Hart, Stiver Among Contenders At IHSAA State Track
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
INDIANAPOLIS – It might be a long shot, but anything can happen in track and field. Just takes one time, and that’s all about two dozen athletes from the area are asking for at the IHSAA Track and Field State Finals will take place at Ben Davis High School.
IHSAA Boys Track State Finals
The boys finals, which open up the weekend on Friday, has just four events with local impact.
Warsaw’s Tanner Stiver has the highest seed of those qualified, coming into the 800-meter run seeded 15th with his regional time of 1:56.71. While seeded down the list a bit, Stiver is really only about two paces off the top-seeded Jaylen Castillo of Fishers, who comes in at 1:53.68.
Warsaw’s 4×400 relay, to which Stiver is a participant, is seeded 24th (3:27.76), but needing to figure out some time shavings to catch up with the likes of Carmel, the top seed in the relay at 3:21.79.
Tippecanoe Valley’s Dawson Perkins is in a jumble of four athletes at 6-3 in high jump, but has cleared 6-4 at the sectional level. Kamyren Garrett of Lawrence Central is the clubhouse leader at 6-10.
Brady Hunsberger gives the Panthers its only state entrant, Hunsberger seeded 25th at 4:27.37 in the 1,600 meters. Reese Kilbarger-Stumpff of Columbus North comes in pacing the field at 4:10.37.
Field events open at 3 p.m. Friday at Ben Davis.
IHSAA Girls Track State Finals
The girls finals, which are set for Ben Davis on Saturday in conjunction with the Unified Track State Finals, has just Warsaw athletes from the area among the finalists.
All three of Warsaw’s relays are involved, but the 4×400 is seeded highest in 13th with a time of 4:03.27. The 4×800 is 24th at 9:48.50 and the 4×100 is 26th at 50.45, the 4×100 likely the toughest to make advancement with 10 relays coming in under standard, which is 48.66. Leaders for the three relays are Cathedral in the 4×4 (3:54.32), Chatard in the 4×8 (9:17.48) and North Central in the 4×1 (47.35).
Marin Hart is active in two events she has dominated locally this season, sitting seventh in the high jump at 5-4, one of four at the height. Isabella Jackson of Whiteland cleared 5-9 at the regional, one of 10 athletes to hit the standard of 5-4. Hart is also 18th in the 100 hurdles at 15.39. Morgan Patterson of Fort Wayne Northrop has the top time in the hurdles at 14.42.
Joey Rastrelli comes to Indy in her first finals as a freshman with a time of 5:14.42 in the mile, seeded 19th. Halle Hill of Hamilton Southeast posted a 4:52.72 to come in as the standard for the weekend.
In pole vault, Warsaw’s Josie Niebbia cleared 10-3 as one of seven to achieve the height, but is 21st on the list. Taylor Jarosinski of Center Grove hit 12-6 to lead the field at the regional level. Eight of the pole vaulters hit the standard of 11-3 last week.
Field events open at 3 p.m. Saturday at Ben Davis.