ONE TRACK MIND

GIRLS TRACK: Howard County 2025 season preview

Kokomo Tribune - Friday, Apr 5, 2025

Western beat Northwestern by a nose last May to win the Kokomo Girls Track and Field Sectional.

That might be news to some of the newcomers to the Panther squad, and coach Gary Jewell is fine with that. He wants athletes to be fired up about what they’re doing now, not resting on last year’s accomplishments.

“We really haven’t talked much about last year,” Jewell said. “Some of the younger girls probably have no idea we won last spring, and that’s not a bad thing.”

Energy is high in Panther camp. Jewell said having a combined team — boys and girls practicing together — helps keep energy up, and that the last time the squad had this much energy was 2022. It’s important that practice be enjoyable and not a grind.

“We want everyone to be excited about competing during championship season rather than asking when the season’s going to end,” Jewell said.

Western scored 101 points at the sectional last season to edge Northwestern by two points. The Panthers did that without as much balance as they’d like. Jewell thinks this season’s team is poised to score in more spots.

“Last year at sectional, we only scored a total of five points in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 400-meter relay,” he said. “It became a big area of improvement for this team.

“We’ve definitely taken a step in the right direction in the sprints, which should allow us to spread things out a bit and not have to rely on any single person to carry a bigger load than anyone else.”

The Panthers have a big freshman class that Jewell expects to contribute, a four-member senior group, and an established impact performer in junior thrower Ellyse Walden. At the sectional, Walden won the shot put and discus, and kept motoring all the way to the state meet, where she was 14th in shot and 26th in discus.

Jewell said Walden had a strong summer, winning the throwing events at the USATF Junior Olympics State Meet and reaching the national meet where shew as fifth in shot and 15th in discus.

“After an outstanding basketball season, she placed second overall in the shot put at the Hoosier State Relays in a new personal best of 41 feet, 3 inches,” Jewell said. “So she’s not just picking up where she left off, she’s actually progressed, and that’s what you want to do.”

Junior Ellie Kretz and freshman Maylee Walden are Western’s other throwers.

Sprinters are junior Ashlyn Pownall, senior Kenzie Moore, and freshmen Allison McKitrick, Norah Ewing, Gracie Shade, Lily Fields, and Payton Hunt. Hurdlers are McKitrick, Ewing, senior Joy Marley, junior Grace Craig, sophomore Alaina Smith, and freshman Maya Walden. Western won the 4x400 relay at last season’s sectional with Marley and Pownall on that squad.

The distance crew consists of junior Kendall DePoy, seniors Hattie Harlow and Maddy Shoaf, sophomores Mary Claire DiPaola and Samantha Williams, and freshman Lucy Schave.

Jumpers are McKitrick in long jump, sophomore pole vaulters Aubreyana Hoepner, Ella Stranahan and Ellise Wittenbach, and freshman high jumper Lexi Taylor.

“We want to have balance this year where we can score in every event,” Jewell said. “Obviously, we expect to pick up where we left off in the throwing events.

“We should be better in the sprints than we were last year. Similar to last year, I think we can score well in the hurdle events. Just like every year, we expect to score well in the distance events. I think we’re actually a little deeper in that area than we were last year.”

Western opens April 14, hosting Kokomo and Tipton.

NORTHWESTERN
A season after finishing two points behind Western in the race for the sectional title, the Tigers regroup with a smaller squad.

“We are very young, but have some talent,” NW coach Josh Perry said. “This group is overwhelmingly positive and is great to work with. We have a very solid core of sprinters. Several girls from the gymnastics team joined us after their state run and will contribute in a major way.”

The Tigers have a pair of standouts they expect to produce points and lead the sprinting and throwing groups.

“We have a lot of points in the sprints this season,” Perry said. “Junior Emma Baker should be a major point scorer this season. She worked very hard in the past nine months and is ready to run and vault at a high level. Fellow junior Avery Nielson should also help a lot in the throws. She has already broken our previous school record for shut put by a good margin.”

Distance runner Ashlyn Kelly is the lone senior on the squad. Juniors include Nielson, Baker and middle distance runners Bella Winrotte and Meredith Kelly.

Sophomores are thrower Gabbi Hopkins and sprinters Megan Broeker, Addi Bumgardner and Lauren Fischer. Freshmen include Chloe Shuck, Zoie Scheiffer and Bryella Leforge, who work in sprints, hurdles and jumps.

“We lost about 80 points from last year’s sectional roster,” Perry said. “That’s an enormous hill to overcome. Luckily, we have quite a bit of young talent in our ranks. My goal for this season is to constantly improve so that we can stay relevant at the sectional this season, and be prepared for another championship run in the years to come.”

Northwestern hosts West Lafayette today.

KOKOMO

Veteran coach Dana Neer takes over the Wildkat program after serving as an assistant last season. He’s got a solid group of 34 athletes to work with.

“We have a really strong group of sophomores and juniors and we’ve been going since November, and they have been willing,” Neer said. “We had a good indoor season.

“Our veteran coaches have welcomed me — Aaron Alexander and Jordan Ousley and Bryan Woods, all long-time Kokomo coaches and I’ve known them for years. I’ve always admired Kokomo’s legacy and history in track and field, especially the boys side over the years. Of course, the track and field facility is really second-to-none. And the athletic director and his staff are great to work with. I am thrilled and humbled at the same time to be a Kokomo Wildkat coach.”

Neer thinks this team can be stronger than last season’s, which was heavy on sprinters and light elsewhere.

“I think we’ve got a good group of returning athletes,” Neer said. “Of the 16 events in track and field we only scored in six of those events at the sectional. Some of them didn’t have any athletes in it and some we didn’t score. That’s a lot of events not to score. We were fifth.

“This year we think we can score in 14 of those events so that’s a big turnaround. Some of these events, we’re going to score some big points in two places and there’s others we’ll have to scrape and claw to get some points, but we’re going to score more points this year.”

Neer expects the Kats to be strong in sprints and hurdles. Former Kat hurdling standout Justin Pugh has been drafted to help coach hurdles this season. Neer thinks the Kats can be strong in all three relays as well as jumps.

The sprint, jumps and hurdle crew includes sophomores Akiera Huntsman, Abrashia Moore, Jhazlyn McKay (the 300 hurdles sectional champ), and Madison Guire, juniors Patience Rowles, Tia Williams (regional qualifier in long jump), Kamya Williams, Mariah Reid, and Nevaeh Wilson, freshman Giyanna Thortin, and seniors Ma’Kaela Young-Drake and Aramaea Fivecoate. McKay, Moore, Tia Williams and Young-Drake teamed to win the 4x100 at the sectional last year.

Middle-distance runners are sophomores Ja’Layia Williams and Gabby Flowers. Flowers is also a high jumper. Distance runners are juniors Christina Durham, Morgan Rakestraw and Gretchen Riggle. Throwers are Huntsman, sophomore Mia Hancock and junior Keaira Harmon.

“No. 1 goal: Our girls to be able to have a high track and field IQ, understand what their teammates are competing in, know the results that their teammates have accomplished in the meet so they’re very aware of what’s happening in the meet,” Neer said. “Once that happens, the culture of your team really changes.

“I want to be in the mix. When conference time and sectional time comes around, we want to be a competitor and as a team go in with high expectations that we’re going to do well. And three is we’ve talked to a lot of Kokomo alums. There’s a lot of Kokomo people very proud of Kokomo track and field. They want it to be successful. We’ve brought them back. We want to bring that reverence for track and field at Kokomo back at a higher level.”

Kokomo opens April 14 in a three-team meet with Tipton at Western.

EASTERN

The Comets have numbers in the mid-teens and several experienced athletes as they look to make an impact. Back to the squad is state medalist Makenna Brooks, who competed in three events at last season’s state meet, claiming a medal by taking sixth in the long jump.

“A lot of new athletes are out this year,” Comet coach Anne Kantz said. “We have probably at least seven new athletes this year so we’re pretty young.

“We have a lot of experience in our sprints. We’ve got Allie Hueston coming back and she’s a senior, Makenna Brooks, she’s a senior. She’s gone to state the last two years for long jump and the 100- and 200-meter dash. Maya Monize is back, she’s a sophomore, and Cora Gunderson.”

The sprint group includes Hueston, Brooks, Monize, sophomore Gunderson and freshman Lainey Newlin.

Throwers are senior Elisabeth Bruno, freshman Brooklynn England, and sophomore Elizabeth Cavazos.

The distance runners are senior Ava Kantz, sophomores Zoey Sexton, Anna Groves, Malia Shellnut and Abby Weir, and freshmen Raedyn Davis and Kendall Clinton.

Anne Kantz said throws should be an area of strength. Bruno qualified for the regional in her freshman and sophomore seasons and England did well in middle school. And the Eastern coach hopes a full distance group will help that department develop into a strength as well.

“My goals for this season are just to improve, have good attitudes and compete,” Anne Kantz said. “That’s just what I tell the kids all the time: just try to win and do your best to win. It would be nice to place in the top three in conference. That’s kind of where I’d like to be, and then see where we go.”

Eastern opened Thursday against Madison-Grant.

TAYLOR

New coach Rob Patchett takes over both the girls and boys programs at Taylor.

“This season, we aim to bring an unwavering commitment to excellence, resilience and a growth mindset to the program,” Patchett said. “We want to continue building on the tradition of hard work and discipline, while fostering a positive, supportive environment where each athlete feels empowered to succeed.

“Moving forward, we hope to see Taylor track become a powerhouse, where every member of the team contributes to the overall success, both individually and collectively.”

The Titans return four athletes from last season.

“Despite a smaller roster, the team is full of talent, dedication and heart. The potential within this squad is undeniable, and they’re all eager to show that size doesn’t determine strength,” Patchett said.

The squad is composed of senior thrower Amelia Collins, senior sprinter Sheyli Nieves, junior long jumper/high jumper/hurdler Cecille Howard, junior sprinter Fentaye Moody and sophomore sprinter Kiera Phelps.

“While the team is still building, there are definite areas where we expect to see strong performances,” Patchett said. “Our sprints and hurdles are shaping up to be key contributors, and we have several athletes showing great promise in the field events.”

Patchett wants this team to set the tone for future squads.

“Our primary goal this season is for each athlete to develop both personally and as part of the team,” Patchett said. “We want to see improvement in every event and aim to build confidence and camaraderie. Though our team may be small, we believe that hard work, determination and a positive attitude can lead to great things.

“Our hope is to compete with great strength, pride and resilience, setting the foundation for future success while showcasing the heart and power of Taylor track.”

Taylor opens Tuesday at Tipton.