IHSAA boys track and field sectionals preview: What, who to know as postseason starts

Indianapolis Star

21-05-2025

The road to the high school boys track and field meet begins Thursday.
There are 32 sectional meets around the state. The first-, second- and third-place sectional finishers in all individual events and relays will advance to the regional, plus any individual or relay team meeting the participant standard in the sectional finals of their event.
Here are six storylines to watch in Thursday's boys' sectional meets:
IHSAA girls track sectionals: School record falls at HSE, plus highlights from Indy-area
Avon, which won its only boys state title in 2018 (after finishing as runner-up in 2017 to Carmel), is the No. 1-ranked team in the state.
The Orioles have one of the top sprinters in the state in senior Marcus Townsend (currently ranks second in the 200 meters and seventh in the 100) and should rank high in the high jump with senior Adetayo Adewunmi (went 6-7 ¾ last week) and long jump with senior Te'vares Frierson (has third-best jump this spring at 23-0 ¾). Kaleb Rasheed has the third-best discus throw (186-2) this spring and fifth in the shot put (58-9 ¼). The Orioles are also contenders in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
Avon is in the sectional at Plainfield, where No. 8 Brownsburg is also in the mix. Avon won the Hoosier Crossroads Conference meet and Brownsburg took second. The Bulldogs have one of the top 4x100 relay teams in the state and a top distance runner in senior Ian Baker. Shot putter Tobi Soneye has the third-best performance this spring (59-9 ¾).
Second-ranked Lawrence North is in the sectional at Mt. Vernon, where the host Marauders are ranked No. 6 and also a contender. The Wildcats are strong in the sprints with seniors Jerome Smith (second in 100, sixth in 200) and Damario Moore (fourth in 100, first in 300 hurdles), sophomore Monshun Sales (fourth in 200) and senior Davion Chandler (fourth in 110 hurdles). Those four make up the 4x100 relay team that has a chance to win state. Sales also has the state's sixth-best long jump this spring.
Mt. Vernon has the state's second-best time in the 4x800 relay (7:51.31). Two of the top runners for the Marauders are junior Sebastian Sprague (sixth in 200) and Ahmed Saleh (ninth in 1,600).
No. 3 North Central and No. 5 Bishop Chatard are competing in the sectional at Lawrence Central (more on these teams below). No. 4 Bloomington North is hosting its sectional. The Cougars are led by juniors Caleb Winders (top time in state in 800 meters) and Caelan D'Onofrio (fifth in 1,600 meters and eighth in 3,200) and should have contenders in the hurdles with senior Ben Boland and junior Alan Hays.
Another local team to watch is Franklin Central, which was just two points behind Lawrence North for the Marion County championship. The ninth-ranked Flashes, who are at the Greenfield-Central sectional, could pile up some points with junior Rylan Hainje (first in 110 hurdles and second in 300 hurdles). The Flashes are also strong in the 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay.
North Central and Bishop Chatard, after going first and second at last year's state meet, could both break the state record in the 4x400 relay. And guess what? Both teams will be competing in the sectional at Lawrence Central.
North Central's team of Dexter Parker, Antonio Smith, Evan Huet and Dehnm Holt ran a 3:14.66 last week at the Marion County meet, a mark that ranks fifth in state history. All four of the top marks are from the state meet, led by Gary West Side's 3:13.66 at the state meet in 1980. But those historic numbers do not necessarily make North Central a big favorite.
Bishop Chatard's mark of 3:15.38 at the Dennis McNulty Invitational in April is the second-best time in the state this spring and No. 8 on the all-time list. Phoenix Boyer, Kalen Sargent, Keaton Kuehr and Quinn O'Neil form the Chatard relay team.
North Central and Chatard could also contend for a team state title. Holt (46.76) owns the second-best 400 time in state history. Holt also is currently third in the 200 and Smith is fifth both the 200 and 400 and fourth in the 300 hurdles. The Panthers could also get points in the 4x100 relay (currently fourth) and high jump with Darion Highbaugh.
Chatard's Boyer is second behind Holt in the 400 (47.88 seconds) and Sargent seventh. Boyer is also third in the 300 hurdles.
Bloomington North's Caleb Winders has the top time in the 800 meters this spring (1:50.88) after finishing second at state as a freshman and sophomore. Can he break through and win a state title? Last year at the New Balance Nationals, Winders ran the third-best 800 in state history (1:49.74).
It will be interesting to see what the other top 800 times are coming out of the sectional meets. Waldron's Will Larrison was eighth at last year's state meet. He will be running at the Shelbyville sectional. Northridge junior Baylor Miller was second behind Winders at the Northeast Indiana Middle Distance Showcase in Fort Wayne with the second-best time this spring (1:51.94).
While Winders is certainly the favorite in the 800, the 1,600-meter race looks wide open. Brownsburg's Ian Baker (fourth), Jasper's Calvin Seitz (eighth) and Ahmed Saleh (ninth) were top-10 finishers last year at state. Baker and Saleh have posted top-10 times this season, but it looks like anyone's race. Jennings County's Kraedyn Young, Columbus North's Jace Works, Warsaw's Jackson Gackenheimer, Mishawaka's Liam Bauschke and Bloomington North's Caelan D'Onofrio have the top five times this spring.
Westview junior Noah Bontrager looks like the clear favorite in the 3,200 after putting up a 8:55.79 at the Carmel Distance Showcase. That time is 10 seconds better than the rest of the field this spring. Bontrager took fifth at state last year. Westview is running at Angola for the sectional.
Last year's state winners — Nylan Brown of Ben Davis in the shot put and Josiah Bird of Hamilton Southeastern in the discus — are both gone to graduation.
Churubusco junior Weston Ott, who placed third last year in the shot put, has emerged as the frontrunner in that event with a mark of 64-11 ¾ two weeks ago. Southport senior Benjamin Brown is second with a shot put of 61-11 ¾ earlier this spring. Southport is in the sectional at Ben Davis.
Kankakee Valley senior Zack Frieden is the top returner in the discus, placing fourth last year, and has the top mark in the state this spring at 194-9. Ott and Brown are also in the top five in the discus. Avon's Rasheed (mentioned above) is also in contention.
Other than those not mentioned above …
∎ Jay Hmurovich, Brebeuf Jesuit: The senior took fourth last year at the state meet in the high jump and has the second-best jump so far this season at 6-9 ¾. Hmurovich will compete in the Lawrence Central sectional. Warsaw's Jordan Randall is the favorite to win state after finishing third last year and the best jump of the spring.
∎ Christian Ortiz, Hamilton Southeastern: Ortiz, a senior, took fifth in last year's state meet in the 400. This spring, Ortiz has the top mark in the state in the 200 (21.18 seconds) and is fourth in the 400 (47.93). HSE is at Fishers for the sectional.
∎ Evan Williams, Lawrence Central: The junior was just a whisker behind Hainje of Franklin Central at the Marion County meet in the 110 hurdles (13.72 seconds) to rank second in the state this spring. He also put up one of the state's best marks in the 100 meters this spring (10.48 seconds). Williams will be running at home in the sectional.
∎ Jack Hearld, Danville: Hearld took seventh in the 3,200 at last year's state meet. He ran a 9:05.66 at the Carmel Distance Showcase, which is fourth in the state this spring. Hearld took third at the cross country meet in the fall. Danville is in the sectional at Plainfield.
∎ Antonio Smith, North Central: I did mention Smith above but worth pointing out the senior ranks fifth in the 200 (21.42 seconds) and 400 (47.96), fourth in the 300 hurdles (38.37) and is also part of the record-setting 4x100 relay team. North Central is at the Lawrence Central sectional.
Stanford football recruit JonAnthony Hall helped Fishers to a team state title last year, placing second in the long jump (23-1), behind Elijah Coker of Penn. Hall's best jump of the spring is 22-7, which ranks ninth in the state. Jaylen Ramsey of Merrillville has the longest long jump of the spring at 23-10. Hall will be at his home track for the sectional.