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Greencastle wins third-straight double at Putnam County Track and Field Meet
CLOVERDALE — A three-peat of Putnam County titles was on the line for Greencastle Tuesday night at the Putnam County Track and Field Meet.
In the end, the Tiger Cubs got across the line easily in the boys’ meet, outpacing second-place North Putnam 86-62.50 but the girls’ meet was a far different story.
With an issue at high jump being addressed at the end of the night, Greencastle led hosts Cloverdale by two points and managed to keep the gap in place, winning 76.50-74.50 to match the boys’ in winning a third-straight county title.
North Putnam finished third in the girls’ meet on 56 points with South Putnam fourth on 34 points. The Eagles were third in the boys’ meet with 56.50 points while the Clovers were fourth on 38 points.
The Tiger Cub field event members did most of the heavy lifting, accruing 43 points to hold off the Clovers’ strong performance on the track.
Wins from Skyler Byrd in the pole vault (8-00), Carissa Trigg at long jump (14-06.50), Lilly Barnhart at discus (93-06) and Kylee Owens at high jump (4-10) were augmented by second-place finishes by Byrd at high jump (4-08j), Haley Timcheck at pole vault (7-00), Isabella Parker at long jump (14-04) and Sheyenne Graham at shot put (30-00), who also finished fifth at discus (81-01) while Barnhart added a four-place finish at shot put (27-06).
“With two seniors throwing things far in Lilly and Hope, we expected a high point total from them and they delivered,” Greencastle head coach Kevin Kendall said. “Lilly and Hope have been vital in our success throughout the season and long before that as they’ve been the top throwers for our squad for a few years now.
“Carissa coming out of nowhere these last few meets and winning long jump was spectacular to see. Skyler is a fierce competitor and has focused solely on pole vault for quite some time, but when I ask her to step up and show what she can do in other events, she’s more than willing and very capable.
“ For her to hit every height in high jump up to 4-08 without practicing throughout the entire season is exceptional and she deserves to be recognized for her outstanding efforts,” Kendall added.
Due to an error in the original portion of the meet, the high jump had a restart with the potential that Greencastle’s 1-2 finish could have been altered, though Kendall said Owens stepped up and delivered to ensure the results stayed as they were.
“At the end of the meet, despite having to reconvene and jump again, Kylee Owens was provided an opportunity to show everyone what she has been able to do all season,” Kendall said. “In an event where the smallest technical error may alter the end result, Kylee embraced the moment and put an exclamation point on the night for our squad by clearing 4-10 with her first jump.”
Cloverdale kept things close with six wins on the track, winning all three relays as Abbi Nees, Molly Havenor, Daphanie Geiger and Ella Szczerbik won the 3,200-meter relay (11:24.55), Yasmine Sorter, Emily Mann, Rebecca Ponzano and Olivia Hemmerling won the 400-meter relay (53.81) and Mann, Hemmerling, Asyria Ford and Jacie Neese won the 1,600-meter relay (4:33.18).
Nees added a win in the 1,600-meter run (6:06.21), Ford won the 400-meter dash (1:05.38) and Hemmerling won the 300-meter hurdles (50.01) to keep the Clovers within touching distance throughout the evening.
South Putnam won four events on the track as Jasmine Guzman won both the 100-meter (13.15) and 200-meter dashes (28.67) while Bailey Brickert won the 100-meter hurdles (16.32) and Elise Kendall won the 3,200-meter run (13:22.06).
North Putnam had two wins on the night with Callee Riggle winning at shot put (30-06) and Jenna Day winning the 800-meter run (2:42.35).
In the boys’ meet, Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam all won five events but the depth of the Tiger Cubs eventually carried the day with six second-place and six third-place finishes helping to propel them to the title.
Charlie Menzel won both the 1,600-meter (4:48.62) and 3,200-meter runs (10:34.40) to pace Greencastle on the track while Cole Hutcheson won the 100-meter dash (11.80) and Andrew Adams won at pole vault (10-06) while Hutcheson, Dylan Olson, Clay Glessner and Jake Miller won the 400-meter relay (45.73).
“As the years have progressed, I continue to be impressed with the output from the men’s track and field squad,” Kendall said. “We have seen an increase in numbers over the years and have shown the speed, power and endurance that our young men are capable of throughout.
“Last year we took home a lot of individual victories, but this year proved to be more about racking up the points from all athletes competing.”
Kendall pointed to freshman Josh Jordan, who finished fourth at pole vault (7-06) as the perfect indicator of the mentality of the team on the night.
“Josh has immense potential but, with so much speed among our athletes, wasn’t in line to compete at county in the sprinting events,” Kendall said. “I went out on a limb and asked him on Monday if he’d be willing to try pole vault.
“Josh being Josh, he agreed and focused his efforts in the rain and sleet on a May afternoon with our senior pole vaulter Andrew helping him to maybe clear a height at the county meet. I had no clue if he’d be able to do it but enjoyed watching him attempt to understand the technical side of vaulting and at times simply holding on as he flew up, forward and sideways across the mat.
“This isn’t to poke fun at Josh, but rather to show what young athletes are capable of with the right attitude, a competitive mindset and an opportunity,” Kendall added. “Josh went to county and scored points by clearing not one, but two heights in an event he’d been doing for less than a total of one hour.”
North Putnam got a pair of wins from Nolan Hackleman in the 400-meter dash (51.00) and the long jump (21-02) while Corie Stancombe won the 800-meter run (2:09.66).
The Cougars also claimed the other two relays as Stancombe, Jeremiah Miles, Brayden Monnett and Evan Polley won the 3,200-meter relay (8:49.97) while Hackleman, Monnett, Myckah Slagle and Matt Farrington won the 1,600-meter relay (3:37.77).
South Putnam had a double winner in Wyatt Switzer, who won both the 110-meter (15.63) and 300-meter hurdles (40.52) while the Eagles got three wins in the field as Hayden Meredith won at high jump (5-10), Ben Teipen won the discus (130-06) and Aiden Beadles won shot put (45-03).
Cloverdale’s win on the night came through Tyson Bridges in the 200-meter dash (23.80).