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Indiana state track and field hall of fame to add 3 Bloomington standouts
The 2025 Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame class will have a strong Bloomington flavor with the addition of former South pole vaulting brothers Drew and Deakin Volz and North standout thrower and coach Sara (Fields) Hamidovic.
Here's a quick look at their careers as provided by the Hall of Fame.
Chris Howell | Herald-Times Dave Volz congratulates his son, Deakin Volz, after he cleared 17' 2" in the pole Vault competition during the IHSAA Boys Sectional Track and Field tournament at Bloomington High School North in Bloomington, Ind. Thursday, May 22, 2014.
Volz brothers took it to next level
Deakin was the youngest of the three sons of Olympian David Volz. As a freshman, Volz was conference, sectional and regional champ and eighth at the state finals with a PR 14-9. As a sophomore, he was conference, sectional (16-4), regional and state runner-up. In the summer, he was the USATF Youth Champion and the Junior Olympic National Champion.
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During his junior year was recognized as the DyeStat Top 5, MileSplit All-American and Indiana Gatorade Field Athlete of the Year. Volz won the championships at conference (16-6), sectional (17-2, an all-time Indiana prep record), regional (17-3), and finals (17-5).
His senior year started off with a bang at his first indoor competition. Deakin vaulted 17-10½, setting the national high school indoor record. At the New Balance Indoor Championship, he won with another national indoor record of 17-11¼. He was again recognized as a MileSplit All-American. Outdoors, he broke the IHSAA state finals record with a vault of 17-6 and was given the Robert S. Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award. He was again the Indiana Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year and Indiana USATF Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year.
At Virginia Tech, Deakin placed third at the NCAA Indoor Championships and became a three-time ACC champion and six-time All-American. During his freshman year, he qualified for the U20 World Championships with a mark of 18-6½ which would rank him third on the all-time USA list and 11th on the world list. His 18-9 vault in 2020 qualified him for the Olympic Trials.
Chris Howell | Herald-Times South's Drew Volz prepares to compete in the pole vault during the IHSAA Boys State Track and Field Finals at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind. Saturday, June 7, 2014.
Drew started his athletic career in the Smithville Little League at age five. He was drawn to the vault by older brother Drake and during his freshman year he split winning every meet with Drake, while also spending time with the JV baseball team. Drake qualified for the IHSAA state finals and Drew missed by a place, putting baseball permanently in the rear-view mirror.
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Now concentrating solely on vaulting as a sophomore, his PR jumped to 15-0, which placed eighth in the IHSAA state finals. As a junior, he won his first of two state championships. His PR 16-8 broke former Panther state champion Dan Burton's record. Volz capped off his excellent high school career with the Robert S. Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award.
Drew began his collegiate career at the University of South Florida where he won the Big East Championships and was an Academic All-American. He transferred to Indiana University and reached a career PR of 18-6.
Bloomington North's Sara Fields competes in the discus throw during IHSAA state track meet in Indianapolis, June 5, 1999.
Hamidovic excels at throws, coaching
Sara Fields excelled as a thrower at North, placing in the IHSAA state finals in each of her years 1997-2000, winning the title in 2000 and Mental Attitude Award. She also captained and was All-Conference for the volleyball team.
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She went to the United States Military Academy and excelled in both track and volleyball winning a combined six Patriot Conference titles in the discus and shot put and All-Conference in volleyball as a senior. She broke West Point's school records in the shot put, discus and power clean.
Sara graduated in 2004 with a degree in Environmental Engineering. She served a combat tour in Iraq, rising to the rank of captain and was second in command of the 145 Troop in Iraq. Fields founded VET Environmental Engineering in Bloomington and coaches the Cougars' throwers with 24 individual sectional, 14 regional and 11 state medalists, including five IHSAA state champions.
Class of 2025
The rest of the class includes Todd Beyerlein of Carmel; William Lightsey of Hammond; Harold Vaughn of Lafayette Jefferson; Rachel Dincoff of DeKalb (2020 Olympic Team); Felisha Johnson of Lawerence North (2012 Olympic Team); Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka; Fred Geswein, coach at Providence; Kevin Horrigan, coach at Brebeuf Jesuit, Bishop Chatard, Lawrence Central, Guerin Catholic and Greenfield-Central; Terry Lakes, coach at Marion and the Gary Tolleston 1962 4-by-440 relay.
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The induction will take place June 21 at the Idle Creek Golf Course Banquet Facilities in Terre Haute at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35. A free reception will start at 1 p.m. at the Indiana Track and Field Museum.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: State track and field hall of fame adds 3 Bloomington standouts
