How Penn sprinted to the Goshen boys regional track title Thursday

GOSHEN — Elijah Coker rose to new heights Thursday night. And he took his Penn High School teammates along for the ride.

Coker claimed not one, not two, but three Penn school records during the boys track regional at Goshen. And in the process, he led the Kingsmen to their fourth consecutive team title.

One record, the 4 x 100 relay, he shares with three other teammates — Kohen Turner,  Camden Anderson and Kellen Watson. Together, they finished first in 41.11 seconds, beating runnerup Elkhart (41.46) by a good three strides.

More: Glenn freshman Lydia Goodsell leads All-Northern Indiana Conference girls track as MVP

How fast was Penn’s time? Consider this … with that time, the Kingsmen would have won every state title but two since the event became part of the IHSAA’s lineup in 1980.  And that includes Penn’s state championship in 2012, won in 41.76.

Then there was the 200, where Coker finished first in 21.89.  His closest competition came from a teammate, Turner, who was second in 22.19.

But most of all, there was the long jump, where a heart-stopping drama played out.  Coker fouled on his first two attempts, meaning he had only one jump to make the finals.

But rather than play it safe, Turner uncorked a massive leap that carried 24 feet, 2-1/2 inches, breaking another record and pretty much guaranteeing first place as he came out of the trials..

“I watching from over by the fence, and I was about to throw up (after the first two scratch marks),” said Penn coach Chad Wetzel. “And then he pops a 24-2 ½. I could finally breathe again.”

As for Coker, who carries a small Superman doll from his teammates, the Kingsman senior admitted he was ready to throw up, as well.

“I was shaking in my boots for my third jump, but I knew God was going to guide me through it,” said Coker. “I was able to go out there and pop a good one.”

Penn’s domination of the sprint events allowed the Kingsmen to also dominate the meet, scoring 96 points to easily turn back Warsaw (71 points). Elkhart finished third.

Penn’s Watson rolled through the 100-meter dash, a little sluggish out of the blocks but then blitzing the field over the last 30 meters.  He clocked 10.61.

“The start isn’t my strength, but I’m at my best the last 50 meters,” said Watson.

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Penn’s 4 x 400 relay also took home a blue ribbon, with Dylan DeDario, Phillip Harris, Taylor Bauer and Coker clocking 3:23.22 to hold off Northridge by two-tenths.

Of course, as fast as the Kingsmen were Thursday, the question is how good will they be at the IHSAA state finals in Bloomington on Saturday, June 1.

The top three finishers in each event advance to the state meet at Indiana University’s track.

“We talked at the beginning of the year whether we can be a top five team at state,” said Wetzel.  “I don’t know if we have enough points to do it, but we certainly have some guys who are going to score some points down there.”

It's how you finish

Saint Joseph senior Luke Kaufhold doesn’t usually take control of a race during its first half, but over the closing stages he’s tough to catch.

Kaufhold won both the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.46 seconds and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 38.74. Both impressive times.

In each case, he really didn’t get rolling till the final third of the event.  While everyone else tires out, Kaufhold stays steady.

“My key is to keep the same rhythm throughout, especially in the 300’s,” said Kaufhold. “In the high hurdles, you know everyone is going to pretty much take the same number of steps, it’s about who can take those steps the fastest.”

Lancer power in the field

This is the time of year when athletes want to reach a peak, and LaVille’s field event performers are certainly taking that to heart.

Pole vaulter Lincoln Hulsey set a new school record by clearing 15 feet, 9 inches for the win, a height that was also announced as a new regional record.

Hulsey was locked in a tight battle with Tipton’s Caleb Farr, but with the bar set at 15-6, Farr was injured during an attempt.  He had to withdraw, leaving Hulsey alone for his record shot.

“We’ll see what happens (at state),” said Hulsey. “I’m going to do my best to get first.”

Discus thrower Michael Good also uncorked a school record 178-3, getting his big throw on his final attempt.

“That’s my PR by seven feet,” said Good. “I’ve been waiting on that for a while. The key is to relax and say smooth.”

Also watch at state

Elkhart’s 4 x 800 relay (Max Huckleberry, Jackson Ezzell, Aaron Richter, Max Malloy) put the hammer down on the final two legs to clock 7:55.94 and turn back Northridge (7:57.60).

Concord’s Jackson Yoder won the 800 in 1:56.85, while Warsaw’s Jackson Gackenheimer came from behind to pass Mishawaka’s Liam Bauschke for the win in a dandy 3200-meter run.

Warsaw’s Jordan Randall cleared 7 feet, ½ inch in the high jump.

Elsewhere: At Valparaiso

LaPorte’s Tayshaun Williams won the 200-meter dash, claimed a relay victory, and finished second in the 100 as La Porte finished fourth in the final team standings  during Thursday’s boys track regional at Valparaiso.

Williams clocked 22.13 seconds to easily take the 200, but there was a tight finish in the 100, as Williams (11.02) trailed Hobart’s William Shearer by eight-100ths of a second.

Shearer also won the 400-meter dash in 48.52 seconds, with another Slicer, Willie Clay, taking second in 48.97.

Williams and Clay each ran a leg on La Porte’s first place 4 x 400 relay, which clocked 3:21.83 to beat Chesterton by over two seconds.

LaPorte’s Brayden Sobecki was fourth in the 3200-meter run (9:37.74) while New Prairie’s Logan Thibodeau finished eighth.  New Prairie’s Isaac Fronk was sixth in the shot put.

Crown Point won the team title with 83 points, while Chesterton was second at 73.  La Porte scored 59 ½.

IHSAA BOYS TRACK REGIONAL RESULTS

At Goshen

TEAM SCORES: Penn 96, Warsaw 71, Elkhart 64, Concord 57, South Bend Saint Joseph 46, Mishawaka 38, Northridge 27, South Bed Adams 23, Columbia City 23, LaVille 23, Tipton 20, Kokomo 16, Maconaquah 16, Manchester 13, Goshen 12, NorthWood 12, Culver Academies 11, South Bend Riley 7, South Bend Washington 7, Tippecanoe Valley 6, Bremen 5, Lewis Cass 5, Mishawaka Marian 4, Western 4, Trinity-Greenlawn 4, Jimtown 4, Madison-Grant 3, Pioneer 3, Eastern-Greentown 2, Fairfield 1, Triton 1.

STATE MEET QUALIFIERS:

4 x 800 relay: 1, Elkhart (Max Huckleberry, Jackson Ezzell, Aaron Richter, Max Malloy) 7:55.94.  2, Northridge (David Gingerich, Trevin Schlabach, Joe Keyser, Baylor Miller) 7:57.60.  3, Warsaw 7:58.53.

110 high hurdles: 1, Luke Kaufhold (Saint Joseph) 14.46.  2, Skyler VanSkyhawk (Mishawaka) 14.79. 3, Blake Keene (Warsaw) 14.81.

100: 1, Kellen Watson (Penn) 10.61.  2, Jaron Thomas (Concord) 10.78.  3, Zachary Anderson (Elkhart) 10.91.  4, Nathan Munson (Elkhart) 10.96.  5, Joseph Moon (Concord) 10.99.

1600: 1, Marcus Ridge (Columbia City) 4:16.71.  2, Max Malloy (Elkhart) 4:17.81. 3, Xavier Miller (Northridge) 4:18.20.

4 x 100 relay: 1, Penn (Kohen Turner, Elijah Coker, Camden Anderson, Kellen Watson) 41.11.  2, Elkhart (Zach Anderson, Anthony Leonard, Alfonzo Newbern, Nathan Munson) 41.46.  3, Concord (Char’rese Breveard, Joseph Moon, Simeon Lake, Jaron Thomas) 41.97.  4, Saint Joseph (Samuel Harshman, Bill Imanene, Cle Kimbrough, Richard Halliburton) 42.41.

400: 1, AJ Kelly (Maconaquah) 49.22.  2, John Afari-Aikins (Culver Academies) 49.39.  3, Aldan Zolman (Mishawaka) 49.86.

300 intermediate hurdles: 1, Luke Kaufhold (Saint Joseph) 38.74.  2, Cooper Altherr (Tipton) 39.69.  3, Keaton Nash (Penn) 40.17.

800: 1, Jackson Yoder (Concord) 1:56.85.  2, Marcus Ridge (Columbia City) 1:57.22. 3, Bol Agwick (Adams) 1:57.52.

200: 1, Elijah Coker (Penn) 21.89.  2, Kohen Turner (Penn) 22.19.  3, Wade Jones (Tippecanoe Valley) 22.41.

3200: 1, Jackson Gackenheimer (Warsaw) 9:19.06.  2, Liam Bauschke (Mishawaka) 9:25.22.  3, Aaron Richter (Elkhart) 9:35.99.

4 x 400 relay: 1, Penn (Dylan DeDario, Phillip Harris, Taylor Bauer, Elijah Coker) 3:23.22.  2, Northridge (Jason Bauta, Mathias Hazen, Max Estep, Jaden Fisher) 3:23.43. 3, Mishawaka (Leron Kincaid, Brady Newsome, Trey Thomas, Aldan Zolman) 3:24.03.

High jump: Jordan Randall (Warsaw) 7-0 ½. 2, Trey Thomas (Mishawaka) 6-4.  3, Talan Asay (Warsaw) 6-4.

Long jump: 1, Elijah Coker (Penn) 24-2 ½.  2, Jeremiah Young (Kokomo) 22-4 ½.  3, Trinton Harris (Elkhart) 21-9 ½.

Shot put: 1, Kameron Kauffman (Warsaw) 55-10.  2, Gage Goralski (Penn) 55-0 ¼.  3, Tyler Bowman (NorthWood) 53-8.

Discus: 1, Michael Good (LaVille) 178-3.  2, Kameron Kauffman (Warsaw) 170-1.  3, Jedaiah Beard (Kokomo) 168-6.

Pole vault:  1, Lincoln Hulsey (LaVille) 15-9 ¼. 2, Caleb Farr (Tipton) 15-3. 3, Mavric Poe (Penn) 14-6.

IHSAA Official (Starter): Ted Noffsinger

NOTE: Top three finishers in each event advance to IHSAA state finals in Bloomington on Saturday, June 1, as well as any athlete who meets a tough state performance standard.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA Indiana high school boys track Goshen Regional results