ACCELERATED LANES

GIRLS TRACK: Howard County season preview

Kokomo Tribune - Wednesday, Apr 4, 2018

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Tribune sportswriters
 

As a freshman last season, Kokomo speedster Tionna Brown certainly lived up to the hype surrounding her as she opened her high school track and field career with two podium finishes and two school records at the state finals in the 100- and 200-meter sprints.

This season, with a new coach and a healthy boost in numbers, the outlook could be even brighter for the Wildkats.

“Kokomo is my hometown, and I’ve always wanted to come back here and teach at some point in my career,” said first-year Kats coach John Malone, who led the Peru girls to a 2015 sectional title.

Malone brings 11 years of experience to the Kats.

“It just so happened a track job was open. I thought it was a good opportunity to come back home and give back a little bit.”

And certainly the allure of Brown entering her sophomore season didn’t hurt.

“Well, that’s part of it. I’m more of a team-type of coach," Malone said. "That was part of the allure, but I like all of the girls equally.”

And he has quite a selection for the 2018 edition.

“I did a little homework and saw where last year there were only 26 girls on the team,” Malone said. “This year we have 44 which fell a little short of what I wanted. But we’re getting the numbers up a little bit and that’s what’s got me excited.”

Brown took fifth in the 100 (:11.99) and fourth in the 200 (:24.64) at state last year. She'll look to again dominate in the 100 and 200 this season.

“She’ll also long jump and run the 400 in some meets," Malone said. "But the 100 and the 200 is our bread and butter."

Junior Olivia Eddington is the Kats' No. 2 sprinter. Malone sees her as a nice complement to Brown in the 100 and 200.

Senior Nicole Erny is the sole returning hurdler and will do both the 100 and 300 hurdles. Sophomore Haley L. Salinas will be hurdling as well.

Freshman Haley E. Salinas will run the 1,600 and 3,200. Senior Taylor Walden, freshman Ava Briggs, junior Tyasia Burks and sophomore Josilynn McNeil will add depth to the distance squad, factoring into mid-distance events as well.

Junior Brianne Jones will be one of the top throwers, while senior Keaira Fowler and sophomore Mackenzie Martin will throw discus and shot as well.

“We have a lot of throwers out, I think about 13 to 14 throwers, so there may be some other girls emerging," Malone said.

Sophomore Indya Swain returns as a high jumper.

Junior Liesl Elkin, freshman Kaitlyn McGraw and junior Nivaeh Partlow will handle pole vaulting duties.

"It’s going to take a while to develop this team," Malone said. "We are trying to figure out an identity here. We are trying to figure out where girls go, where best to have them. By mid-May we hope to at least be in the conversation somewhere."

Kokomo opens next week, hosting Western and Tipton on April 10.

Following are looks at each of the other Howard County squads.

EASTERN

A new coach and several new faces mix into the Comets’ makeup as the season gets underway with a home meet against Taylor and Tipton on Tuesday.

“Forty percent of our team is freshmen, and another 40 percent is sophomores, so 80 percent of our team is underclassmen,” Eastern coach Drew Reed said. “So we’re super young which poses some good things and some difficult things.”

While he’s a first-year head coach, Reed is no stranger to the track program. He’s been an assistant for the past three seasons, spending a year with former coach Michael Goodspeed and the past two with Ben Cox.

“They did a good job setting me up to win,” Reed said. “It’s kind of been right down the line through the three of us. We’ve been with the girls now for a long time. It’s been a really smooth transition. Honestly, it’s been a cool experience and I’ve really enjoyed it up to this point. A little more responsibility, but it’s been good.”

Reed inherits returning talent along with plenty of young and inexperienced talent.

“Our strength and our weakness is our age,” Reed said. “We’ve got a lot of great talent. I’ve got a couple of really great freshmen kids that I think are really going to be staples and flagships of their spots.”

Reed pointed to Arie Turner and Ella Kantz as two of those freshmen.

Turner will be a sprinter and long jumper, typically running the 100 and 200 as well as a leg of the 4x100.

Kantz will handle distance events including the 1,600, 3,200, 800 and even the 4x400 at times.

“She did a great job in cross country as a freshman, qualifying for regional,” Reed said. “We’re going to switch her up sometimes in that relay, but I’m really going to need her in that 1,600, 3,200 and 800. Those two are just really going to be solid cornerstones.”

Another freshman, Olivia Foland, will pole vault.

Senior Hailey Holliday returns as a thrower. Sophomore Katie Evans is another returning thrower.

Junior Molly Hapner returns in distance. She’ll run the 800 up, while senior Olivia Vogl returns to run the 800 as well as the mile. Senior Cassie Williams and junior Cassie Bryan are sprinters and hurdlers. Both will likely run the 400 as well as hurdles. Both will also be part of the 4x100.

"Last year we were really, really close to winning [Hoosier Heartland] conference on paper," Reed said. "We had some good performances but just fell a little short. With some of the influxes of talent, I think we stand a pretty good chance of being able to compete for that top spot in our conference."

NORTHWESTERN

Optimism abounds for the Tigers, who feature just four seniors but a deep squad that coach Mary Clem says is the best team she’s fielded in a decade.

“It really is,” Clem said. “To see what we have is amazing. And to know I can fall back on anybody at any time is nice. We should do well this year.”

Clem noted that while numbers are right around the same as last year at 40, the level of competition is higher.

“In all the years I’ve coached track this is probably my strongest team because of the depth,” Clem said. “We’ve got a lot of depth this year. The girls are having to fight for positions. It’s not as easy as in the past. It’s a wonderful problem.”

Distance runner Kate Bilkey, thrower Riley Garner and hurdler Madison Prifogle are the top returning seniors, followed by a strong junior class.

Kailyn Devault and Kaylee Watson provide a pair of dominant sprinters in the junior class.

“They’re part of the 4x100, the 4x400, the 100, the 400,” Clem said. “I look for them to bring in big numbers for us this year.”

Lauryn Fackler, Sasha Jocius and Casey Lechner provide a trio of junior distance runners who should put up points, while No. 1 thrower Jaimy LaLonde is another name out of the junior class Clem is looking at to put up numbers.

Sophomores Rachel Mast (high jump, sprints), Lauren Longshore (distance, pole vault) and Johannah Hetzner (sprints) are looking to contribute, while Makala Pfefferkorn and Joan Easter are freshman Clem says have “come out pretty strong and I hope they stay strong."

Pfefferkorn is a hurdler who competed in the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympics meet at the University of Kansas with the K-Town Elite club last summer. Easter is “a high jumper, a long jumper, she runs the 100, the 400 and she’s quick,” Clem said. “I like it.”

The Tigers are scheduled to open the season playing host to Western on Tuesday.

Northwestern competed in Hamilton Heights’ Big Orange Invite for the first time last season, finishing fifth out of 12 teams.

“We’re excited for that,” Clem said. “That should let us know exactly where we’re at. We went last year for the first time and were pleased with our outcome. This year I think we can be right up there at one, two. I’m hoping at least. If we keep everybody healthy and running this is going to be one of Northwestern’s strongest teams.”

TAYLOR

Titan coach Nick Weicht said he has 13-15 girls out for the squad, which is down a little from last year.

“I feel like there is a lot of quality in those 15 girls,” Weicht said.

Key returns for Taylor include senior Ayden Richter, junior Brooke Morris, and sophomores Austyn Huffer and Alison Pemberton.

Richter runs the 100, 200, a leg of the 4x100 relay and throws shot put. Morris also runs the 100 and 200 and anchors the 4x100. Huffer does long jump, high jump, runs a leg on the 4x100, and runs a leg on the 4x400. Pemberton does long jump, high jump and leads off the 4x100.

“We feel pretty good about the dashes and the relay,” Weicht said. “The 4x100 relay team won the sectional last year and returns intact this season. It's really nice to have two quality sprinters like Morris and Richter who score points in nearly every meet.

“Huffer and Pemberton provide the same luxury in the jumps,” Weicht added. “Pemberton was a regional qualifier in the long jump last year. She's already been over 5-foot in high jump indoors this year. Huffer is not far behind her in the jumps.”

Throwing for the Titans this season will be sophomore Ellie Hall and freshman Ashlen Kropczynski. Freshman Belanna Aaron will run both hurdle events, bringing middle school experience to the mix. Sophomore Kirsten Alexander is primarily a 400 and 4x400 runner.

“She had a pretty strong freshman season and we expect her to build on that,” Weicht said of Alexander. “Last year we had no one to run distance events. This season junior Allison Abney is our primary distance runner. She will be running both the 1,600 and 3,200, and she may help out in other events as well.”

Senior Madison Howerton and freshman Hailey Owens will be pole vaulters. Howerton offers some experience to the event from last season.

Weicht is excited to see the squad in meet action. The Titans are set to open Tuesday at Eastern.

“I'm always excited for the beginning of the competition season,” Weicht said. “It's always fun to see kids improve over the course of a season. Girls start out believing that they can't do something, and then, at some point in the season, they beat a mark they didn't think they could. That's exciting to see.”

While the squad’s goals will obviously involve a successful season, growing and improving over the course of it is big on Weicht’s list as well.

“I always want them to be successful in competition and I think these girls will be successful, but seeing them grow and improve as athletes is always the most fun.”

WESTERN

The Panthers feature a mix of returning experience combined with new faces.

“We’re definitely a younger team, that’s for sure,” Western coach Brandon Shawhan said. “I’d say we have more experience than last year. We had a pretty good group of freshmen come in last season who are now sophomores. It helps to have that added experience. We have a pretty solid group of juniors as well. For the most part, it’s still definitely a fairly young team.”

Jordyn Edwards, Caylan Fields, Bronwyn Getts, Grace Sullivan, Olivia Wenger and Naomi Williams make up the Panthers’ senior class.

Edwards will run both hurdle events, Getts is a mid-distance runner, and Sullivan will handle sprints in the 100, 200 and 4x100 as well as possibly doing some long jumping. Fields, Wenger and Williams will help in throwing, an area where Shawhan said the Panthers have been lacking.

Mid-distance runner Natalie Nicholson returns for her junior season.

“I feel like she’s coming in even stronger this season,” Shawhan said of Nicholson, who will run the 800, 1,600, 4x800 and even the 4x400 at times. “She’s definitely someone who is going to make a big impact.”

Nicholson will join junior Emma Marley and Getts on the 4x800 team, “and there’s two other girls, [freshman] Sarah Manuel and [sophomore] Alivia Ford who will mix into that combination on the 4x800,” Shawhan said.

Marley also will run the 1,600 and possibly the 4x400, while Ford and sophomore Hannah Lushin will run the 3,200.

Junior Alex Parr and sophomore Makala Calloway are set to pole vault, while junior Haley Berry returns sprint experience.

“I think we will definitely be competitive,” Shawhan said. “How competitive, we’ll see what the drive is from our girls, who’s going to be able to give us the impact we need to see. But I think there are a number of girls who are highly capable of doing it.”

Manuel could also run the 800, while sophomore Olivia Lushin and junior Jenna Worthington will run the 400 and 4x400.

Other names in the mix for Western include a pair of freshmen in Taylor Berry and Abby Guge. Both are high jumpers, something Shawhan said the squad “didn’t really have last year.” Guge also will run sprints while Taylor Berry will run hurdles.

Freshman Spencer Holder could see time throwing discus, while junior Grace Meissnest will figure into hurdles and the 4x400. Sophomore Tyler Kiersten will run sprints and long jump, and sophomore Maddie Walker looks to mix into hurdles.

“I think we’re going to add more depth in places where we were lacking last year,” Shawhan said. “We’ve got a group of freshmen that is going to help to add to our depth. And I really like the overall attitude and work ethic of our girls. It feels like a special group of girls. Practices have been very positive. I look forward to competing with them this year.”