BOYS TRACK: The race is on

Two-time defending boys track and field sectional champion Kokomo will have its hands full in the quest for a three-peat at Walter Cross Field tonight.

The host Kats, clear favorites in each of the past two sectionals, are neck-and-neck with Western in the preliminary seeding, with the Panthers holding a very slight two-point overall edge on paper.

“Two points isn’t that much,” Kokomo coach Tom Byrnes said. “It’s going to be an exciting and competitive meet. We’ve struggled this year, had some injuries and a lot of young kids so it’s been a challenge of a year, but we feel like maybe we’ve got a shot. According to the seeds, it’s going be between us and Western, but what it says on paper doesn’t necessarily matter. Hopefully we go out and compete. Overall, we’re pretty healthy and hopefully pretty hungry.”

Eastern, Northwestern, Taylor, Cass, Maconaquah, Peru, Logansport, Maconaquah, Pioneer, Delphi and Madison-Grant round out tonight’s 13-team contingent with field events slated to begin at 5 p.m. The top three spots in each event advance to the Kokomo Regionals on Thursday, May 25.

Western finished in second place behind Kokomo in each of the past two seasons, with the Panthers claiming the hardware in 2014. Western is coming off a big Hoosier Conference championship last week, edging out 21-time defending champ West Lafayette.

“It’s going to come down to whoever takes care of business,” Western coach Gary Jewell said. “It’s just going to come down to who comes out and performs. If we do the things we’re good at we’re going to do pretty well. Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. Your hope is to exploit someone else’s weaknesses with your strengths.”

Kokomo’s greatest strength in its quest for a 61st sectional title is likely in sprints, where state qualifier Andrecus Eddington blazes the way. The two-time defending sectional champ in the 100 dash holds a lightning-fast top seed time of 10.86 in the event. He’s also a No. 2 seed in the 200 at 22.93 behind Pioneer sophomore Jack Kiser’s top seed time of 22.70. Eddington is also part of the Kats’ top-seeded 4x100 relay team.

From there, the Kats will look to depth in the hopes of adding points in multiple events. Julian Wallace is a No. 2 seed in the 400 (52.90), Justin Taflinger is a 3 seed in the 1,600 (4:47.90), and Corey Dea sits at No. 2 in the 3,200 (10:40.56). Andra Nash is a No. 3 seed in the long jump (20-02.25), and Drake Blackburn is a 3 seed in the pole vault (12-0), and the Kats also hold the No. 2 seed in the 4x800 relay.

“There are 16 events and you’ve got to score in every event if you want to compete,” Byrnes said. “We feel like we can be competitive. We feel like we can score two people in a majority of events. The kids that can go out and get fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place finishes, that could be just as important as the champions. I really do think it will come down to about 10 points.”

Western’s top strengths lie in distance runs and throws.

Tyler Gilbert, who qualified for state in the discus last season, has upped his throw in that event to an impressive 172 feet after throwing 154 at state as a sophomore last season. He is the top seed in that event as well as a No. 3 seed in the shot put (47-02.25).