FORTVILLE — They had to wait a day, but it was well worth it.
Mt. Vernon had three champions and six regional qualifiers and Eastern Hancock had a champion and four others advance to the regional at the Mt. Vernon Boys Track and Field Sectional on Friday.
The event was postponed Thursday due to inclement weather.
The top three finishers in each event will advance to next week’s North Central Regional. Also, there is a chance that some fourth-place finishers may get call backs or move up due to scratches in their events.
Team-wise, Lawrence North won with 126 points. Pendleton Heights was second with 112 and the Marauders were third with 91.5. Anderson followed with 55.33 points.
Eastern Hancock, one of the smallest schools in the event, placed a very impressive fifth with 49.33 points.
“We’ll be right in the middle of things next week,” Mt. Vernon coach Bruce Kendall said of his qualifiers vying for bids into the state finals.
Dawan Langston will be the busiest of the Marauders. He won the 100-meter dash (10.90 seconds), placed second in the 200-meter dash (22.03 seconds) and was the third leg for the victorious 4×400-meter relay team. Brent Donaldson, Luke Rappe, Langston and Braxton Trittipo finished with a time of 3:27.71.
Trittipo added a victory in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.89 seconds.
Keagan LaBelle moves on with a second-place finish in the pole vault (12’0”). He finished behind Lawrence North’s Nathan Stone, who set a sectional record with a vault of 17’6”. According to MaxPreps.com, it is the best vault in the nation this season.
Jailin Porter advanced with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash at 22.42 seconds.
Eastern Hancock coach Clayton Shultz couldn’t have been happier with his team’s performance.
“I had a good feeling coming into today,” Shultz said. “We’ve got good athletes and we come to compete. If we don’t win, it isn’t because we are not competing.
“The kids and our coaching staff were phenomenal.”
Skyler Sexton led the way for the Royals.
The junior won the 300 hurdles in 38.81 seconds.
“I thought when I won at conference it was a pretty big deal,” Sexton said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to do this, but I did.”
Sexton was also part of the team’s third-place 4×100-meter relay group, joining Zach Arnold, Cole Rainbolt and Blayze Sarber. They finished in 45.57 seconds.
The 4×800 relay team of Daniel Campbell, Nick Edwards, Cayden Sotelo and Skyler Schrope opened the night with a runner-up finish with a time of 8:13.85.
Eastern Hancock long jumper Kyle Moore also made it through to the regional with a distance of 20’¾”, good enough for third place.
The Royals had just two relay teams advance last season. There will be a bigger contingent this time around.
“It feels amazing,” Sexton said. “We were so excited last year to get the 4×800 and 4×100 teams in. Now, we’ve got a bunch of guys going.”
Though Kendall noted that there were some issues with the timing system that will be checked out to confirm, both Mt. Vernon and Eastern Hancock recorded numerous school records at the meet.
Eastern Hancock set marks in the 4×400-meter relay (Schrope, Sotelo, Arnold, Sexton), which finished fourth and could receive a call back, the 4×800-meter relay, and Sexton in the hurdles.
Mt. Vernon, Kendall said, set new records in the 100, 200, 400 and 300 hurdles, where Donaldson placed fourth in 40.23 seconds and is also a candidate for a callback.
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Team Results
Lawrence North — 126
Pendleton Heights — 112
Mt. Vernon — 91.5
Anderson — 55.33
Eastern Hancock — 49.33
New Castle — 38
Shenandoah — 33
Lapel — 27
Blue River Valley — 26
Anderson Prep — 22.33
Liberty Christian — 20
Daleville — 13.5
Knightstown — 6
Area sectional champions and regional qualifiers (Top 3 in each event advances to next week’s North Central Regional)
4 x 800 Meter Relay — Eastern Hancock, 2nd, 8:13.85 (Daniel Campbell, Nick Edwards, Cayden Sotelo, Skyler Schrope)
Long Jump — Kyle Moore, Eastern Hancock, 3rd (20’ ¾”)
100 Meter Dash — Dawan Langston, Mt. Vernon, 1st, (10.90 seconds)
Pole Vault — Keagan LaBelle, Mt. Vernon, 2nd (12’0”)
110 Hurdles — Skyler Sexton, Eastern Hancock, 3rd (14.23 seconds)
4 x 100-Meter Relay — Eastern Hancock, 3rd, 45.57 seconds (Zach Arnold, Skyler Sexton, Cole Rainbolt, Blayze Sarber)
400 Meter Dash — Braxton Trittipo, Mt. Vernon, 1st (49.89 seconds)
300 Hurdles — Skyler Sexton, Eastern Hancock, 1st (38.81 seconds)
200-Meter Dash — Dawan Langston, Mt. Vernon, 2nd (22.03 seconds)
200-Meter Dash — Jailin Porter, Mt. Vernon, 3rd (22.42 seconds)
4 x 400-Meter Relay — Mt. Vernon, 1st, 3:27.71 (Brent Donaldson, Luke Rappe, Dawan Langston, Braxton Trittipo)
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