By Colin Altevogt
Track & Field Coordinator
With state champions returning in nine individual events and a team race deteriorating with sectional and regional casualties, this year’s girls track & field state finals seems pretty easy to sum up. This is exactly why we should all expect a crazy meet May 30.
If it seems too simple to be true, that’s because it probably is. Here’s an event-by-event breakdown of what to expect, followed by predictions from myself and Brandon Jones.
4×800 relay
Three-time defending cross country state champion and last year’s relay winner Westfield has stacked its relay with its four best distance runners, effectively putting the rest of the field’s state title dreams to bed. Lake Central and Carmel, two other distance-dominant programs, should factor in up front. Most surprising of all is small Park Tudor, which stands a great chance to medal even without its top runner competing in this event.
1. Westfield
2. Lake Central
3. Carmel
4. Munster
5. Crown Point
6. Warsaw
7. West Lafayette
8. Mishawaka
9. Park Tudor
Jones’ pick: Westfield
100 hurdles
Fort Wayne Wayne’s Chelsea Ross has the best regional time by over a third of a second. Still, on the faster surface at Indiana University, anything could happen in hurdle races that are separated by barely an hour. A handful of other contenders have legitimate title dreams … if they can get to the finals. That could prove to be the most difficult part of the journey, however. Expect a few casualties to top hurdlers in the trials.
1. Chelsea Ross – Fort Wayne Wayne
2. Portia Bailey – Hamilton Southeastern
3. Camille Edwards – North Central (Indianapolis)
4. Rebecca Neville – Merrillville
5. Sarah Snapp – Shelbyville
6. Jessica Harms – Fort Wayne Northrop
7. Amy Sanders – Roncalli
8. Shirah Bennett – Fort Wayne Snider
9. Sara Bernzott – Connersville
Jones’ pick: Chelsea Ross – Fort Wayne Wayne
100
Warren Central’s Candyce McGrone will win. Barring a false start or some other extreme and unforeseen circumstance, she will get another state title. The question is whether that will come in state meet-record time. In my sectional preview, I said that Jeffersonville’s Shanice Gholson had the best chance to prevent a Warren sweep. With Ebony Wright now out, I’m sticking with that prediction.
1. Candyce McGrone – Warren Central
2. Shanice Gholson – Jeffersonville
3. Nikita Owens – Evansville Central
4. Jasmine Perry – Fort Wayne Wayne
5. Erica Blythe – North Central (Indianapolis)
6. Shea Brown – Fort Wayne Snider
7. Kate Muskat – Indianapolis Chatard
8. Emaryne Watt – Perry Meridian
9. Katie Popp – North Central (Indianapolis)
Jones’ pick: Candyce McGrone – Warren Central
1600
The more open of the two distance races, both Carroll’s Chelsea Blanchard and Beech Grove’s Renee Masterson broke five minutes in the regional round. The two should challenge the defending champion, Alex Banfich of Culver Academies. If she can hang on long enough, Blanchard certainly has the kick to prevail over her long-time nemesis and win her first-ever state title. Maintaining contact, however, will be the most difficult part.
1. Alex Banfich – Culver Academies
2. Chelsea Blanchard – Carroll (Fort Wayne)
3. Renee Masterson – Beech Grove
4. Molly Hirt – Bloomington North
5. Lorna Whaley – Avon
6. Maggie Bingham – Westfield
7. Jordan Chester – Boone Grove
8. Samantha Ginther – Carroll (Fort Wayne)
9. Kristal Studer – East Central
Jones’ pick: Alex Banfich – Culver Academies
4×100 relay
With Warren’s Wright potentially out, North Central appears to be an easy favorite in this relay – those 10 points could put the Panthers out of reach in the team race as the field event results start flowing in. Fort Wayne-area schools may be in contention as well. Get ready for the state’s two biggest cities to dominate the sprinting events.
1. North Central (Indianapolis)
2. Fort Wayne Wayne
3. Lawrence North
4. Warren Central
5. Pike
6. Gary West
7. Fort Wayne Snider
8. Fort Wayne Elmhurst
9. Westfield
Jones’ pick: North Central (Indianapolis)
400
Park Tudor’s Hannah Farley looks likely to continue her quest for four state titles in this event. Her :55.12 performance at the regional is well over two seconds faster than her closest competitor. Behind her should be a jumble of runners spanning across all three heats.
1. Hannah Farley – Park Tudor
2. Laura Weatherford – Greencastle
3. Devin Gosberry – Munster
4. Ruth Christopher – Munster
5. Ahlivia Spencer – Lawrence North
6. Kaila Stevens – Goshen
7. Tyreca Jackson – Fort Wayne Snider
8. Ebony Woodard – Perry Meridian
9. Keyona Neal – Gary West
Jones’ pick: Hannah Farley – Park Tudor
300 hurdles
Lawrence North’s Stacia Weatherford held the state’s best time nearly all season before Connersville’s Sara Berznott bettered it with her lightning-fast regional performance. If the Wildcats can stay close throughout the meet, a big 10 from Weatherford here would certainly help the team score. North Central and Warren also have hurdlers present looking to grab points.
1. Stacia Weatherford – Lawrence North
2. Sara Berznott – Connersville
3. Chelsea Ross – Fort Wayne Wayne
4. Evie Lehman – South Adams
5. Camille Edwards – North Central (Indianapolis)
6. Kylie Dossett – Evansville Reitz
7. Amy Sanders – Roncalli
8. Whitney Freeman – Munster
9. Brittany Housel – Columbus East
Jones’ pick: Sara Berznott – Connersville
800
Looking to redeem last year’s loss in this race, South Dearborn’s Kathy Klump is far and away the best half-miler in the state. Her 2:11.15 from the 2006 state finals ranks as the third-best time in Indiana history. Look for her to take a shot at Temeka Kincy’s state record. I’m also predicting at least two medalists out of the slow heat.
1. Kathy Klump – South Dearborn
2. Creasy Clauser – Southmont
3. Ashley Name – Mishawaka
4. Christine Talhelm – Franklin Central
5. Shelbi Burnett – Center Grove
6. Kate Desimone – Fort Wayne Canterbury
7. Abby Farley – Park Tudor
8. Kaitlyn Love – Westfield
9. Betsy Kim – Columbus North
Jones’ pick: Kathy Klump – South Dearborn
200
Chalk up another title for McGrone. Farley is a clear second, at least as far as past performances are concerned, now that Wright isn’t competing. After that, it’s a matter of advancing to the finals and seeing where the chips fall.
1. Candyce McGrone – Warren Central
2. Hannah Farley – Park Tudor
3. Erica Campbell – Pike
4. Nikita Owens – Evansville Central
5. Shanice Gholson – Jeffersonville
6. Jasmine Perry – Fort Wayne Wayne
7. Kristina Record – Ben Davis
8. Emaryne Watt – Perry Meridian
9. Kate Muskat – Indianapolis Chatard
Jones’ pick: Candyce McGrone – Warren Central
3200
Banfich, a two-time defending champion in the two-mile, is the clear favorite in the longer distance. If she wins the 1600 earlier in the day, Banfich will be looking to become the first ever two-time Triple Crown (cross country, 1600, 3200) winner in state history. Blanchard and Neer should challenge at the beginning of the race, but expect Banfich to romp over the final three laps.
1. Alex Banfich – Culver Academies
2. Chelsea Blanchard – Carroll (Fort Wayne)
3. Waverly Neer – Westfield
4. Dana Payonk – Lake Central
5. Morgan Hite – Plymouth
6. Linsey Daluga – West Lafayette
7. Sarah Higgens – Center Grove
8. Renee Masterson – Beech Grove
9. Carly Sobolewski – Indianapolis Chatard
Jones’ pick: Alex Banfich – Culver Academies
4×400 relay
Park Tudor comes in with the best performance this season, courtesy of its 3:55 regional win over Lawrence North and North Central. With the best anchor in the race, all the teams will need a decent-sized lead over Park Tudor if they want to win. Watch out for Gary West, which ran very fast indoors and has laid low for much of the outdoor season up to this point.
1. Park Tudor
2. Munster
3. Gary West
4. Fort Wayne Snider
5. Lawrence North
6. Crown Point
7. North Central (Indianapolis)
8. Warren Central
9. Carroll (Fort Wayne)
Jones’ pick: Lawrence North
High jump
Batesville’s Ellie Tidman is the returning state champion in this event. Senior Megan Schubert of Northwestern enters the meet with the best regional clearance of 5’7.50”. Four of last year’s All-Staters return, plus 11th and 12th place. This is an event that comes down to a lot of tiebreakers and is nearly impossible to predict with any accuracy. I just don’t see Schubert graduating without a state title to her name.
1. Megan Schubert – Northwestern
2. Ellie Tidman – Batesville
3. Tiffany Fisher – Westview
4. Jessica Smith – Orleans
5. Stacy Qualizza – Crown Point
6. Deairra Goss – Ben Davis
7. Meghan Bussaberger – Corydon
8. Hannah Osborn – Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran
9. Erynn Young – Muncie Central
Jones’ pick: Ellie Tidman – Batesville
Long jump
This is another of the harder events to predict as well. Up front, two-time defending champ Erynn Young of Muncie Central is the clear favorite. She eclipsed 19 feet at the regional in a battle with North Central’s Leigha Tolliver who, along with teammate Camille Edwards, needs to score big points for the Panthers. Chesterton senior Katie McColly finished third as a junior and fifth as a sophomore and should be in the mix up front. Beside McColly and Young, expect a lot of Fort Wayne- and Indy-area athletes.
1. Erynn Young – Muncie Central
2. Leigha Tolliver – North Central (Indianapolis)
3. Katie McColly – Chesterton
4. Cora Tatum – Fort Wayne Elmhurst
5. Camille Edwards – North Central (Indianapolis)
6. Chanel Simmons – Ben Davis
7. Shea Brown – Fort Wayne Snider
8. Jessica Harms – Fort Wayne Northrop
9. Maggie Gilstrap – Henryville
Jones’ pick: Erynn Young – Muncie Central
Discus
Yet another event with a returning champion who has multiple rings, Bloomington North’s Rachel Deloney won the disc last year as well as her freshman year in 2005. She comes in with the best throw by more than four feet, and beyond the top three, it’s quite a ways from Deloney to Centerville’s Courtney Bowen with the fourth-best regional toss. I like Deloney to snag her third title in four years, but it will be interesting to see if Felisha Johnson of Lawrence North can pull a surprise in her secondary event.
1. Rachel Deloney – Bloomington North
2. Monteka Flowers – Warren Central
3. Felisha Johnson – Lawrence North
4. Samantha Gable – Greenfield-Central
5. Elizabeth Delong – Castle
6. Melanie Huhn – Fort Wayne Luers
7. Courtney Bowen – Centerville
8. Katy Watson – Center Grove
9. Meghan Kessler – Crown Point
Jones’ pick: Rachel Deloney – Bloomington North
Shot put
Last year’s champion, Johnson, actually has only the second-best regional performance behind Meghan Kessler of Crown Point. Johnson’s best toss this season, though, was over 50 feet, three feet better than North Cantral’s Kyla Buckley in second. Johnson should easily handle the field and has a great chance to break Stacey Martin’s state meet record. Behind her could be a lot of jostling for team points.
1. Felisha Johnson – Lawrence North
2. Kyla Buckley – North Central (Indianapolis)
3. Meghan Kessler – Crown Point
4. Monteka Flowers – Warren Central
5. Rachel Deloney – Bloomington North
6. Tori Bliss – Portage
7. Melanie Huhn – Fort Wayne Luers
8. Ashley Dewitt – Kokomo
9. Tara Perigo – Lafayette Jeff
Jones’ pick: Felisha Jonson – Lawrence North
Pole vault
With the graduation of Katie Veith, the vault is open once again. Lawrence Central sophomore Margo Tucker has proven to be the most consistent thus far and has cleared the best heights. Presumed newcomer Ellie McCardwell, a sophomore at Pendleton Heights, has tied Tucker for the highest clearance at 12’3”. Valparaiso’s Abbey Sutton was fourth last year, seventh as a sophomore, and 10th as a senior. Tucker has too much not to win this go-round, however, on her way to multiple state titles.
1. Margo Tucker – Lawrence Central
2. Abbey Sutton – Valparaiso
3. Erika Markiewicz – Lake Central
4. Ellie McCardwell – Pendleton Heights
5. Sarah Kinnaman – Westfield
6. Paige Neata – Hamilton Southeastern
7. Gianna Mirabelli – Lake Central
8. Alyssa Johnston – Penn
9. Andrea Newcom – Jeffersonville
Jones’ pick: Margo Tucker – Lawrence Central
Team scores
1. North Central (Indianapolis)
2. Lawrence North
3. Warren Central
4. Fort Wayne Wayne
5. Park Tudor
Jones’ picks:
1. Lawrence North
2. North Central (Indianapolis)
3. Warren Central
4. Park Tudor
5. Westfield
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