STRONG IN THE FIELD

BOYS TRACK: Howard County season preview
Panthers feature state discus champ Gilbert

Kokomo Tribune - Wednesday, Apr 4, 2018

Western’s boys track and field team had a lot to replace after winning the Kokomo Sectional last season. Like a lot of teams in Howard County, Western has a lot of new athletes, which means a lot of work to do to find their best events and how to get points from them.

One Panther that there are no questions about is Tyler Gilbert.

The senior thrower is the defending state champion in discus. He won’t sneak up on anyone, but he may turn heads with an improving game. His longest official effort last season was his sectional-winning distance of 177 feet, 1 inch, but he’s gotten into the 180s in practice.

“You start off with our state champion discus guy,” Western coach Gary Jewell said. “I think we’ll score pretty well in the throws this year. Tyler is bigger, stronger, more technically correct. He’s a technician when it comes to throws and I think he’s going to surprise some people. He’s one of those guys we’re looking towards to scoring points consistently.”

Gilbert won state last spring with a toss of 173-10. Graduated senior Josh Everetts also reached state in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

A lot has changed since then.

“It’s a bit different than last year,” Jewell said of his 37-member squad. “Eighty-five percent of the points we scored at sectional last year are now gone. But everybody goes through that. We only have seven seniors this year but the seniors we have, they will contribute pretty well.

“We do have a lot of new faces, not just freshmen but sophomores and a junior or two. We’re emphasizing this year that it’s a great opportunity for young guys to step up.”

Gilbert’s presence in the throws makes that department one of the areas Western will rely on for points. He’s joined by senior Luke Lushin in throws and Jewell hopes to get both to advance out of the sectional this season.

Despite losing Everetts, Jewell thinks the distance crew will hold its own. Seniors Andrew Granfield and Tyler Lechner are the anchors there. Granfield was part of the winning 4x800 relay squad at last year’s sectional. Sprinter Alex Newman rounds out the seniors.

The question marks are all over.

Jewell said the holes to fill from last season are “across the board, that’s sprints and jumps and hurdles. We have new guys doing those and it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. Nothing is really settled at this point.”

Another key returning contributor is sophomore Hunter Cottingham, who is a two-time state qualifier in wrestling. He’ll pole vault (where he cleared 11-6 last season) and can also help in long jump, sprints and hurdles. “He’s like a Swiss army knife — he does a lot of things. I think he’s going to have a really good season,” Jewell said.

Other important returnees are junior sprinter Charles Padgett, sophomore pole vaulter Noah Pownall, and junior sprinter and jumper Justin Harris.

“We’ve got this big long list of new guys,” Jewell said. “We do have some freshmen coming in that have a lot of promise in the sprints.”

Freshmen Nathaniel Liddell and Romey Collins are those promising sprinters. Elsewhere there are more new faces. Junior Conner Hartsough, sophomore Noah Stranahan and sophomore move-in Reggie Johnson are in sprints and hurdles. Sophomore Dominic Bauer is in sprints and jumps. Freshmen Brayden Curnutt is in distances and Matt Edison is in distances and mid-distances.

Jewell has some goals in mind for this season.

“Conference level — second or third. Beating [West Lafayette] last year, at this point in the season last year it never occurred to me that we could do that. If it happens again, great.

“Sectional, definitely top two. Kokomo should always be the favorite because they’ve got 1,800 kids in the school, but this is like an election — it’s about getting your people out.”

Western’s first meet at Northwestern on Tuesday night was postponed to April 21. The Panthers now open next Tuesday against Tipton and Kokomo at Kokomo.

Below are looks at the rest of the Howard County squads.

KOKOMO

New Kokomo coach Jordan Ousley takes over after three years coaching the middle school program. He takes over a team that has approximately 40 athletes. The Wildkats were second in the sectional last season.

“We have a pretty talented group,” Ousley said. “We have a raw group of kids and we have a lot of new ones out who have a lot of athletic potential. We have a group of experienced athletes. It is going to be about working the new in with the veterans and going from there.”

There are two sectors where the Kats are already on solid footing.

“I don’t know if I’d say strong, but we’re deep at our distance events,” Ousley said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who have been running for several years. And then I would also say probably our throwing events. We have a lot of throwers out. No one’s setting the world on fire right now but they’re improving and we have a good group. We’re comfortable we’ll have two or three guys who will step up and make a difference.”

Throwers include seniors Nate Pine, Kaijon East and Gavin Bitner.

“They’ve put in a lot of good work in the weight room and have some good experience,” Ousley said, who added that junior thrower Javias Gray is out for the first time.

Senior Cory Dea can be plugged into the 800, 1,600 or 3,200 after taking third in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the sectional last season.

“I can put him in there and he’ll give me all he’s got. He’s our No. 1 guy in distance,” Ousley said.

Also bolstering the distance crew are junior Julian Wallace, senior Alex Ward, senior Justin Taflinger and freshman Bryan Stolsfuz.

Versatility among several athletes is another strength.

Sophomore Quincy Armstrong is the top hurdler and can be used in the 200, 400, and 4x400. Wallace can run anywhere from 200 to the 3,200. Sophomore Chris Thomas can run the 100, 200, 400 or jump and can even be put in hurdle events.

Armstrong was third in the 300 hurdles at the sectional, reaching the regional. He and Wallace were on Kokomo’s winning 1,600 relay team with Thomas, while Thomas also was part of the winning 400 relay team.

Freshman Noa Wainscott is showing promise in sprints as well as both jumping events. Junior Andra Nash is back as the top long jumper and is also in sprints. Former Western athlete Jordan Hicks moved to Kokomo as a senior and is the top high jumper after taking third (the top Howard County spot) at last year’s sectional. Freshman Ja’Qwan Burnett is also in the high jump.Drake Blackburn, a junior, returns to pole vault after taking third at the sectional last season, joined by sophomore Malakai Smiley.

“I know the kids want to do well at conference and sectional, the same here for our coaches,” Ousley said. “We have a really tough conference in the NCC. Our goal is to go over there and compete with those guys, and obviously our sectional is always a pretty competitive sectional. Our goal is to be competitive in all the events. We want to make sure that we’re able to score points, we’re able to compete in everything.”Kokomo opens by hosting Western and Tipton next Tuesday.

EASTERN

A big group of 45 are out for the squad, including a lot of returning athletes, who hope to elevate the squad’s fortunes this season.

“Last year going into it we were a very inexperienced group, we had a lot of freshmen, we only had one senior,” Eastern coach Kyle Hannah said. “This year we have seniors who have stepped up. Our senior captains have been able to lead stretching, get things organized so we’re able to get things done efficiently. I think it’s going to be a much more organized year.”The Comets have strength in sprints and field events.

“Sprints is definitely our No. 1 focus because we have a lot of guys back from last year that really helped us score a lot of points,” Hannah said. “And of course I feel like we’re pretty good in field events as well because we have Aren Turner, who is our main pole vaulter.”

Turner reached the state finals in pole vault last season after clearing 13-3 to take second in the regional and will also help in other events. Hannah’s goal for Turner is to qualify for state in two events.

“We’re expecting big things from him [in pole vault], but he’s also a long jumper,” Hannah said. “He could even high jump if we asked him to.”

The field events have several veteran athletes.

“We’re pretty strong in the long jump, we’ve got a lot of depth there,” Hannah said. “Obviously Aren Turner, he was a conference champ there. He’s a 20-foot jumper. Then we added Greg Black, he wasn’t able to compete last year because he was a transfer student. He’s only a junior this year, he’s also pushing 20 feet. We still have Lance Van Matre back from last year, he already hit 20 feet last year as a freshman.

“We’ve added a lot of depth in throwing this year.”

Hannah said the distance group has also improved a lot.

Seniors include Turner, Caleb Price (800, 4x800 relay, 300 hurdles), Josh Reprogle (distances) and Tyler Hurston (throws). Reprogle has shown a lot of improvement already and Hurston should benefit from being healthy after missing roughly half of last season due to injury.

Juniors include Black (long jump, 400, 4x100, possibly 800), Jack Johnson (800, 4x800, 4x400), Dakota Spencer (sprints, 110 hurdles), who Hannah expects to be a key contributor due to “great form, great speed, great power.”

Among the sophomores are Van Matre (4x100, 200, 100, possibly 4x400, long jump or high jump); Asher Walden (throws), Nate Lam (throws) and Jared Smith (1,600, 800, 4x800 and possibly high jump).

Freshmen who may factor in include Caleb Vogl (3,200, 1,600, possibly 4x800), Brayden Richmond (3,200, 1,600, possibly 4x800), Evan Monize (400, 800), and Drew Monize (800, 400). Vogl and Richmond both enjoyed success this past fall with the cross country squad.

“We only had one senior last year and now we have pretty much everybody back,” Hannah said. “I’m very, very excited about this season.”

Hannah said last season the goal was to get one person, any person, to the state finals. The goals are higher this time including more representation in the final week of the season, to win an invite, and to win the Hoosier Heartland Conference.

“This year we really think we can get two guys to the state finals and one of them we think can place,” Hannah said. “Aren could place. I think we could get a second guy down there to the state finals.”

Eastern’s opening meet with Taylor and Tipton on Tuesday was called off. The Comets now open with Northwestern and Elwood at home Thursday.

NORTHWESTERN

The Tigers have a small core of experienced returnees in a team of 40 athletes.

“I’m happy with the numbers we have,” NW coach Dave Stevens said. “We’re extremely bottom heavy. I have 29 between the sophomore and freshmen class. That’s pretty tough with only 11 upperclassmen.

“We have some upperclassmen that are experienced that I think are going to help.”

Roughly 15-20 of the underclassmen are new to track. Among returning Tigers, there are a few known commodities in spots where Stevens thinks he can get points quickly as coaches settle on a lineup and incorporate the newcomers.

“We have Mitchell Harrell coming back to the hurdles,” Stevens said of the junior. “I think he’s going to run both hurdle events. We’ve got a couple of young hurdlers that are freshmen that are trying it for the first time.”

There’s experience in the field events with sophomore Ethan Kinney and senior Joe Johns in long jump and junior Nick Jozwiak will pole vault. Some newcomers to the field group are sophomores Tayson Parker and Jack Bilkey, who may both line up in long jump. Another option in field events is junior Gus Bourff, who may move from running events.

Junior Zeke Williams is the leader in both throws and is looking particularly solid in shot put. Sophomore Evan Gaylor and freshmen Kyle Cardwell are also in shot and discus.

“I’ve got eight guys running distance right now — no seniors in the group,” Stevens said. “The leaders from cross country will be Jacob Myers, he’s a junior, and Mitchell Harrell may run in the 4x8. Ethan Collins is a returner, probably our No. 1 800 guy, he’s a sophomore.

“Another guy from the cross country team that will run the two mile is Jace Cournoyer, he’s a sophomore and he ran the two mile for us as a freshman.”

Stevens noted two newcomers who look to be strong additions to the distance crew: sophomore Patrick Bath (800, 1,600, 4x800 relay) and freshman Tommy Lunsford.

Senior Grant Ford, a fourth-year contributor, is the first name on the sheet among the 21 who may slot in anywhere from the 100 to the 400. He’ll run the 100, 200 and 4x100. Sophomore Elijah Collins and freshman Sonny Rosetto will also run those races, and Bilkey and sophomore Brayden Scering will add to the sprint group.

Bourff is likely the lead 400 runner, with Johns and junior Caleb Treadway also lining up there. Jozwiak will also sprint this season after running distances previously, with Kinney and Parker likely to slot in somewhere. Freshman Max Garro is likely to take spots in the 200, 400 and 4x400.

Stevens said the young sprinters will benefit from having the Tigers’ only two seniors — Ford and Johns — there to lead the dashers.

“Do I see any automatics? I think I’m going to get points in the long jump, I think I’m going to get points in the dashes, the 100 and 200,” Stevens said. “I have a really good group of kids who can push each other in the distance. Against really good schools I won’t score, but against average schools I should get points in the distance.

“The throws guys, we should score points a lot, but not necessarily win, but we should score points.”

With Northwestern’s Tuesday meet with Western postponed to April 21, the Tigers are set to open at Eastern Thursday against Elwood and the host Comets.

TAYLOR

The Titans are a little up in numbers with 25 people on the squad and had some solid results last season to build on.

“I was glad to see our returners,” Taylor coach Matt Carlile said. “We had a sophomore class last year that just had a lot of talent, just glad to see all those guys coming back.”

Junior Clay Murray, sophomore Tyler Hall and senior Tanner Boley all had solid showings in the sectional. Murray and Hall posted Taylor’s best result at the sectional when they tied for fourth in high jump.

Carlile said the strength of the team is “probably the field events, in the jumps — high jump, long jump — [and] long sprints.

“That sophomore class last year — in fact one was a freshman — a couple of guys placed in sectional their first time out, and they worked hard over the summer too. They’re a lot stronger than they were last year.”

Junior Anthony Sommer and sophomore Maxx Amos are in pole vault. Murray is in the high jump and long jump, and Hall is in high jump.

Junior Hunter Forrey, sophomore Ze’Vion Ezell, sophomore Alex Kropczynski, junior Richard Taper, senior newcomer Jolen Harris, sophomore Justin Morgan and senior Bailey Rostron are sprinters.

Senior Jacob Richmond, sophomore Trent Monroe, sophomore Tyler Pyle, junior Drew Smith and Taper are throwers.

Tanner Boley, sophomore Konner Boley and junior Eli Paul carry the load in distances.

“Our middle, long distance, it’s been down for a couple years, and the returners we do have, they’ve been working out and improved quite a bit, but I don’t know that we’ll fill a 4x8,” Carlile said. “They’ll do better individually but the numbers are down.”

Also freshmen Josh Doty, Jack Bogue, Ethan Griffin and Keegan Alexander will mix in once their best events are determined.

Carlile likes the group’s chances to show improvement.

“I’m just hoping they meet their new personal goals because we should score a lot of points if they’re hitting the times they should be at,” Carlile said. “I’m just hoping all their hard work pays off and they see the results of it. A lot of this group of kids worked the entire offseason getting stronger.”

With Taylor’s meet against Eastern and Tipton on Tuesday called off, the Titans are now set to open Thursday when they play host to Tri-Central.