BOYS TRACK: Gilbert wins state title in discus

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Kokomo Tribune June 02, 2017

Tyler Gilbert stood at the top of the podium Friday with the winner’s medal around his neck.

It was still hard to fathom as the day wore on, following his state-title effort in discus at the IHSAA Boys Track and Field State Championship at Indiana University in Bloomington.

“I don’t think it’s really set in yet,” the Western junior said prior to the medal ceremony. “Yeah, it feels good. Kind of surprised me with what I threw because I’ve had better throws.”

Gilbert was one of four KT-area athletes in six events at the boys state meet on Friday, and one of three to claim medals along with Peru’s Jonah Lester and Western teammate Josh Everetts.

Gilbert threw the gauntlet down on his very first effort with a throw of 173 feet, 10 inches. He said conditions were ideal, warm with virtually no wind.

“Tyler is pretty confident throwing either way — with the wind, without the wind, with crosswind,” Western coach Gary Jewell said. “He had a really good throw on his first attempt in the trials. That put him in the lead going into the finals.”

Getting a good effort out early was important.

“I had good warmup throws so I felt good going into the trial throws,” Gilbert said. “I figured my first throws are usually my best ones. You get kind of fatigued, a little bit tired and fatigued as you go on, so I try to get the best ones out first.”

Gilbert’s first throw set the standard. For the rest of the competition, the field tried to catch up to it. They got close — too close for comfort — but the closest they got was Whiteland senior Ryder Emberton’s effort of 173-9 to take second. Third place was more than two feet further back.

“I got a little bit nervous when I saw some of those guys catching up to me,” Gilbert said.

Eventually though, his competition couldn’t reach his best and his spot was secure atop the podium.

“It felt pretty great,” Gilbert said. His family shared the feeling.

“Some of them were crying, they all gave me hugs,” he said.

Gilbert is enthused about his title and expects to ramp up his offseason schedule as a result of his success this year. He’s hoping to participate in Junior Olympic meets this summer.

“I’m looking forward to next season,” he said. “There’s going to be some good competition because there’s some young guys.”

Jewell hopes Gilbert’s success inspires other Panthers as well.

“It’s really good for them and Tyler’s only a junior,” Jewell said. “We’ve got some throwers in our camp right now who are looking at it like, ‘If he can do this, why can’t I?’”

Lester scored a fourth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 6-6 to take a spot on the podium. Plymouth’s Nate Patterson was the winner at 6-10.

The Peru senior also competed in the long jump, taking 16th after a jump of 21-7. Avon’s Isaac Guerendo was the winner at 24-5.25.

Another dual-event senior was Everetts. He finished seventh in the 1,600 in a school-record time of 4:15.54. When the race ended, Everetts was listed with a time one one-hundredth of a second faster and was placed sixth. Then after calculating down to the thousandths, Southmont’s Brooks Long was put in sixth place. He and Everetts both finished with the same official time.

Hamilton Southeastern’s Gabe Fendel won the 1,600 in a time of 4:04.70. He set a blistering pace, clocking the first lap in 57.51 seconds.

“We went out really, really fast,” Everetts said. “After that we maintained and it was just an all-out finish, all-out sprint to the end.”

Everetts’ time beats Kyle Walsh’s previous Western record of 4:15.95, set when Walsh took second at the 2004 state meet.

“Honestly, it was completely unexpected,” Everetts said of the Western record. “I’ve known Kyle Walsh, the former record holder, a long time. He’d got that record with an incredible performance. [Friday] night, when I looked at the time board and I saw that time, I was overcome with intense emotion. It was pure joy honestly.”

Jewell was impressed at seeing a 12-year-old record fall.

“Getting the medal in the 1,600 and breaking the school record at the same time was huge for him,” Jewell said of Everetts. “It was one of the goals he wanted to accomplish. He had a good day, he hadn’t been really pushed all year. Until [Friday] he hadn’t lost a 1,600-meter race.”

Everetts also qualified for the 3,200 at state. The 1,600 was first and Everetts developed a blister so Jewell thought he might start the 3,200 and not finish, but Everetts went ahead and finished the full eight laps in 10:28.10, taking 27th.

Jewell said he believes Everetts now has an invitation to participate in the Midwest Meet of Champions next week.

Eastern junior Aren Turner was also at the state meet. He was unable to clear his opening height in the pole vault.

Western’s team points score was 13, good for 14th place among teams at the meet. Peru scored 5.5 for 45th. Carmel was the top team with 69 points, 22 points ahead of second-placed Avon.