GIRLS TRACK: Howard County season preview

Area squads set to open next week

By Pedro Velazco
Tribune sportswriter
 

It’s hard to imagine a more anticipated rookie than what the 2017 girls track season offers in Kokomo’s Tionna Brown.

A freshman who already boasts gold medals at the Junior Olympic level while in middle school, Brown brings speed and promise to a Wildkat program that already has a host of strong athletes hoping to put Kokomo’s track and field squad back on the map.

“Tionna had just an absolutely incredible summer and career so far, and she’s such a driven young lady who knows exactly what she’s pursuing and she’s working diligently to reach those goals that she’s set for herself,” Kokomo coach Jay Karp said.

“When she can come in and score the kind of points that she’s capable of scoring for you, we have the ability to do well in the 100, the 200 and the long jump,” Karp added, noting she’ll contribute to relays as well. “[That] gives us the chance to do some damage on the scoreboard in the conference meet or wherever.

“She’s the kind of athlete coaches dream about, a once-in-a-lifetime-type kid.”

That’s where we are as April and the new track season begin — full of excitement.

Previews of each Howard County squad are below, starting with the excitement brewing at Walter Cross Field.

KOKOMO

The Wildkats get a shot in the arm as a strong freshman class, led by national standout Tionna Brown, join an established group. So far, the chemistry is strong on the 33-member squad and the talent just as notable.

Brown joins high-level seniors like two-time high jump state finalist Lana Pham and 200 sectional winner Jayda Andrews to give Kokomo points right off the bat.

“When you have a team with Tionna and Jayda and Lana you have a chance to finally get back and win the conference for the first time in a very long time, and make some noise in the sectional level, and regional level even,” Karp said.

He wants to maximize this year’s team and is doing what he can to see the team reach its full potential.

“I felt like I owed it to the girls to put together the best staff possible,” Karp said. “All of my coaches from last year are back with one exception, my thrower coach. So I went and got Bobby Pettigrew back.”

Karp noted how enthused he is about coaches Chad Salinas, Aaron Alexander, Pettigrew, Kelsey Griffin, Dave Barnes, Lashonda Davis, Rick Parsons, and Cara Herron, who is also helping with nutrition.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to push this team to levels we haven’t been to in a while,” Karp said.

Other sprinters include La’Bria Williams and Kailah Jones. Jayda Andrews and Brown will man the long jump. Other high jumpers are Indya Swain and Tyasia Burks. Pole vaulters are Shelbi Corlett, NeVaeh Partlow and Cinnamon Andrews.

The Kats have a big group of throwers including Brianne Jones, Keaira Fowler, Mackenzie Martin, Brittaney Reynolds, Mackenzie Bashore, Amaya Sparger, Emily Herschberger, Amy Cone, and Tayana Hinton. The distance group is made up of Tayler Walden, Maya James, Makayla Kano, Karyna Lohinova, and Madison Pratt. The hurdlers include Nicole Erny, Corinth Oglesby, Cinnamon Andrews, Liesel Elkin, and Quintessa Burks.

Aaryan Morrison and Brooke Smith are Karp’s “queens on the chess board” that can line up in a variety of roles where needed at a given meet. They’re likely to mix into middle distance events, along with Tyasia Burks, Josilynn McNeil, Shaylie Stucker, Esmerelda Pharr, Cinnamon Andrews, and sometimes Pham.

Karp raved about this squad’s chemistry and veteran leadership as well as its talent. There are still question marks as coaches figure out roles. The Kats need some points from their throwers, need a second high jumper, hope to steal some points in pole vault, and hope that the improvements seen so far in the distance crew add up to points in meets.

If all those things pan out, Karp said “I think there’s potential to have a really memorable season.”

WESTERN

The Panthers are hoping that a big group of new athletes and good chemistry will lead to an improved squad.

“It’s a group that gets along real well,” Western coach Brandon Shawhan said of his team of approximately 40 athletes. “We have a number of hard workers. We have a very young group this year. We have less than a handful of seniors. We have a solid freshman class as well that’s bringing in a strong worth ethic. There’s a nice energy to the group.”

There are approximately 16 veterans, and a lot of unknowns, but that’s not a bad thing given the talent Shawhan has seen so far.

“I think we could definitely improve from where we were at the last few seasons and I think it’s going to be a real fun group to watch,” he said. “I think we’re going to see improvement in a lot of different areas this year.”

The Panthers will build around a core of seven proven commodities. Senior Allison McMinn returns to the 400 and will help in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays. Sophomore Natalie Nicholson is one of the top distance specialists. Junior Bronwyn Getts and sophomore Emma Marley are other distance runners who were part of Western’s sectional-winning 3,200 team along with Nicholson and McMinn. Junior Grace Sullivan, a regional qualifier in the 400, will help in the 1,600 relay and middle distances. She may also sprint.

Junior Caylan Fields leads the throwers. Junior Mallory Winger brings experience to an otherwise young group of hurdlers.

“We’ll definitely be strong with our distance events,” Shawhan said. “We have a distance crew that during the cross country season I think went to the semistate. Mid-distance, distance will be very solid I think. That’s where we’ve got most of our experience.

“I think we’ll be improved in the sprints this year as well. We’re definitely quite young in our field events. There’s a lot of girls that show a lot of potential there and I think that overall we look forward to a lot of improvement in a lot of areas.”

NORTHWESTERN

The Purple Tigers handed out 50 sets of uniforms at practice recently, for the half-hundred athletes that are out on the squad.

All those Tigers will add to Northwestern’s depth, and make each athlete work to keep her place on the team.

“It’s nice to have some depth,” NW coach Mary Clem said. “When you have to work for your spot, you try a little bit harder.”

That will pay off down the road in meets. For now, Clem is finding where the team is strongest and what needs the most work.

“We’re pretty deep on sprinters this year, and our distance team’s looking strong,” she said. “We’ve got some work on our field events. That’s where our weakness is. We haven’t had much time outside to see what we can do.”

Veterans back to the distance races include senior Nicole Crocker, junior Kate Bilkey and sophomore Casey Lechner. Newcomers are sophomore Lauryn Fackler and sophomore Sasha Jocius.

The sprinters will largely be made up of freshman and sophomores. Key sprinters include junior Madison Prifogle, freshman Rachel Mast (100 through 400 and high jump), freshman Kailey Kidwell (100 through 400) and returning 400 standout sophomore Kaylee Watson. Senior Brianna Hahn and sophomore Catelyn Wilson are new to the squad and will contribute in sprints.

Hurdlers include veterans sophomore Yael Townsend and senior Samantha Pepka. Senior Abby Olsen is back in pole vault, and senior Tory Combs and junior Riley Garner are back to the throws.

“This team is an exceptional one, it’s one a coach dreams of because the girls are very competitive with each other and yet they have such a good time,” Clem said. “You can see them each day progressing.”

Clem is upbeat and so far there’s no injury trouble.

“I almost hate to be too enthused because they look so good and so strong right now,” she said. “But it looks like this is going to be one of our better teams we’ve had in a long time, and we’ve had some good teams.”

EASTERN

The Comets have 25 kids out for the squad, for a bigger total than last year thanks to a lot of new faces.

“We have a lot of new kids, which is really exciting,” Eastern coach Ben Cox said. “I’ve got nine freshmen and if you include non-freshmen who have never been in a high school program before we’ve got 14 kids who are new to the high school track team. Really excited about how hard they’re working. They’re a good group of kids that want to do their best.”

Four key athletes return for the Comets. Renna Ewing is off to a solid start so far in pole vault and will also be important in hurdles and relay sprints. Senior Sydnie Hill is taking the 400 and 200 and long jump. Sophomore Molly Hapner is the most experienced distance specialist. And junior Hailey Holliday returns to throws. She was the team’s only thrower last year but this year has help.

“We should be able to score some in field events and the sprints,” Cox said. “That’s where we have our biggest numbers and our greatest experience.

“Despite the larger numbers this year over last year, the number of kids who actually want to run distance is down. We’re pretty thin on distance numbers this year. There’s going to be some learning how far we can push a couple of them and what their limit is.”

The Comets hope mixture of talent helps get them over the hump at the Hoosier Heartland Conference meet.

“Last year at the conference meet we were second to Rossville by like four points, it was so close,” Cox said. “I think it came down to the 4x400-meter relay. Rossville came in ahead of us in that. If we’d been able to beat them I think we would have won. It’d be nice to be in the mix again, competitive for the top spot in the conference, but with so many new faces it’s hard to tell. But I am hopeful we can still compete for that top spot.”

TAYLOR

The Titans have a slight boost in numbers this season with athletes numbering in the upper teens. Taylor coach Nick Weicht is upbeat about the talent on offer.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with the group of girls that we have,” he said. “We’re young, we don’t have any seniors really on our roster.

“Most of the girls who are going to pick up points are freshmen and sophomores so they’re still learning how much work it really takes at high school level to continue being successful. They’re talented girls and they’ve been successful in middle school but they haven’t had high school-level work as far as practices go. I’m encouraged with what I’m seeing.”

The main Titans are sophomore sprinter Brooke Morris, freshman long jumper, high jumper and relay sprinter Alison Pemberton, freshman jumper and relay sprinter Austyn Huffer, and junior sprinter Ayden Richter.

“I feel like our sprints are definitely going to be our strength this year,” Weicht said. “We’ve got two girls who will be picking up points most nights in those events [Morris and Richter]. I feel like we’ll pick up points regularly from long jump and high jump from a couple of girls each night [Pemberton and Huffer].

“We’re going to be able to put together a pretty solid 4x100 relay team as well. We’ve got some 400 runners that look to be pretty promising. I’ve got lots of sprints and middle distance. I don’t have much in the way of distance.”

The Titans also have to find some hurdlers out of their newcomers. Despite being thin in hurdles and distance, Weicht envisions good things this season.

“By the end of the season I want us to be really competitive in our dual meets because I think we have the talent to do so,” Weicht said. “I’m really hoping for a couple of those girls to advance beyond the sectional because I think we have the talent to do so, and I’d like to see a strong showing at our conference meet.

“Despite being a fairly small track team, I think we’ve got some quality that can score some points and do well.”