurdles events earlier in the regional meet.

"When the relay team qualified, it made the night really special," she said. "It's very exciting."

There is understandably a special feeling when you're the one with the baton at the end of the race and you cross the finish line ahead of most of the other competitors.

"We were seeded to make it, but once I crossed the finish line and we knew we made it, that was a great moment for our team. I was really happy, especially since the hurdles were kind of a downer."

For a Stoffregen from Greencastle to be an outstanding runner should not come as a huge surprise.

Her father, Kori, is the head cross country and track coach at DePauw whose teams have captured numerous cross country and track conference championships.

"It's a huge benefit," she said. "I grew up around track, and loving track. I am just enjoying the sport, and I have a huge passion for it. It has a deep spot in my heart."

One of the rare qualities track possesses is the ability to be an individual sport in some cases and a team effort in others.

"I love the environment of being on the team, and how everyone is always cheering for each other," she said. "I am a very competitive person, and I love to compete."

Stoffregen ran cross country in the fall and played basketball last winter, and has enjoyed her freshman year.

"I love school and I got good grades this year," she said. "I did other things, like being in the musical in the fall, and I made a lot of new friends. Being in the track state finals is a great way for it to end."

In the wings: Erin Thomas

Anderson said he likes to have "at least 2-3 alternates" ready on each relay team, should something happen and a replacement has to be made on short notice.

Thomas, another freshman, could get the call should anything happen to one of the four regulars.

"I would be a little nervous, but mostly excited," Thomas said, if such a scenario would materialize. "I would just want to help my team in any way possible."

Thomas, who also excels in the hurdles events, likes the excitement of the relay team as well.

"I like how you work as a team, and it's not just you like in the hurdles," she said. "The 4x400 is one of the most exciting races in track. I like running and feeling the intensity that track has."

Girls' 1,600 top 8 seeds

Grace Walther, Homestead, 4:53.09

Taylor Nicholson, Avon, 4:54.07

Josey Korte, Angola, 4:54.24

Hannah Stoffel, Huntington North, 4:54.88

Lauren Johnson, West Lafayette, 5:04.56

Megan Slamkowski, Guerin Catholic, 5:05.00

Rachel Anderson, Carmel, 5:05.16

Emma Wilson, Greencastle, 5:05.23

Girls' 3,200 top 8 seeds

Christina Geisler, Carmel, 10:43.90

Hannah Stoffel, Huntington North, 10:46.53

Sarah Leinheiser, Carmel, 10:47.25

Stacy Morozov, Carmel, 10:47.83

Emma Wilson, Greencastle, 10:50.55

Tyler Schwartz, DeKalb, 10:54.65

Madison Fruchey, Carroll (Allen), 10:55.05

Alex Buck, Pendleton Heights, 10:56.93

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  • Congrats to all GC Competitors. Emma is an amazing

    runner-reminds me of NP's Cassie Hunt from a few years back. Coach Anderson is a wonderful Coach who always gets the best out of his Runners.

    -- Posted by nphs92 on Fri, Jun 3, 2016, at 7:32 AM
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