Eastern, Kokomo ready for battle at track and field sectional

Western also in the mix

Kokomo Tribune - Thursday, May 20, 2010

Kokomo — One of the most anticipated runnings of the Kokomo Boys Track and Field Sectional in recent history finally unfolds today at Walter Cross Field.

No fewer than four teams could lay claim as challengers to the crown, or at least major threats to whoever does win, including the last three victors.

The host Wildkats haven’t won their sectional since 2006, when their current seniors were in middle school, but they possess six No. 1 seeds and plenty of depth and firepower to reclaim the title.

Oak Hill grabbed the title in 2007 and returns with another strong team, led by senior Cameron Balser. The Golden Eagles have three No. 1s.

And Western has captured the last two sectionals, running away from the field in 2009. The Panthers have played second fiddle this season to the Kats at the Kokomo Relays and to Eastern — the team all eyes will be watching — at last week’s Mid-Indiana Conference meet.

The Comets last won a sectional in 1998 but this season haven’t been beaten outdoors. They feature a senior-laden team with strengths in nearly every event.

Field events and trials begin at 5 p.m., with finals set for 6:30. The top four finishers in each event advance to the Kokomo Regional in one week.

“Eastern hasn’t been beaten by anybody this year and I know they’ve got high hopes of winning,” Kats coach Tom Byrnes said. “We feel like we have a shot at winning it but we have to run extremely well. Western and Oak Hill are going to score a lot of points too.”

Longtime Eastern mentor Paul Nicholson said there’s “less stress” when his team is just “middle of the pack” as in recent seasons, but he’ll gladly deal with the added tension.

“We live for these years when we can actually be contenders,” Nicholson said of his squad that includes seniors Hansen Martin, Mitch Padfield, Brett Buckmaster, Dylan Buck and Caleb Gibson — all parts of the Comets’ No. 1 seeded 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams.

“They’re pretty self-motivated. They all understand that if we are going to grab a sectional championship, this might be their best chance. It just depends on how things fall. Seeds don’t tell [the whole story].”

Indeed, the meet could very well hinge on the pivotal 4x400 relay — the final event — where Martin, Buck, Padfield and Buckmaster await.

But Byrnes has decided to counter by adding junior standout John Alsup to the trio of Tony Moses, Michael Clifton and Adrian Glover for the No. 2 seed Wildkats, which should be a potent combination.

Moses and Clifton are seeded 1-3 in the 400 and Glover is No. 2 in the 800. Alsup is the top seed in the 100, the 200 and the long jump.

“Our kids are excited and ready to go,” said Byrnes. “We took a couple days rest to kind of mentally get ourselves focused. I think the kids are going to perform well.

“It should be one of those great, special track meets.”

Neither coach gave any indication that punches will be pulled in an all-out effort to win.

“We’re not going to leave anything on the track, I know,” said Nicholson. “When we’re done we’re going to know we did our best. That’s either going to be enough or not.”

How close have the Panthers come to either Kokomo or Eastern this season? Western lost by nine points to the Kats at the Kokomo Relays and by nine points to the Comets at the MIC, scoring more than 100 points each time.

“I would think right now that Eastern has got to be right there with Kokomo fighting it out,” said Panthers coach Marvin Boswell, who’s seen both up close and personal. “Eastern is about as solid as can be. And they have risen to the occasion every time when it was called for. That’s the mark of a good team.

“I’ll tell you what, though, when I was at the Kokomo Relays and I watched the way Kokomo competed, that’s a pretty good team too. I wouldn’t count them out. It’s going to be an exciting meet, all 16 events.”

Senior Indy Mathew is Western’s lone No. 1. He’ll resume his rivalry with Taylor’s Austen Conwell, the No. 2 seed in the 300 hurdles and also No. 1 in the 110 hurdles, where Mathew is No. 4.

Senior Aaron Van Auken is No. 3 for the Panthers in the 110 and classmate Austin Young is No. 2 in the 1,600 and the 3,200.

Boswell said the Panthers know how important this meet is.

“Everybody is looking for advancement [to regional] but we’re also looking at what points we can get in which event,” he said. “And I’m sure the other teams are doing the same thing.

“We’ll get it figured out and play the best hand we have but yet still do what’s best for the individual and their advancement.”