Moses is second in 400

Killings suffers bad luck in 110 hurdles.

Kokomo Tribune - Sunday, June 04, 2012

BLOOMINGTON — Kokomo’s Tony Moses did everything he was supposed to do to win the 400-meter race in the Indiana boys track and field state meet Saturday night at Indiana University.

But Lawrence Central senior Jeron Brown proved to be just a little better, edging the No. 1-seeded Moses with a time of 48.08 against Moses’ 48.78. Moses still was the area’s top finisher in the meet but he said it just wasn’t meant to be.

“It is disappointing but Jeron had an amazing kick and I knew I couldn’t catch him,” Moses said after the medal ceremony. “I pretty much ran my race, but he just ran better. I did what I had to do.”

Wildkats coach Tom Byrnes said he knew it would be a tough race for Moses, but agreed that his senior did just about everything he needed to do.

“Tony ran an awesome race,” Byrnes said. “I’m so happy he ended up second. I know he’s a little disappointed, but I thought he ran a great race. Tony did a nice job of eating up the stagger and making the last 200 meters a little faster. That’s what we talked all week about trying to do. He ran very smart.”

Moses said he was nervous before the race but the all the butterflies went away once the gun sounded. He said he even heard his mother, Carmalita Thomas, from the stands as he ran.

“I’m very proud of him,” Thomas said as she gave her son a hug as he left the track complex. “It’s been a long road for him.”

Byrnes noted Moses’ runner-up finish was the best by a Kokomo athlete in a running event at state since 1977 when Bill Keller was runner-up in the 2-mile run. The last Kokomo athlete to win a running event at state was Ken Toye in 1952.

While Moses earned a medal, there was probably no bigger heartbreak than what happened to classmate Taylor Killings. Running in the 110-meter hurdle finals, Killings fell over the first hurdle and didn’t finish the race.

Killings had placed ninth last year and entered the high hurdle finals with the seventh best time in prelims.

“My lead leg went under the hurdle and it knocked me down,” Killings said. “I was pretty confident going in but that was my last race. It really hit me hard, but I don’t know what you can do about it.”

Byrnes said he felt Killings had a shot to do well in the race, but it was just another case of not getting the breaks.

“The amazing thing is in the four years I’ve coached him, I’ve never seen Taylor fall over a hurdle,” Byrnes said. “My heart just breaks for him. He was a top 5. You’ve got to be talented and you have to be lucky and unfortunately we weren’t lucky I n the hurdles race.”

For some, the state meet was a learning experience for the future. Western sophomore Matt Grider ran his personal best race in the 3,200 meters by 16 seconds (9:24.15), but didn’t finish high enough to score. He was 21st. Zienasellassie Futsum of North Central set a meet record 8:51.15 to win the race.

“I learned you have to go out strong and stay with them because they will run a lot faster than their seed times,” Grider said. “I have a lot of confidence now and I know if I put in a lot of miles this summer I could get even better. I knew they were going to go out really fast and my coach told me not to get sucked into that.”

Eastern’s two state meet entrants did not advance to the finals. Senior Josiah Price finished 11th in the shot put with a best throw of 53-9. In the long jump, junior Grant Cole placed 15th with a best leap of 21-7 1⁄2.