Western, Kokomo set the pace in boys track and field

Area track preview

By CHRIS GARNER
Tribune sportswriter
Tuesday, April 05, 2005

For the past three seasons, the boys track and field teams at Kokomo and Western have waged monumental battles in the Kokomo Sectional.

The two squads tied for the title in 2003, the Wildkats came back in 2004 to slip past the Panthers, and last season it was Western that beat Kokomo by 161/2 points. While the Panthers celebrated only their second sectional championship in school history, they plan to stay on top. The Kats, with 54 such titles, look to reassert their dominance.

“I’m sure a county school winning that sectional doesn’t sit well with Kokomo,” said Western coach Dana Neer. “It’s a tough, competitive meet, and we’re getting better as we go along. We’re going to be competitive again.”

Said Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes, “We take a lot of pride in winning the sectional. Western was very good last year and will be very good this year.”

If the Panthers hope to repeat, they must replace some talented seniors, including sprint champion Tommy Jenkins, the school-record holder in the 100 and 200 meters.

“Tommy was the most accomplished sprinter we’ve ever had at Western,” Neer said. “His leadership is missed, as well as Blayne [Burkholder, second place] in the pole vault. But the ripple effect of that is we have seven enthusiastic pole vaulters, and Blayne has set the tone for that.”

One of Neer’s most decorated athletes should be senior Brandon Youngdale. He jumped a school record 6 feet, 6 inches to finish ninth in the state a year ago and is a threat to go even higher in 2006.

“He’s really matured into such a great athlete,” Neer said of the senior, who will also long jump and run the 400 meters.

Seniors Sean Holsapple, currently battling hamstring injuries, and Kyle Irwin represent what could be a Panthers stronghold in the hurdles. Holsapple won the 2005 sectional 110-meter race and was second in the 300. Irwin was fifth in both races, and sophomore Patrick Lennon finished fifth in this year’s state indoor meet in the small class 55-meter hurdles race.

Sophomore Alex Sigler could contribute in the 200, the 400, the sprint relays, the long jump and high jump. He’s joined in the sprints by freshmen Kyle Brown and Brady Irwin and seniors Cody Earlywine and Jordan Cory.

Luke Minor leads the distance corps, which includes freshman Jared Hall, senior Adam Bahler and junior Trevor Mann. Seniors Ryan Orr and Shawn Parkins man the 800 meters and the 4x800 relay, and freshman Zac Martinez — whom Neer compared to Western product and Indiana State runner Kyle Walsh — could have an impact anywhere above 400 meters.

Senior Brad Speck (400 meters) gives Neer a nice 1-2 punch in the high jump along with Youngdale, and pole vaulter Kyle Gann (4th, 2005 sectional) is recovering from knee surgery during wrestling. Senior Blair Stellhorn was vaulting around 12 feet last year and returns along with junior Aaron Trost. Eric Fiscus is the current No. 1 in both discus and shot put, along with senior Jake Cole, Matt Deeter, Zach White and Ryan Radford.

Below is a capsule of each of the remaining Howard County teams, in alphabetical order:

Eastern

The Comets finished a strong fourth place in last year’s sectional and have 39 athletes out this season, although 24 of them are freshmen or sophomores, with more on the way in years to come.

“We’re optimistic about the present and the future,” said coach Paul Nicholson. “We’ve cranked up our middle school program and we’re very excited about our feeder system.”

Junior Austin Roark is one of Nicholson’s top returnees. He was fifth in the sectional 100-meter dash and second in the long jump last season. Roark has leaped 20 feet, 7 inches in 2006.

“His best race, if we had time to specialize and train him, would be the 400,” Nicholson said. “He’d be a real threat, but I use him in the shorter events for the points.”

Senior Ora Etchison, who placed fifth in the sectional pole vault a year ago, will help solidify the sprints along with sophomore Cody McMahan, who runs the 400 meters and anchors the 4x400 relay.

Three more seniors, Jason O’Haver, Jaron Walling and Brandon Hartley, hold down the hurdles positions. O’Haver was sixth in the sectional 110 high hurdles last year.

Drew Parton leads a group of eight juniors. He ran a 4:52 1,600 meters in last week’s dual-meet win over Northwestern. Parton also runs the 800 and high jumps, along with sophomore Ethan Flick, who has already gone 6 feet this season. He is recovering from a broken hand.

Senior Michael Boerner throws the shot put and discus while sophomore Kyle Land throws shot and classmate Mike Pratt throws discus and pole vaults.

Junior Ryan Martin will help rebuild the relays, which were hit hard by graduation. He leads off the 4x400 but has battled nagging injuries. Freshman Steven Boomershine (400, 800 meters) could be the best of Nicholson’s “babes in the woods” freshmen that include Tommy Lott and Cody Young.

Kokomo

Despite having their four-year streak of sectional championships broken, the Kats are taking a positive approach to the 2006 season.

“We’re a balanced team in that we can be very solid in each of the three major areas — the sprints, the throws and the distance events,” said Byrnes.

Kokomo won the North Central Conference cross country meet last fall and the plan is to build on that success this track season.

“[Distance runners] Ryan Perry, Mason McGovern, Tony Robinette, Matt Robinson, Devin White and Ian Holtson are going to be the building blocks for us,” Byrnes said.

Perry was sixth last year in the sectional 800 meters, White was eighth in the 1,600 and McGovern was eighth in the 3,200. Perry is a junior and White and McGovern are sophomores. Another sophomore, Brandon Sheline, was sixth in the 3,200 a year ago but is injured, and Byrnes isn’t sure when or if he will return this season.

In the field, junior Jesse Rayl, the two-time defending sectional champion and already over 21 feet this spring, leads a talented group of long jumpers that includes seniors Zeb Bartolome, Howard Murphy and George Foreman.

Rayl and Bartolome, a state qualifier in the 200 meters, lead Lorren Davis, James Armstrong, Evan Wilson and Murphy in the sprints.

High jumper senior Justin Pugh was a state qualifier last season and is the defending 300-meter sectional champion, backed up by DeAngelo McClatchey and Ross Pierce.

Bartolome returns in pole vault, along with senior Andrew Cook and Caleb Shockley. First-year senior Josh Dunson and Frank Gonzalez handle the 400 meters.

“We still have a pretty good track team,” Byrnes said. “What we are now and what we’re going to be in May are two different things. We have to keep working hard and improving.”

Northwestern

The Tigers face “a challenge” in the words of coach Peter Schroer to fill positions and find the personnel capable of improving on their ninth-place sectional finish.

“It’s a tough [season] in terms of points coming back,” said Schroer. “Matt Ullmer was our No. 2 points winner and Josh Gallaway was No. 4, but then the points really start getting thin.”

Ullmer was the 2005 county champion in the 800 meters, and the junior standout was third in both the 800 and 1,600 at the Kokomo Sectional. He was responsible for or helped score 18 of Northwestern’s 30 sectional points last year.

Jesse Bauson and freshman Kory Kennedy will join Ullmer as certain contributors in the distance events. In the sprints, junior Gallaway and freshman Elliott Mervis are the only sure-things.

“Once we get past Josh in the sprints, who is a known commodity, it gets wide open,” Schroer said. “It can be anybody. I have no idea right now.”

Gallaway will also long jump.

Schroer has three returning seniors in Adam Hoeksema, Dan Rozsahegyi and Jordan Reed, as well as Tim Paulton, who is out for track for the first time. David Bahler mans the hurdles along with Hoeksema in the 300 meters.

“Adam is a great example of a kid who works hard and tries to get the most out of his ability,” said Schroer. “He’s one of those guys you really like to have around.”

Patrick Hagmaier (knees) is finally healthy and off to a good start in the shot put and discus. Jarred Pickett (shot put) and freshman Brock Ford (discus) have secured throwing spots.

“We only have six guys who scored more than 10 points last year,” Schroer said. “The good news is it makes things very competitive on the team. Those guys all want to earn spots.”

Taylor

The Titans will build around a strong group of sprinters and search for a replacement for the graduated Christopher Sinnett, a state qualifier last season in the 1,600 meters.

“We would like to have had [Sinnett] another year,” said coach Steve Hanlon. “That’s a big loss for us. We’re really struggling in the distance events right now.”

Senior Joktan Hart is Taylor’s most experienced distance runner returning. Junior Ronald Miller-Norris (800 meters) and newcomer junior Chris McKee will try to fill Sinnett’s spikes.

Senior Jason Thompson, a regional qualifier in 100 meters in 2005, returns to lead the sprinters. He also runs the 200 and the 4x100 relay. Junior Ishan Gohil returns in the 100, 200 and both sprint relays, and senior Kelvin Vazquez (100, 4x100) is out for the first time this year.

Freshman Andrew Duran adds depth, and classmate Shaun Fogleman and returning sophomore Zsan Black both run the 400 meters and high jump.

“In large meets, a few guys can end up scoring a lot of points any time you have a large group of sprinters,” Hanlon said. “We’re improving and that’s all I can ask.”

Junior Alex Waltman was seventh in the 2005 sectional long jump, where Black joins him. Hanlon expects both to have outstanding seasons.

Junior Brady Jester returns in the hurdle events after breaking his arm last year. Sophomore Robvis Stamp also runs the 300 hurdles. Junior Andrew Aaron helps with the 4x400 relay and pole vaults, along with juniors Matt Wilborn and Ryan Rodriguez. Zach Washington throws the discus and puts the shot.

“In all areas other than distance, I’m pretty optimistic about what we can do,” Hanlon said. “And I see some promise in the distance but some kids are going to have to pick it up. Some of them are just learning how to run.”