2010 Howard County track athletes look to cement name in history

Kokomo Tribune - Saturday, June 05, 2010

With nine team state championships and more than 50 individual state titles, Kokomo boys track and field has a history rivaled by few schools in Indiana.

Since Emerson Applegate in 1910, the Wildkats have excelled from the sprints and the relays to the jumps and the throws.

But one category of excellence stands out more than any other for the Kats — the long jump.

Kokomo athletes have captured a total of nine long jump crowns, more than any other school. And from 1990 to 1995, led by three-time winner Frankie Young, Wildkat jumpers won five out of the six years.

Now another heir — a true heir — John Alsup Jr., begins his quest to add to that total. He’s the No. 3 seed in long jump at today’s IHSAA State Finals in Bloomington.

Field trials begin at 3 p.m. with running finals at 6:15.

“Long jump is something that’s very special to him,” Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes said of Alsup, whose father, John Alsup Sr., was the 1990 state champion.

“I’d love to see him go down there and maybe win a state championship. That would be awesome.”

After Alsup Sr., the first Wildkat to jump 24 feet, Pat Pierce won in 1991. Then came Young, who twice leaped his state record distance of 24 feet, 7 3/4 inches, a record that still stands.

And shadowing Young was classmate Jauron Pigg, who twice finished second to Young — once jumping 24-6 — and one time finishing third.

“We called ourselves ‘Long Jump Capital of the World,’” said longtime jumps coach Craig Bennett, now retired and living in The Villages, Fla.

“I went to a [coaching] clinic in Chicago and they were jumping off of boxes [as a training tool],” explained Bennett, who along with head coach Larry Ruch wound up in the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches hall of fame.

“I didn’t think it was too promising but I thought I’d give it a try. We’d put a box on the board and work on our hitch kick. We only had to use maybe five steps that way. It was four times the work with less strain. It was just a great teaching tool that worked amazingly.”

Bennett said Alsup Sr. and Young were particularly hard workers. Byrnes says Alsup Jr. is much the same way.

“John does everything on the track we ask him to do,” said Byrnes. “He’s very serious about it and a pleasure to work with. Look at how he came on our 4x400 relay team when he’d run the 4x1 all year.”

Alsup won’t be alone. The Kats take their largest contingent downstate in a number of years.

They include Robert Lancaster in the 110-meter high hurdles, Alsup in the 200 (he qualified in the 100 but scratched), Tony Moses in the 400, Adrian Glover in the 800, David Sirmons in shot put and the 4x400 relay team of Michael Clifton, Glover, Alsup and Moses.

Sirmons is the only senior in the bunch. None are seeded among the top nine places except Alsup in long jump.

“This group of kids has never had the chance to get to the state meet,” Byrnes said. “With another good year of training they have an opportunity to medal.”

Eastern senior Kevin Jackson is the lone local returnee to the finals. He was 12th in pole vault a year ago and has lofty goals this year, including the school record of 16-1 held by Jeremy Ashcraft, the 1994 state champion.

Jackson cleared 14-6 to win the Kokomo Regional. He’s been over 15-6 this season.

“I didn’t jump to my potential [at regional] but I’ll get it worked out for [today],” said Jackson, a University of Louisville recruit. “I’ll come out knowing what I need to do to win state this year. I’ve been working towards it all season long.”

Comet junior Blake Donson is the No. 2 seed in discus, winning the regional crown with a throw of 177 feet, 5 inches — 18 feet beyond his personal-best. It equaled the all-time area best set by Western’s Demetrius Gaines in 1979.

“It’s a matter of being focused and fired up, and we sometimes have that strength we didn’t know we had,” Eastern coach Paul Nicholson said of Donson, who was trying to shuffle between discus and high jump. He won’t have that problem today.

“He did a great job of staying composed. He didn’t get shook when he fell behind. I’m very proud of Blake. He’s driven and just full of potential in everything he ever does.”

Not far behind Donson is Western senior Trevor Buckalew. He also went beyond his PR to finish third at regional with a distance of 168-10, good enough for the No. 5 seed today.

“We just hope Trevor can be in the top 10 finalists,” said Panthers coach Marvin Boswell. “He’s feeling comfortable in the ring, his confidence level is up and I think as far as when to use that big size and strength of his, he has that feeling right now.”

Buckalew is joined by classmate Austin Young.

Young managed only a third-place finish in the 3,200 at the Kokomo Sectional in 10:01.80, then improved to a 9:42.21 to place third at regional. Boswell believes Young has more improvement within himself.

“Mentally he’s ready to compete at that level and push himself a little harder because of the competition,” Boswell said. “We may see a different race out of Austin Saturday.”