PANTHERS RULE COUNTY

Tribune sports staff May 10, 2024

Western swept the team titles in the Howard County track and field meet, which the Panthers hosted on Thursday night.

On the girls side, Western posted a score of 115 points. Northwestern was second with 84 points, Eastern was third with 44 and Taylor was fourth with one.

On the boys side, Western edged Northwestern by five points, 91-86, for the title. Eastern was third with 49 points and Taylor was fourth with 15.

GIRLS MEET
Triple winners Lacy Rathbun and Ashlyn Pownall and double winners Ellyse Walden and Lauren Bradley led the Panthers’ charge to the girls title.

“We had good performances all the way around,” coach Gary Jewell said.

Individually, Rathbun sprinted to wins in the 100-meter hurdles (school-record :15.69) and 300 hurdles (:48.35), Pownall sped to wins in the 100 dash (:13.54) and 400 dash (1:05.56) and Walden swept the throws. Walden had a meet-record put of 38 feet, 5 inches in shot, leading a Panther 1-3-5 finish, and she had a meet-record throw of 119-9 in discus.

Kenzie Moore made it a sweep of the sprints for Western by winning the 200 dash (:28.07).

Bradley teamed with Kendall DePoy, Samantha Williams and Madelynn Shoaff to win the 4x800 relay (10:58.78). Bradley, Rathbun and Pownall teamed with Joy Marley to win the 4x400 (4:23.79).

“Lauren Bradley did four events for the first time, probably in her career,” Jewell said. “She anchored the 4x8 to a win and then ran the 1,600 and she got second in the 800. She was disappointed in [the second place] because she really wanted to win that, but she wasn’t recovered as she would have liked to have been. But then she came back in the 4x4 and ran solidly there. She’s a ferocious competitor.”

Double winners Lexi Hale, Hannah Moore and Emma Baker led runner-up Northwestern.

Ball State-bound Hale won the long jump (14-7) and high jump (5-2) and Butler-bound Moore won the 1,600 run (5:28.28) and 3,200 run (12:01.14). Hale was runner-up in the 100 hurdles (:17.23), Ayla Jackson had second-place finishes in high jump and 300 hurdles, Courtney Adams was runner-up to Moore in both of the distance races and Gabbi Hopkins was second in shot put.

Baker won pole vault (8-0) and teamed with Meredith Kelly, Lauren Fischer and Jackson to win the 4x100 relay (:53.54).

Hale won the meet’s girls high points award.

“We really had a good showing,” Northwestern coach Joshua Perry said. “We scored more than I had anticipated and that’s great to see rolling into sectionals next week. The girls are ready and we will see what happens Tuesday night.”

Eastern’s Ava Kantz won the 800 run (2:34.55).

BOYS MEET
Western’s distance runners helped power the Panthers’ title performance.

The distance dominance started with the 4x800 relay where Camden Raab, Maddox Carver, Lincoln McKillip and Aden Yeary won in a time of 9:10.36.

Individually, Yeary won the 1,600 (4:46.91) and 800 (2:10.35) and Raab won the 3,200 run (10:17.69). Raab was runner-up in the 1,600 and McKillip was runner-up in the 800.

“Aden Yeary and Camden Raab are so much better than just about everyone else around here,” Jewell said. “Aden is focusing on the 800 this year, but [Thursday] he stepped up and ran the 1,600 and ran really well in that, and won the 800. Camden won the 3,200 in typical Camden style where about halfway through the race, he starts throwing down big laps and opens it up.

“Lincoln McKillip ran a solid leg in the 4x8, came back and ran a lifetime best in the open 800 and finished second. That was huge. We only won by seven points and there is four of them right there by Lincoln,” Jewell said.

Also for the Panthers, Deaglan Pleak won the long jump (19-0.5), Matthew McKitrick won the 100 dash (:11.42) and Milan Bennett won pole vault (11-6). Bennett’s win led a 1-2-4 Panther showing in the event. McKitrick was runner-up in the 200 dash.

“We were happy to win this because we haven’t had the season that we’d like to have,” Jewell said, noting the boys team has started to develop over the course of the season.

Peyton Tarrh had a big meet for runner-up Northwestern. He won the meet’s boys high points award after finishing as a quadruple winner. He took victories in the 300 hurdles (:42.68) and high jump (5-2) and ran on the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Tarrh, Mychal McGriff, Michael Groves and Nicolo Puglia won the 4x100 in :45.80. Tarrh, Ryland Barnes, Kaden Hershberger and Jacob Bumgardner won the 4x400 in 3:47.67.

McGriff won the 110 hurdles (:17.31) with teammate Sam Martin taking second. The Tigers also had runner-up finishes from Sam Stephens (high jump), Groves (long jump), Puglia (100 dash) and Bryan Burkhalter (400 dash).

“Very proud of the fight the boys had [Thursday]. We knew it was going to be a five-point or less scrap for first. Western put out a very good team and earned the win,” Northwestern coach Alexander Pier said. “We had lots of bright spots throughout the night. Shout out to Peyton Tarrh for being the high point earner for the boys side.

“We are humming right where we want to be into sectional week.”

For Eastern, Andrew Cavazos won the shot put (43-3) and discus (135-2), Obadiah Greene won the 400 dash (:55.52) and Braylen Word was tops in the 200 dash (:23.22).