FORTVILLE — In similar fashion as the previous three, Mt. Vernon’s boys track and field team won its fourth straight Hancock County Meet at Mt. Vernon High School Wednesday.
The Marauders scored over 100 points, for the fourth straight time, and won 10 events — they’ve won between nine and 11 during their four-year run — in continuing their dominance over county rivals.
Mt. Vernon was part of three of the five meet records and finished with 105.5 points. Greenfield-Central was second with 79.5. New Palestine scored 38 and Eastern Hancock had 21.
“We pr0jected to score around 90-95 and they scored 105, so we were really happy with several kids stepping up,” Mt. Vernon coach Nick Clarkson said. “We had multiple PRs.”
Marauder senior Andres Langston, who has signed to continue his track and field and academic career at Duke University, was named the boys athlete of the meet. He won two events, individually, was part of the Marauders’ record-setting 4×400-meter relay and finished second in the high jump.
Langston swept the hurdles. He won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.91 seconds and the 300 lows in 39.86 seconds.
Mt. Vernon senior Tre Jones was part of all three of the team’s meet record runs. He joined Langston, Sebastian Sprague and Caden Cassada on the 4×4 (3:22.96), set a new meet mark in winning the 200-meter dash (22.3 seconds) and was the anchor on the 4×100-meter record-setting team (42.7 seconds) that included Chris Edmonds, Marcus Mellentine and Charlie Cole.
“Tre is always challenging himself, the man-in-the-mirror, so to speak,” Clarkson said. “He always wants to do better. When we get to meet time, even after he won that 200, he was happy, but he was already looking to that next event. When I challenge him a little bit, he always rises or tries to raise his own bar. I appreciate that. I don’t have to push him a whole lot, he always pushes himself, him and Andres both.
“(Andres and Tre) never miss a practice. Those two, and we have different workouts at every meet, when they go run, they are always pacing each other, running with each other, and pushing the rest of the team.”
The 4×1 group beat the old mark of 43.37 seconds they set last season, but it was with four new runners.
“I was worried about sprints this year and how that would go, but a lot of kids have been dedicated. They’re hungry and very internally driven,” Clarkson added.
Cassada was part of three Mt. Vernon wins.
He was on two relays, which included anchoring the 4×800 (8:19.39) with Ahmed Saleh, Isaiah Njau and Brady Webber. He won the 800 in 1:59.01.
Sprague and Edmonds each had individual wins to go with their victories as part of relay teams.
Sprague, a sophomore, defended his title in winning the 400 in 50.26 seconds.
Edmonds led a 1-2-3 Mt. Vernon finish in the long jump with a distance of 21-feet, 6-inches. Zaidyn Ramsey was second at 21-feet. Sprague was third at 20-feet, 10-inches.
“We expected our long jump to take a little bit of a hit this year,” Clarkson said. (Zaidyn) transferred in from Horizon Christian and he’s a 21-foot jumper. We thought he’s going to be our best jumper this year. Chris jumped 20-feet last year and was pretty good and Sebastian jumped 20-feet last year. And, here they come.
“We’ve been doing a bunch of speed training and (Chris and Sebastian) are jumping over 22-feet. I thought there was something wrong with our tape measures. No, they consistently are at 21-, 22-foot jumpers. Zai is also a super-talented kid that has had some injuries but he jumps 21 (Wednesday) and got second. … We have three of the best long jumpers in the history of the school at one time on one team which is unbelievable.”
Edmonds just missed another victory. He led much of the way in the 100-meter dash before being edged out at the end by Greenfield-Central’s Kirk Knecht (11.2 seconds).
Mt. Vernon’s other victory came in the pole vault. Sawyer Ruminer won by clearing the bar at 14-feet.
For Knecht, a senior, it was the second time he had won the 100. He also won it as a freshman.
Greenfield-Central had five champions, three were in field events.
The Cougars swept the throws with Zachary Blevens winning the discus (129-feet, 11-inches) and Reese Hill taking the shot put (49-8). Hill won both events last year.
The state’s top-ranked high jumper, Greenfield-Central’s Purdue-bound senior Elliot Ryba, tied the meet record that he set last year. Ryba cleared 6-feet, 8-inches in both of his county titles. He cleared 7-feet last week at the Kokomo Relays.
The other county meet record was set in the 3200-meter run. G-C senior Chris Ross won with a time of 9:33.82.
New Palestine’s lone win came from Jake Cooper. He was victorious in the 1600 with a time of 4:25.58.
–
2024 Hancock County Boys Track and Field Championships
Team scores: Mt. Vernon 105.5 (10), Greenfield-Central 79.5 (5), New Palestine 38 (1), Eastern Hancock 21
Individual results
100-meter dash: Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central (11.20 seconds)
200-meter dash: Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon (22.30 seconds)*
400-meter dash: Sebastian Sprague, Mt. Vernon (50.26 seconds)
800-meter run: Caden Cassada, Mt. Vernon (1:59.01)
1600-meter run: Jake Cooper, New Palestine (4:25.58)
3200-meter run: Chris Ross, Greenfield-Central (9:33.82)*
110-meter hurdles: Andres Langston, Mt. Vernon (14.91 seconds)
300-meter hurdles: Andres Langston, Mt. Vernon (39.86 seconds)
400-meter relay: Mt. Vernon — Chris Edmonds, Charlie Cole, Zaidyn Ramsey, Tre Jones (42.70)*
1600-meter relay: Mt. Vernon — Sebastian Sprague, Tre Jones, Caden Cassada, Andres Langston (3:22.96)*
3200-meter relay: Mt. Vernon — Ahmed Saleh, Isaiah Njau, Brady Webber, Caden Cassada (8:19.39)
Shot put: Reese Hill, Greenfield-Central (49-feet, 8-inches)
Discus: Zachary Blevens, Greenfield-Central (129-feet, 11-inches)
High jump: Elliot Ryba, Greenfield-Central (6-feet, 8-inches)**
Long jump: Chris Edmonds, Mt. Vernon (21-feet, 6-inches)
Pole vault: Sawyer Ruminer, Mt. Vernon (12-feet, 6-inches)
* meet record, ** tied his own meet record
