Greenfield-Central junior Griffen Wheeler makes his move coming onto the final straight to pass Mt. Vernon junior Tristan Trevino to go on to win the Hancock County 800-meter run championship in 1:54.17 at Mt. Vernon High School on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
Richard Sitler | Daily Reporter
FORTVILLE — In dominating fashion, for the second straight year, Mt. Vernon had the top team at the Hancock County Boys Track and Field Championships.
Led by a pair of double-winners and a sweep of the three relays, the Marauders scored 118 points, well ahead of runner-up Greenfield-Central, which finished with 67.5. New Palestine was third with 51.5 and Eastern Hancock placed fourth with seven at Wednesday’s meet at Mt. Vernon High School.
Mt. Vernon won 11 of 16 events.
“The 11 events we won, we won with good performances,” Mt. Vernon coach Bruce Kendall said. “Our strong suit is we’re strong in everything. We have a strong one in each event and a second one and a third one … Any coach that has these guys is going to win.”
Also for the second straight year, George Burhenn swept the hurdle races. The Mt. Vernon junior won the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.26 seconds. He was tops in the 300 low hurdles with a time of 39.68 seconds. In both races, sophomore teammate Andres Langston was second.
Senior distance standout Reyce Morgan won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, with times of 4:29.6 and 9:51.04, respectively.
Wilbert Jones won the 400 in 51.61 seconds.
Three more Mt. Vernon wins came in field events. Langston won the high jump by clearing 6-feet, 3-inches. Keagan La Belle won the pole vault at 14-feet. Caden Wildey topped long jumpers with a distance of 20-feet, 6 ¾ inches.
The Marauders set two meet records in relay victories.
LaBelle, Derrick Marble, Avery Williams and Wildey won the 4×100 relay in a meet record time of 43.31 seconds. The old record of 43.52 was set by New Palestine in 2017.
James Blagrave, William Morris, Daylong King and Tristan Trevino won the 4×800 relay in a meet record time of 8:07. Trevino edged Greenfield-Central’s Griffen Wheeler in the meet’s initial race. Both relay teams beat the old meet record of 8:18.84 set by Mt. Vernon in 2011.
Later in the meet, Wheeler edged Trevino at the tape to give the Cougars their lone win in the 800 run. Wheeler finished with a time of 1:57.17. Trevino crossed in 1:57.24.
Burhenn, Jones, Trevino and Langston placed first in the 4×400 relay (3:26.88).
New Palestine won four events, led by Isaiah Thacker, who was voted on by coaches as the Athlete of the Meet.
Thacker won both the 100 and 200, as well as placing third in the long jump.
He set a meet and school record in winning the 200 in 22.39 seconds. He broke one of the oldest records in the county meet’s history. The previous mark of 22.50 was set in 1984 by New Palestine’s Jim Seifert.
He won the 100 in a hand-held time of 10.8 seconds. It was quicker than the meet mark of 10.93 set in 2010 by New Palestine’s Pat Feeney, but was not considered an official meet record since it was done by hand-held timing instead of by FAT (Fully Automatic Timing).
The Dragons also picked up wins in throws. Greg Ratz won the shot put with a distance of 44-feet, 4-inches. Joshua Lambdin won the discus with a distance of 134-feet.
2022 Hancock County Boys Track and Field Championship
Team scores (champions): Mt. Vernon 118 (11), Greenfield-Central 67.5 (1), New Palestine 51.5 (4), Eastern Hancock 7.
Event: Winner;Time/Distance
100-meter dash: Isaiah Thacker, New Palestine;10.80 seconds
200-meter dash: Isaiah Thacker, New Palestine;22.39 seconds
400-meter dash: Wilbert Jones, Mt. Vernon;51.61
800-meter run: Griffen Wheeler, Greenfield-Central;1:57.17
1600-meter run: Reyce Morgan, Mt. Vernon;4:29.6
3200-meter run: Reyce Morgan, Mt. Vernon;9:51.04
110-meter hurdles: George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon;15.26 seconds
300-meter hurdles: George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon;39.68 seconds
400-meter relay: Keagan LaBelle, Derrick Marble, Avery Williams, Caden Wildey, Mt. Vernon;43.31 seconds
1600-meter relay: George Burhenn, Wilbert Jones, Tristan Trevino, Andres Langston, Mt. Vernon;3:26.88
3200-meter relay: James Blagrave, William Morris, Daylon King, Tristan Trevino, Mt. Vernon;8:07
Shot put: Greg Ratz, New Palestine;44-feet, 4-inches
Discus: Joshua Lambdin, New Palestine;134-feet
High jump: Andres Langston, Mt. Vernon;6-feet, 3-inches
Long jump: Caden Wildey, Mt. Vernon;20-feet, 6 ¾ inches
Pole vault: Keagan LaBelle, Mt. Vernon;14-feet
