RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
HUNTERTOWN – Fifth-ranked Homestead dominated the field in the Carroll Regional Boys’ Track and Field Meet Thursday, scoring 103 points to the 64 of runner-up Northrop and 63 of third-place Carroll. New Haven was the top-placing NE8 squad in fourth with 46.5 points.
Z-Land athletes didn’t score many points in the loaded field, but they did turn in some impressive performances, including several career-best efforts.
Three area tracksters scored, led by South Adams junior Will Patterson, who placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 21-6.75. Sophomore Braylen Cowans of Adams Central threw the discus 144-4 to place eighth, and Heritage sophomore Sawyer Thiele finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles in 40.60.
Patterson, who jumped in the 18-foot range last year, was one of the most improved athletes in Z-Land, routinely breaking the 20-foot barrier this year. His placing Thursday “felt pretty good,” he said. “The last jump scratched. That could have been a good one, but I think we did what we wanted to do.” Patterson was only 1.75 inches out of fifth and two inches out of fourth.
Four of the throwers who beat Cowans are seniors, and the only sophomore to outthrow him was the champ, Ian Canfield of Alexandria, who set a PR with a 170-5.
Thiele, the ACAC 300 hurdles champ, ran strong out of lane nine in the fast heat and confirmed his status as one of the top sophomore hurdlers in the Fort Wayne area.
Adams Central 3200-meter specialist Ethan Crockett finished less than a half second out of the scoring but accomplished a major goal: breaking 10:00 with his 9:56.04. “It’s definitely been a goal since, like, sophomore year to break 10:00,” he said. “I’ve been really close countless times, and in the last race of high school, I finally broke it, so it feels really good.”
Senior South Adams distance standout Deacon Bierbaum also ended his career on a high note. He beat his 12th-seed in the 1600 meters to finish 10th in a PR 4:39.55.
Senior Lucas Weber of Heritage ran strong times in both the 100 meters (11.16) and the 200 meters (22.71), just missing out on qualifying for the finals in both events. Teammate Alex Mantle, a junior, set a new PR in the high jump at 5-10. Alex Nagle placed 15th in the discus for the Patriots with a 118-1.
The Adams Central 4X800 relay of Tyler Schwartz, Logan Heimann, Crockett, and Mason Manley was seeded 15th but finished 13th in 8:32.10.
Homestead won four individual events (Jace Travino in the 800 meters, Braylin Tisdale in both hurdle races, and Michael White in the long jump). Travino’s 1:53.04 is a new regional 800 record. The Spartans also won the 4X100 and 4X800 relays.
The state meet will be held at North Central High School in Indianapolis next Saturday, June 6. Field events start at 3:00 P.M.
Team Scores: 1st-Homestead 103, 2nd-Northrop 64, 3rd-Carroll (FW) 63, 4th-New Haven 46.5, 5th-Yorktown 25, 6th-Madison-Grant 24, 7th-Concordia Lutheran 22, 8th-Oak Hill 21, 9th-Mississinewa, FW Snider-19, 13th-Woodlan 17.5, 15th-Huntington North 14, 16th-Bluffton 13, 19th-Leo 11, 25th-Norwell 6, 27th-Columbia City 5, 29th-South Adams 3, 33rd-Adams Central 1, 33rd-Heritage 1, 35th-Jay County .5
100 M Final
1st-Maddox Weil-Northrop 10.75
100 M Prelim Times
Alex Mechling-Bluffton 11.15
Lucas Weber-Heritage 11.16
200 M Final
1st-Coleson Kugler-Wabash 21.56
200 M Prelim Times
Lucas Weber-Heritage 22.71
400 M
1st-Keith White-New Haven 47.65
800 M
1st-Jace Trevino-Homestead 1:53.04
1600 M
1st-Bryan Garcia-New Haven 4:16.37
10. Deacon Bierbaum-South Adams 4:39.55
3200 M
1st-Hunter Panning-Concordia Lutheran 9:23.83
9. Ethan Crockett-Adams Central 9:56.04
14. Caleb Garringer-Jay County 10:09.57
110 M Hurdle Finals
1st-Braylin Tisdale-Homestead 14.02
8. Parker Barnes-Bluffton 15.11
110 M Hurdle Prelim Times
Parker Barnes-Bluffton 15.23
Colton Glassford-Jay County 16.06
300 M Hurdles
1st-Braylin Tisdale-Homestead 38.09
6. Parker Barnes-Bluffton 40.32
8. Sawyer Thiele-Heritage 40.60
4×100 Relay
1. Homestead 41.82
4×800 Relay
1st-Homestead 7:54.44
11. Bluffton 8:26.89
13. Adams Central 8:32.10
16. Jay County 8:44.65
High Jump
1st-Grady Mahaffey-Wapahani 6-06
2. Eli Bertsch-Bluffton 6-05
12. Adam Aulbach-Southern Wells 6-01
20. Alex Mantle-Heritage 5-10
Long Jump
1st-Michael White-Homestead 23-01
6. Will Patterson-South Adams 21-06.75
Pole Vault
1st-Michael Furniss-Carroll (FW) 15-03
8. Peyton Yowell-Jay County 12-06
10. Walter Campofiore-Jay County 12-00
18. Roman Meyer-Norwell 11-06
Discus
1st-Ian Canfield-Alexandria 170-05
8. Braylen Cowans-Adams Central 144-04
12. Wyatt Holmes-Bluffton 133-05
15. Alex Nagle-Heritage 118-01
Shot Put
1st-Andrew Trahin-Bishop Dwenger 58-05.25
10. Wyatt Clifton-Norwell 49-07
15. Conner Landis-Bluffton 43-03.5
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