BLOOMINGTON - All along, Bryan Phillips figured he would have a good look at the finish of the 1,600-meter run at Saturday's 101st annual IHSAA Boys State Track and Field Championships.

The Kokomo High School runner was seeded 22nd in the race and figured he'd be at the right angle to see Columbus North's Christian Wagner win -- and possibly set the state record.

Phillips was right -- and not only did he see Wagner win the race, but also caught Western senior Kyle Walsh overtake Fort Wayne Northrop's Brennon Plotner at the finish line to grab second.

"I had the best seat," Phillips said as he walked away from the line. "I saw Plotner make his move on Wagner. Then, I had to swing wide coming out of the turn to make my finish and I saw Walsh finish. That's great for him."

Walsh had the top finish of the 10 area competitors in the meet at Indiana University. Kokomo junior Tristan Rogers took ninth in the high jump and Western junior Blayne Burkholder just missed a medal as he was 10th in the pole vault.

Walsh came through with second place in a time of 4 minutes, 15.95 seconds, nipping Fort Wayne Northrop's Plotner by .06. He wasn't sure whether he beat him or not.

"They lined me up behind Plotner so I thought I was third," Walsh said. Then, he saw the scoreboard with his name in second. "It's the best feeling I've ever had in sports.

"It came down to a kicker's finish and that's the strongest point of my race."

Walsh ran among the top five the entire race and moved up to third on the second lap. He stayed there until the 300 mark when he first challenged Plotner. The Bruin pulled away and went after Wagner. But, the eventual champion ran off and the move expended much of Plotner's energy.

"The whole way I was telling myself be confident, be confident. With 500 meters to go, I was right where I needed to be," Walsh said. "On the last lap, I was going all out and that surely paid off.

"When Wagner pulled away. I thought Plotner would fall back and I could squeak in. That's what happened."

Walsh ended his night with the 800, finishing 15th overall in 1:57.66.

"I really didn't feel I had anything left, but I'm glad I gave it a shot," he said. "I can walk out of here with a smile. When you come in, you're too nervous and concentrating on what you have to do."

Rogers found out his finish just minutes before the awards were passed out. The Wildkat junior cleared 6-6.

"I'm surprised, but it makes me feel better," he said. "If I had cleared 6-4 the first time, I would have been fourth or fifth.

"I can't believe I didn't get 6-7. I didn't feel myself hitting [the bar]. This is much better than last year, a lot better."

Rogers passed the opening height of 6-2, coming in at 6-4 where he missed his first two attempts. He cleared on the third and made 6-6 on his first leap.

Northwestern's Jay Young wrapped up his career 13th in the high jump, clearing 6-4.

"I felt really good all day. I was having a good day jumping," the Tiger athlete said. "It's better than last year because I cleared the opening height."

Burkholder struggled throughout trying to get his standard settings correct. He finished with a height of 14-0.

"I just didn't put it all together," Burkholder said. "I had a bad day vaulting."

Clinton Central's Nick Hazlett cleared the opening height of 13-0 and ended up 27th.

Peru senior Elliot Cohee also just missed a medal, finishing 11th overall in the 300 hurdles at 39.25 and 17th in the highs at 14.94.

"I didn't pick a good night to have a bad race," Cohee said of the 300 hurdles. "I thought it was going OK, but at the end I stumbled on a couple hurdles. If I had a good race, I'm still not sure if I would have got a PR. This was my first time here and maybe I let my nerves get me a bit.

"The highs, I felt good. I felt like I was floating along and when I crossed the finish line I saw my time. I didn't think I was that slow. But, it's been a great experience."

Phillips came through 21st in the 1,600 with a time of 4:27.85, a performance that left him smiling.

"That was the fastest competition I've been in. It feels like you're going all out and you're getting passed left and right," he said. "But, you don't seem to get as tired."

Wildkat teammate Major Ramsey had the same reaction with his 22nd-place finish in the 200 dash in 22.95.

"I've never seen competition like that. I feel pretty good because I competed well," Ramsey said. "That's better than what I was seeded [27th]. It's a nice way to end up. I can't picture I'll ever do something like that again in front of thousands of people."

Hamilton Heights' Blaine Zimmerman finished fourth behind Wagner in the 3,200 run with a time of 9:17.77.

Northrop set a meet record for points scored with 86 to win its first championship since 1997.