'I didn’t think this was possible.' Beat-up Brownsburg wins HCC meet over 3 top-6 teams.
FISHERS – Brownsburg’s task was daunting, if not doomed.
Not only is the Hoosier Crossroads the premier conference in Indiana boys track and field — Hamilton Southeastern is ranked No. 1, Fishers No. 3, Zionsville No. 6 — but the defending state champions are effectively without the state’s top sprinter. Brownsburg coach Casey Popenfoose conceded he’s never seen a team with so many injuries . . . and he is a football coach.
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Brownsburg won the HCC for a fourth time in five years Thursday night, and no one saw it coming.
“I’m a little bit at a loss for words,” Popenfoose said. “I didn’t think this was possible.”
It was not only possible. It was emphatic.
The 10th-ranked Bulldogs, winning just three of 16 events, won by 44 points with a total of 130. Unranked Avon scored 48.5 in five field events for 86.5 overall, beating Fishers (85) and HSE (83) for second.
Brownsburg winners were the 4x100-meter relay team, 41.89; Ian Baker in the 1,600 meters, 4:14.73, and pole vaulter Jaylen Walcott, 14-6. Alex Eyasu was second in four events: both hurdles, long jump, 4x400 relay.
Josh Handy had offseason surgery on a hamstring and missed indoor state after aggravating the injury. In this meet, he was second in the 100 meters, third in the 200, and ran in the 4x100.
“We definitely have something to prove, coming off a state championship last year,” Handy said. “There’s no one person who can carry us to a state championship. We’ve got to be healthy together.”
Brownsburg’s Dominic Calhoun won state at 200 meters in 2023. Indoors, he won a state title in the 60 and set state records at 200 and 400. But he pulled up March 23 with a hamstring injury at Hoosier State Relays. His 50.2 leg in the 4x400 relay at HCC was his first outdoor race of 2024.
“It definitely felt like a rust-buster,” said Calhoun, an Ohio State signee. “I’ve run a lot faster. But it felt good to get a race in, standing up after the race. Last time I was racing, I was on the floor afterward.”
Getting back to the HCC:
It has arguably Indiana’s top all-around prep athlete, definitely the fastest hurdler, probably the best freshman, statistically the state leaders in seven of 16 events.
The long jump winner was JonAnthony Hall, the state’s No. 4-ranked football prospect in the junior class, according to 247Sports. Hall scored 23 points to help Fishers beat Ben Davis for the Class 4A state basketball championship.
Hall’s distance was 23 feet, ¾ inch. Raking the sand pit was HSE’s indoor state champion, Michael Griffith, sidelined by injury.
“Not many people can do it,” Hall said of his three-sport regimen. “But with the training I’ve gone through, I know I can.”
Tyler Tarter, also of Fishers, won the 110 and 300 hurdles in 14.14 and 37.09, respectively. His bests of 13.69 and 36.86 have earned the Indiana University recruit entry into the Brooks PR Invitational, set for June 12 at Renton, Wash.
Meet records were set by Tarter in the 300 hurdles and Zionsville (7:48.30) in the 4x800 relay.
Fishers’ Matthew Kim ran a 1:52.6 anchor in the relay, then won the 800 in 1:54.08, fastest in Indiana this year.
Finishing second in 1:54.74 was HSE’s Mason Schmitz, also back from an injury indoors. Schmitz was the fastest freshman in the nation indoors at 600 and 800, with times of 1:20.78 and 1:54.10.
Also clocking a state-leading time was Zionsville’s Cameron Mullens, 48.20 in the 400.
Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
HCC boys track and field
Team scores – Brownsburg 130.5, Avon 86.5, Fishers 85.5, Hamilton Southeastern 83, Noblesville 74, Franklin Central 59.5, Zionsville 57, Westfield 46.
100 – 1, Dario Torres (N) 10.95; 2, Josh Handy (B) 11.05; 3, Sherrell Garrett (B) 11.19.
200 – 1, Christian Ortiz (HSE) 21.72; 2. Dario Torres (N) 22.00; 3. Josh Handy (B) 22.54.
400 – 1, Cameron Mullens (Z) 48.25; 2. Ivan Weaver (FC) 48.81; 3, Hunter Hoeft (HSE) 49.39.
800 – 1, Matthew Kim (F) 1:54.08; 2, Mason Schmitz (HSE) 1:54.74; 3, Alex Moore (N) 1:56.96.
1,600 – 1, Ian Baker (B) 4:14.73; 2, Jack Strong (N) 4:16.59; 3, Benton Hunter (A) 4:17.51.
3,200 – 1, Sam Rinker (N) 9:24.92; 2, Samuel Spees (Z) 9:28.25; 3, Sherjeel Khan (B) 9:35.55.
110 HH – 1, Tyler Tarter (F) 14.14. 2, Alex Eyasu (B) 14.98; 3, Harold Williams (HSE) 15.81.
300 IH – 1, Tyler Tarter (F) 37.09 (meet record; old record 38.04, Zach Reitzug, HSE, 2012); 2, Alex Eyasu (B) 39.12; 3, Jack Huisden (W) 40.84.
4x100 relay – 1, Brownsburg 41.89; 2, Franklin Central 42.04; 3, Avon 42.72.
4x400 relay – 1, Franklin Central 3:20.33; 2, Brownsburg 3:22.13; 3, Westfield 3:24.07.
4x800 relay – 1, Zionsville 7:48.30 (meet record; old record 7:48.64, Zionsville, 2023); 2, Noblesville 7:56.60; 3, Westfield 7:57.57.
High jump – 1, Xavier Sherrell (A) 6-4; 2, tie, Robert Campbell (W) and Adetayo Adewunmi (A) 6-4.
Pole vault – 1, Jaylen Walcott (B) 14-6; 2, Connor Langsford (HSE) 14-6; 3, Ivan Weaver (FC) 14-6.
Long jump – 1, JonAnthony Hall (F) 23-0.75; 2, Alex Eyasu (B) 22-6.5; 3, Te’vares Frierson (A) 22-1.5.
Shot put – 1, Josiah Bird (HSE) 56-4.5; 2, Joel Gates (F) 55-11; 3, Kaleb Rasheed (A) 53-9.
Discus – 1, Kaleb Rasheed (A) 173-6; 2, Josiah Bird (HSE) 171-8; 3, Joel Gates (F) 165-4.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA track and field: Brownsburg wins 2024 boys HCC meet
