The IHSAA boys track and field sectional will be held on Thursday. Thirty-two sites across the state will play host to athletes trying to inch closer to the state meet.
The first, second, and third-place sectional finishers in individual events and relays will advance to the regional round. Athletes that hit the standard time or score will also qualify for the next round of postseason.
Here are seven storylines that you should watch for Thursday’s sectional.
What will Rylan Hainje produce?
Hainje, the reigning state champion in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, has occupied the top of the state leaderboard for both races this season. The Franklin Central senior paces the state in the 300 hurdles with a time of 35.64, about two seconds better than Nathan Vaughan (37.94) out of Chesterton.
Hainje’s 13.69 in the 110-meter hurdles has him ranked second in the state (though he did run a wind-aided 13.09 at the Marion County meet to rank fourth in the history of the event for a high school athlete). East Central senior Trevor Perkins owns the No. 1 spot at 13.66. Can Hainje improve his senior time at sectional? He is the state record-holder in the event, powered by a championship pedigree that’ll be foolish to overlook. Hainje will compete at the Greenfield-Central sectional.
Noah Bontrager’s control of the 800, 1600 and 3200
Bontrager, a Westview senior, has forged his reputation as one of the best high school distance runners in the state. The state record-holder in the 1600 meters has etched his name on the state’s leaderboard this season.
Bloomington North senior Caleb Winders, the defending state champion in the 800 meters, is trailing just behind Bontrager’s No. 1 time in the event. Bontrager leads the state with a 1:47.86 while Winders has clocked in a 1:47.87 in the 800 meters.
Bontrager has a more comfortable lead in the 1600 meters. His state-leading time of 4:00.87 is about six seconds ahead of Noblesville junior Banner Barnes (4:06.81). He has also separated himself from the pack in the 3200 meters with a time of 8:41.28. Springs Valley junior Calvin Seitz, the state’s cross country champion, is ranked second with an 8:51.27 in the event.
Bontrager won a state title in the 1600 and 3200 meters last season. If Bontrager’s senior run is any indication, he could do it again.
The 4×100-meter field is stacked
If the 4×100-meter relay was called today, it would come down to the wire.
The Franklin Central quartet of Dylan Keck, Hudson Moritz, Braden Carman and Dennis Mitchell leads the pack with a time of 41.23. Then there’s Brownsburg (41.26) then North Central (41.61) and then Westfield (41.70). Carmel is ranked fifth (41.73), while Cathedral is slotted at sixth (41.81).
And guess what? Carmel and Westfield will be featured at the Fishers sectional meet. Let’s not forget about the host team, Fishers, that is ranked ninth statewide. North Central and Cathedral will duke it out at the Lawrence Central site.
Carmel and the 4×800-meter relay
Speaking of the Greyhounds, they lead the state in the 4×800 relay. Their quartet of Cooper Szotek, Lucas Bartlett, Carter Buhr and Trevor Walton clocked in a time of 7:49.60 at the Hamilton County boys meet last Thursday. That’s about a six-second lead over No. 2 ranked Columbus North (7:55.06). Rounding out the top three is Bloomington North, which is spearheaded by Winders. He was joined by Jacob Mitchell, Jake Gentry and Caelan D’Onofrio in recording a time of 7:58.97 on April 11.
Fishers (7:59.34) is ranked fourth, while Westfield (8:00.18) is ranked fifth.
Carmel, Fishers and Westfield will compete at the Fishers sectional site. It will be interesting to see how the Greyhounds perform in enemy territory.
Kaleb Rasheed in throwing events
Let’s talk field events, shall we? Rasheed, an Avon senior, has controlled the No. 1 spot in both the shot put and discus.
His throw of 61 feet, 9 inches leads all shot putters and is ranked above No. 2 Jacob Lindahl (61 feet, 3 inches) out of Richmond. Rasheed has more of a grip hold in this event than he did at state last season. He placed 15th on the grand stage as a junior, a far cry from what he’s been able to achieve this season.
In discus, Rasheed has thrown an impressive 199 feet, 5 inches. That is about 15 feet deeper than second-ranked Von Quigley (174 feet, 11 inches) out of Greenfield-Central. That’s also better than the throw (191 feet, 10 inches) he made to win a discus state title last season.
Rasheed will compete at the Plainfield sectional meet.
High jump
Fishers senior Konrad Hayden is ranked first in the state with a leap of 7 feet, 1 inch. Behind him is Plainfield senior Isaac Stead (6 feet, 9 inches) and Lakewood Park senior Hayden Korte (6 feet, 8 inches). Sophomore Sam Omodus (6 feet, 7.25 inches) represents Brownsburg at the No. 4 spot. Fishers senior Austin Geesaman (6 feet, 6 inches) is ranked eighth followed by Zionsville senior David Fleming (6 feet, 6 inches) at ninth.
Hayden, a Marian commit, placed third at state (6 feet, 8 inches) last season. How will he start this postseason, and will he break through as a senior?
Michael Walker Jr. in 200 meters, 100 meters
Walker Jr. is one of the top young sprinters in the state. The Hammond Morton sophomore is ranked second (21.42) in a tough 200-meters field, just behind Lake Station sophomore Sebastian Sloan (21.41) and ahead of Hainje — who is ranked sixth in the state at 21.61. Notably, Westfield junior Maison McCray is ranked third with a time of 21.51.
Walker Jr., who went viral earlier in the year, is positioned at No. 3 statewide in the 100 meters. His time of 10.61 is the best for an underclassman this season.
Five locals to watch
Other than those not mentioned above …
Evan Williams, Lawrence Central: Williams is ranked seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.26. An indoor track record-breaker, Williams is an Indiana University recruit that has competed at the New Balance nationals.
Blake Matthews, Center Grove: Matthews is ranked 10th in the state in the 100 meters (10.78).
Cameron Berry, Cathedral: One of the best freshman runners in the state, Berry has helped Cathedral rank sixth in the state in the 4×100-meter relay. He also ranked 15th in the 100 meters. His time of 10.83 leads all freshman.
Lucas Bartlett, Carmel: I name-dropped Bartlett earlier, but he is worth another mention. The junior is ranked ninth (9:03.85) in the state in the 3200 meters. He is also a member of Carmel’s 4×800-meter relay team that leads the state.
Trew Holbrook, Brownsburg: Holbrook is ranked seventh (49.08) in the state in the 400 meters. He is also the anchor leg for the 4×400-meter relay team with the third-best time in the state.
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA boys track and field sectional preview: What, who to know as postseason starts
Reporting by Marc Ray, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
