BLOOMINGTON — Once it got going, there were surprises, shock and disappointment seemingly around every corner.
That’s not how a boys track sectional is expected to go, not for one of the best teams in the state and its biggest rival. It was anything but routine. There was a certain air of relief from surviving and advancing as some of the best laid plans went badly astray, with a rash of injuries (hamstrings) causing plenty of misfortune.
For others, all is well and new doors are opening. There was winning. There was also sympathy.
Bloomington North’s top-ranked team still got plenty done through all that, sweeping the relays and adding seven individual titles to it to pile up 191 points, 29 fewer than last year, for a seventh straight title. South (149) was next with Edgewood (59½) and the rest of the field a ways back.
“The meet was kind of all over the place,” North coach Justin Helmer said. “You come here and you just want to do what you need to do to go to the next meet. You don’t want to have injuries. You don’t want to have DQs. You don’t want to have that stuff, and we saw a little bit of everything tonight.
“Both us and South. That stinks.”
North has been forced to limit senior Jacob Mitchell, one of the best distance runners in the state, to the 4×800 relay. Liam Conlin tried to give the 300 hurdles a go, but couldn’t. Shep Jackson wasn’t feeling well after his 1,600 and had to back out of the 3,200.
And defending 800 state champ Caleb Winders is wondering what his week holds after limping through the final lap of his 800 just well enough to place third.
“As soon as the race started, I could feel it,” Winders said. “I’ve been dealing with my hamstring for a couple weeks now. It was really bad on Saturday, but it’s been getting better and better since then. So I thought it would be good today.
“I was just trying to get through it, get top three. I barely made it. Hopefully I can get better by next week.”
The end of the race saw a bit of chaos as teammate Caelan D’Onofrio took first just ahead of Martinsville’s Rayce Wolff. As Winders was finishing, Lighthouse Christian’s Caden Stewart was in fourth but caught a spike and fell. Winders instinctively looked back, taking third. Stewart got back up but was sixth.
“I felt so bad, because I went to Lighthouse in elementary school, so I’ve known him since second grade,” Winders said. “I’ve been really good friends with him. I hope he gets out.”
That’s now a ‘hope’ for Winders when it comes to regional.
“Gutsy race, right?” Helmer said. “Limping most of that race, but did enough. But that’s a state title (waiting to happen). Did it go away in that moment? That’s hard. We’ll see what happens over the next week.”
The top three in each event automatically advance from each sectional while the field for regional will be filled out to 16 for each event by pulling up the next four best results (including ties) from the combined fields at Bloomington, Columbus, Madison and Seymour.
On the positive side for North
There were uplifting moments.
Senior Evan Cheng’s hamstring has kept him out of action since the second meet of the season. He hasn’t practiced or competed since, so all he was looking for was one good jump to keep his last season alive.
After two fouls, he got it with a 21-1½, good for second to Bloomfield’s Bo Busenburg (21-3).
“It was nerve-wracking, because coming into today, I had reinjured it a couple of times,” Cheng said. “So the plan was to just jump once and get it over with. But obviously, I scratched my first two so that last jump, I had to back it up a little bit and make sure I get something.”
In the 100, North got career bests from Eric Shin (10.84) and Josiah Powell (10.91) for third and fourth, both under the state standard (10.97). Powell was also third in the 200 (22.24).
“The meet started off great,” Helmer said. “The 100 was unbelievable. Eric running 10.84, that was the school record before Jaidyn Johnson came along (in 2024). So that shows you what that looks like.”
Caelan D’Onofrio was as strong as ever. He won the 1,600 (4:18.68) with Jackson second (4:24.95). Jackson Walker took the 3,200 (9:50.67) and James Bosco (49.19) and Brody Arther (51.44) went 1-2 in the 400.
Alan Hays was all by himself in winning the 110 hurdles (14.35) and 300s (38.28) while not far off his career bests. Senior Liam Chaveas had a PR of 15.11 for second in the 110s. And the Cougars had plenty of depth to still win the 4×800 (8:00.66).
In the throws, senior Adis Hamidovic and sophomore Quinn Walters were the toughest 1-2 punch again, but Hamidovic had to come off the ropes in the shot put. Hamidovic (186-6) and Walters (161-8) were ahead in discus by 18 feet. But in shot, Hamidovic had to come up with a 53-7½ in the finals to top Walters (52-1½) and South’s Noah Field (51-1).
Bittersweet moment for South
South had high hopes in the sprints and was left celebrating half as much as it had hoped, rallying around a trio of teammates suffering through tough times.
Senior Gabe Taylor has plenty of mixed emotions after winning the 100 at his best time (10.78) and the 200 (21.93) with Simon Barnes second in the 200 (22.23) and fifth in the 100 (11.03).
In between, he led off the favored 4×100 relay that was still missing its usual anchor in Khaliq Akou, who has committed to run at Eastern Illinois. The Panthers were in good shape, but No. 3 runner Simon Barnes and Kevin Reeves never made the connection for a DQ, allowing North to win.
Eerily, it was just like what happened to the Cougars two years ago. That squad had state title hopes and its usual anchor resting a pulled hamstring for sectional when it dropped the baton as well.
Then in the 200, Akou was coming off the big run he needed last week to meet the state standard and put three Panthers in that race. The prelims went great for all three. But in the finals, Akou never made it around the first curve.
“I’m very blessed to have won both but my heart goes out to those guys, especially Khaliq,” Taylor said. “He’s been fighting that hamstring all year. He seems OK. He’s resilient and he’s going to bounce back well for college.
“And obviously, dropping the baton, it happens. You can’t be mad at them. It’s just sports.”
South had to press on.
“Sports is not always fair or right maybe, but like I told them, I’m most proud of how these guys prepared,” Williams said. “It’s tragic at the moment for Khaliq. He’s a young man who worked hard all season long. Was injured, tried to come back, got slightly injured again and comes back again.
“It’s a great shame. We’ll see what he does as Eastern Illinois. Kevin Reeves has filled in really well. We won conference with him. It seems like the baton just caught his leg as he was moving forward with it. He’s a sophomore. He’ll learn from it.”
A short time later, Reeves asked to anchor the 4×400 relay (instead of running the second leg) and some of the bad taste was washed out as South had a season best run for second in 3:29.69.
“The boys on the team were just wonderful with him as far as lifting his spirits, letting him know he was loved by the team and stuff happens,” Williams said. “He did a terrific job. He ran a 51.2. He’s just gotten better though the season.
“His family moved up from Tennessee. He had some good numbers as a freshman, so it didn’t come right away. Then some doors opened for him, and he took advantage of the opportunities and showed what he’s going to be for the team for the next couple years.”
Elsewhere, South went 1-2 in the pole vault behind Arthur Banks (15-6) and a career best 13-0 from Andrew Mathis. August Wu was second in the 300 hurdles (43.21), Jaxon Young was third in discus (143-7), Phillip Kroeger was third in long jump, Isaiah Dilger was third in the 3,200 and the 4×800 relay was second in 8:06.26.
The Panthers could add quite a bit to their regional agenda after placing fourth or fifth 11 times.
Hosey leads Edgewood
Edgewood nailed down four spots at regional, and sophomore William Hosey delivered three of them.
First, it was another big breakthrough with a career best 10.84 that’s just .05 off Zaak Raake’s school record, to take second in the 100. Then he anchored the 4×100 relay to second (44.15) and helped the 4×400 relay take third in 3:37.28.
Another sophomore, Monte Kester, has been coming on strong in the distance races and took second in the 3,200 in 10:02.71.
Hayden Bolander was fourth in the 300 hurdles (46.18), Kyle Adams was fourth in the 400 and Lincoln Getts was fifth in the shot put in a season best 48-10¼.
Eastern, OV, Martinsville
Eastern Greene has two spots in hand next week, with its 4×800 relay taking third and Aaron Hudson, who anchored that race, also third in the 400 (52.78).
Owen Valley’s Noah Hall made it over 6-4 but took second on one more miss to White River Valley’s Trey Greenlee in high jump.
Martinsville’s Landon Cazee was third in high jump (6-2).
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH SECTIONAL RESULTS
Team scores: Bloomington North 191, Bloomington South 149, Edgewood 59½; Martinsville 41, Owen Valley 30, Brown County 27, White River Valley 25, Eastern Greene 21½, Clay City 21; Cloverdale 17, Bloomfield 15, Shakamak 9, Linton 6, Lighthouse Christian 3.
100 (10.97): 1. Gabe Taylor, BS 10.78; 2. William Hosey, Edg 10.84 (10.384); 3. Eric Shin, BN 10.84 (10.836); 4. Josiah Powell, BN 10.91; 5. Simon Barnes, BS 11.03; 6. Zeus Calisanga, WRV 11.31; 7. Caleb Wiggins, M 11.41.
200 (22.15): 1. Taylor, BS 21.93; 2. Barnes, BS 22.23; 3. Powell, BN 22.24; 4. Carter Matthew, BN 23.24; 5. Ethan Murray, OV 23.75; 6. Jonathan Jordan, M 24.96; Khaliq Akou, DNF; Liam Bevington, OV, NDF.
400 (48.87): 1. James Bosco, BN 49.19; 2. Brody Arther, BN 51.44; 3. Aaron Hudson, EG 52.78; 4. Kyle Adams, Edg 52.97; 5. Ezra Furr, BS 53.50; 6. Brodi Wood, OV 53.99; 7. Brady Adams, BS 54.03.
800 (1:55.30): 1. Caelan D’Onofrio, BN 1:56.78; 2. Rayce Wolff, M 1:57.15; Caleb Winders, BN 2:02.57; 4. James Rice, BS 2:03.97; 5. Garrett Pitkin, BS 2:04.91; 6. Caden Stewart, LCA 2:05.32.
1,600 (4:15.49): 1. D’Onofrio, BN 4:18.68; 2. Shep Jackson, BN 4:24.95; 3. Landon Lundy, WRV 4:27.25; 4. Luke Reinhart, BS 4:33.51; 5. Matthew Zinkan, BS 4:37.42; 6. Noah Gallagher, Edg 4:45.16; 7. Liam Hogan, OV 4:59.01; 8. Davin Norris, Edg 4:59.02.
3,200 (9:09.20): 1. Jackson Walker, BN 9:50.67; 2. Monte Kester, Edg 10:02.71; 3. Isaiah Dilger, BS 10:07.44; 4. Eddie Webb, BC 10:11.30; 5. Daniel Damico, BS 10:39.00; 6. Hogan, OV 10:44.49.
110 hurdles (14.62): 1. Alan Hays, BN 14.35; 2. Liam Chaveas, BN 15.11; 3. Anthony Rush, M 16.34; 4. August Wu, BS 16.53; 5. Daryl Dewey, CC 16.84; 6. Hayden Bolander, Edg 17.08; 7. Hayoon Kim, BS 17.45; 8. Owen Arnett, EG 18.28.
300 hurdles (39.10): 1. Hays, BN 38.28; 2. Wu, BS 43.21; 3. Dewey, CC 46.13; 4. Bolander, Edg 46.18; 5. Kim, BS 46.24; 6. Hudson Martone, Edg 47.62; 7. Arnett, EG 47.73.
4×100 relay (42.36): 1. Bloomington North (Landon McAllister, Brayden Johnson, Matthew, Shin) 43.22; 2. Edgewood (Brody Day, Hosey, Jaden Lucas, Daylin Pairitz) 44.15; 3. White River Valley, 46.04; 4. Owen Valley (Bevington, Stahl, Phillippe, Murray) 46.43; 5. Cloverdale, 46.53; 6. Eastern Greene (Scroggins, McKnight, Clary, Moffitt) 47.79; 8. Martinsville (Wolfe, Miller, Sanders, Jordan), 49.57.
4×400 relay (3:21.72): 1. Bloomington North (Kellen Bishop, RaShon English, Arther, Bosco) 3:22.29 (meet record; old record, 3:22.60, North, 2017); 2. Bloomington South (Liam Gregory, Furr, Rice, Kevin Reeves), 3:29.69; 3. Edgewood (Hosey, Adams, Day, Zane Powell), 3:37.28; 4. Martinsville (Rush, Pierson, Crismore, Wolff) 3:40.71; 5. Brown County, 3:42.58; 6. Eastern Greene (Pate, McKnight, Crites, Hudson) 3:46.85; 8. Owen Valley (Wood, Padgett, Bell, Stahl) 3:50.83.
4×800 relay (7:55.14): 1. Bloomington North (Jacob Mitchell, Walker, Tom Keith, Jake Gentry) 8:00.66; 2. Bloomington South (Pitkin, Jack Taylor, Oliver Moore, Rice), 8:06.26; 3. Eastern Greene (Jacob Crites, Elijah Jordan, Evan Pate, Hudson) 8:38.10; 4. Brown County, 8:41.24; 5. Martinsville (Rush, Norris, Pierson, Crismore) 9:02.21; Edgewood, DQ.
High jump (6-6): 1. Trey Greenlee, WRV 6-4; 2. Noah Hall, OV 6-4; 3. Landon Cazee, M 6-2; 4. Colton Algood, BS 6-0; 5. Bo Busenburg, Blmf 5-10; T6. Alex Sebastrian, CC 5-6; Powell, Edg 5-6; Yoshi Bielick, BN 5-6.
Long jump (22-3): 1. Busenburg, Blmf 21-3; 2. Evan Cheng, BN 21-1½; 3. Phillip Kroeger, BS 20-3; 4. Bahati Fulton, Clv 19-10¼; 5. Hall, OV 19-7¼; 6. Artevion Henderson, Clv 18-9½; 7. Jonathan Jordan, M 18-4¼.
Pole vault (14-9): 1. Arthur Banks, BS 15-6; 2. Andrew Mathis, BS 13-0; 3. Carter Holiday, Shk 12-0; 4. Harrison Taylor, Clv 11-6; 5. Ethan Janneck, M 10-6; 6. North Milner, BN 10-6; T8. Coty Scroggins, EG 9-6; Bolander, Edg 9-6.
Shot put (56-3¼): 1. Adis Hamidovic, BN 53-7½; 2. Quinn Walters, BN 52-1½; 3. Noah Field, BS 51-1; 4. Jaxon Young, BS 49-6½; 5. Lincoln Getts, Edg 48-10¼; 6. Waylon Reeves, BC 45-10½.
Discus (165-8): 1. Hamidovic, BN 186-6; 2. Walters, BN 161-8; 3. Young, BS 143-7; 4. Alex Edwards, CC 139-6; 5. Tyler Franklin, L 136-5; 6. Maddox Beauchamp, Edg 127-0; 7. Nicholas Kreller, BS 119-6.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington North wins title at roller coaster boys track sectional
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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