MISHAWAKA — Penn High School boys track coach Chad Wetzel does not take winning championships for granted.
Ever.
Wetzel looked on Thursday, May 21 as his deep Kingsmen squad rolled to the program’s 10th straight sectional crown and 32nd overall.
The hosts had the most once again as the Kingsmen won eight events to score 176 points to claim the Penn Sectional title on the track at Everwise Freed Field.
South Bend Saint Joseph, led by double hurdles champion Will Elick, claimed the team runner-up spot with 93.5 points and Mishawaka was third with 91 points.
The top three finishers in each event move on to the Warsaw Regional May 28, where they will be joined by regional qualifying participants from the Plymouth, Goshen and East Noble sectionals.
“Any night that you win a sectional is a good night,” said Wetzel, who coached for years at South Bend Riley before coming to Penn. “It will always be important to our program. Our goal tonight was to get as many guys to Warsaw next week as we could, and for the most part, we did a good job with that. We know there will be some really good teams at Warsaw, like Warsaw. But we will be ready next week.”
The Kingsmen finished runner-up to the host Tigers in the regional a year ago.
Senior Reuben Rutland was a key man for the title-winning Kingsmen. The senior speedster took first in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.15. He also teamed with juniors Chance Smith and Reid Dye and freshman Da’Marien Peck to win the 400-meter relay in a time of 42.31.
“I thought that I ran good tonight,” said Rutland, who was the top seed in the 100. “My goal was to win and advance. A PR would have been nice, but I’m glad to continue on in the 100.
“I just try to clear my mind, not think about it and just run. Every day is a step by step. I want to be at my best at State. Next week at regional I want to advance to State and I want to see our team get as many on that bus to State as we can. We also want to try and get the trophy back from Warsaw after they beat us last year.”
The Kingsmen also got championship performances from junior Braden White in the 400 (49.66), senior Brayden Manwaring in the 1,600 (4:28.53) and junior Brody Lederer in the 3,200 (9:41.49).
“I was really happy for Brady and proud of him,” Wetzel said. “He ran a really good race in the mile. He had lost to the guy from Adams twice prior. He showed resilience tonight and that was a nice moment for us.”
Penn also won the 1,600 relay with the team of seniors White, Eli Stith and Will Sidorowicz and junior Lucas Carter in a time of 3:22.39. The 3,200 relay team of senior Kale Grewal, junior Ethan Schafer and freshmen Kingston Pumel and Abhijay Masetty were first in a time of 8:13.65.
The Kingsmen also had senior Cade Stout win the discus title with a throw of 147-06 and also take second in the shot put with a top effort of 50-01.50.
Huskies showcase skills
The duo of juniors Elick and Matt Champlain led the way, as expected, for a strong Saint Joseph squad.
Elick repeated as sectional champion in both the 110 and 300 hurdles races. He won the 110 in a time of 14.58 and took first in the 300 event in a time of 38.06.
Champlain won the pole vault again as he cleared 13-6. The ultra competitive Champlain was not happy with his performance after coming in with a school record best height of 14-9.
“I’m not happy, but at the end of the day, I was first and it’s on to next week,” said Champlain. “I know that I can go higher. My goal tonight was to go 15 feet. I got to 14 and tried a new pole that I had never used in a meet before. That did not work out tonight.
“I felt great today and was fully expecting to get 15 feet. I just have to figure out which pole to use and be more consistent next week. If I match my PR, I make State. My goal is to place at state. I was ranked like 10th in the state the last time I looked.”
St. Joe coach Mike McCarthy saw plenty to like heading into a loaded regional next week.
“I’m a perfectionist, but I thought that at the top end tonight we set the stage for next week,” McCarthy stated. “I thought we had success tonight in the places we thought we would. We also had three fourth-place finishes and hopefully those guys will be moving on too.
“We took the first step tonight. We know that we’re guaranteed elite competition at the regional next week and we’re ready to match that. This was the third time we have competed here at Penn this season, including last week in the NIC Meet. I think that familiarity took a little bit of the pressure off of us and helped us tonight.”
Riley earns two titles
The Wildcats claimed a pair of sectional titles to take back to the South Side.
Senior Trevor Crump won the 800 in a time of 1:57.37 for Riley. Junior Valentino Summers cleared 6-4 to earn the high jump championship.
Marian got a sectional title performance from junior Landon Weist in the 200 in a time of 22.41.
Mishawaka junior Leon Fowler went 23-4 in the long jump to claim the championship. LaVille freshman Austin King captured the shot put with a throw of 52-00.50.
Mishawaka finished in third place in the final team standings with 91 points. LaVille was fourth with 60 points, followed by South Bend Adams (50), South Bend Washington (38), South Bend Riley (22), John Glenn (22), South Bend Career Academy (21) and Trinity Academy of South Bend (12).
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn boys track team continues sectional title streak
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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