Kokomo Tribune - Friday, May 23 2008

— Sometimes it’s necessary to look hard for the silver lining in every dark cloud, and as skies darkened over the IHSAA Boys Track and Field Kokomo Regional at Walter Cross Field on Thursday, it became apparent the area would be shut out as far as athletes who could place among the top three in each event, thus qualifying for the state finals next week at Indiana University.

Gone were the Eastern pole vaulters, Cody Swisher and Kevin Jackson, seeded fourth and fifth, respectively. They tied for sixth place, clearing 13 feet, 6 inches but failing at 14 feet.

Eliminated was Northwestern junior Brock Ford, who was the sixth seed in discus but who failed to reach the finals of his event.

Peru’s Aaron Garretson actually had the most prosperous evening. He placed sixth in both the 1,600- and the 800-meter run. Western had the best team showing, finishing 24th with 7 1/2 points.

Stepping to the fore, though, was young freshman John Alsup of Kokomo, a familiar name to Wildkat fans. Alsup leaped 21 feet, 1 1/2 inches to place seventh in long jump, signaling he’s ready to take his place at Long Jump Prep — otherwise known as Kokomo High School.

Alsup’s father, John Alsup Sr., won the Indiana state long jump championship in 1990, the first of five long jump titles Wildkat athletes would win in the next six years, including three straight by the unparalleled Frankie Young. He is still the state record-holder at 24-7 3/4.

“When you have the name John Alsup in Kokomo, I’m sure he probably puts a little extra pressure on himself, but he’s a really nice kid from a good, solid family,” Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes said. “He’s going to be a good one before it’s all said and done. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him at the state meet before his high school career is over. We’ve just barely gotten started with him.

Alsup has saved his best for last. He leaped a career-best 20-9 1/4 last week at the Kokomo Sectional before topping that Thursday. The regional long jump field at Cross Field included no fewer than five athletes who met or exceeded the state’s standard for the state meet at 21-8 1/2, sending all five through instead of just the automatic three.

“He had a tremendous jump,” said Byrnes. “I’m really happy for him and it’s a great way to end your freshman year. Coming out of middle school he really struggled with consistency in hitting the board. As he gets stronger he’ll vastly improve.”

Garretson is a junior who plans to do some improving of his own. He was disappointed, as was everyone, not to advance beyond regional. His time of 2:00.31 in the 800 just missed his goal of breaking two minutes.

“It’s tough when you’ve got so many kids running at about the same speed,” Garretson said. “To pass someone you’ve got to go out to the third and fourth lanes. That kind of stunk but I did my best.”

Peru coach John Malone praised Garretson for hanging around to run the 4x400 relay with his teammates.

“Aaron’s a competitor and it’s good to see a guy disappointed, but he’s got another year to go,” said Malone. “He’s got some lofty goals. We’ll go back to the drawing board and get him ready for next year.”

Looking forward to next year will be sprinters Kyle Brown and Jerel Hall. They placed seventh and eighth, respectively, for the Panthers and both ran legs of the 4x400 relay team that finished eighth in a school record time of 3:28.55.

Seniors Alex Sigler and Kyle Young took their curtain calls in that event, and Young reflected on his final year, which included a sectional championship as a team.

“This last season has all come together after all the work we went through,” he said, “and to have it pay off at regional really feels good.”

Classmate Patrick Lennon placed eighth in the 110-meter high hurdles, while the 4x100 relay team of Ryan Elmore, Indy Mathew, Lennon and Hall tied for eighth. Junior Corey Scott placed seventh in the 3,200.

Northwestern did put freshman Sam Freeman eighth in the 800 and junior Kory Kennedy eighth in the 3,200.

Elkhart Memorial won the regional title with 58 points. South Bend Adams was second with 45.