PREP BOYS TRACK: Thomas stars for Concord as area individuals advance to state

May 23—GOSHEN — With a calming breeze and a great atmosphere at Goshen High School Thursday afternoon, the boys track regional produced several winners and competitive races with a ticket to state on the line.

Next week's state finals take place Saturday in Bloomington. A handful of area athletes will be on there way and more could be after times across the Hoosier state are finalized.

Highlights of the meet came all over the track Thursday,

THOMAS TAKES THE LEAD

Running next to teammate Joseph Moon, Concord's Jaron Thomas was in a familiar situation.

The two Minutemen whose seeded times entering the night place them both in the top four succeeded in giving the crowd something to cheer for. Thomas got out a blistering start to Moon's right. Crossing the finish line, it was the junior who captured the edge.

"We've been battling back and forth all season," Thomas said of his running mate Moon who finished fifth overall. "To just have my teammate next to me, someone I've ran next to these years is very comforting."

Kellen Watson from Penn earned first overall, another familiar sight for Thomas who gave props to his opposition.

"I got second to Kellen last year, he's very talented, he's great competition," Thomas said. "I did run my best race today so I'm proud of that... [I was also] .01 off the school record so hopefully at this next meet I can get enough work done to beat that at the state meet."

Thomas also helped the Minutemen finish third in the 4X100-meter relay, helping the team of Thomas, Char'rese Breveard, Moon and Simeon Lake qualify for state. Thomas ran the last leg, another down-to-the-wire finish that stood out Thursday.

RAIDER RELAY MEETS NEW BEST FOR STATE TICKET PUNCH

In a dense field of relay teams to begin the afternoon's action on the track, Northridge, Warsaw and Elkhart had among the clear best times among the 4X800-meter relay groupings.

The transition from the Raiders' third runner Joe Keyser to final runner Baylor Miller made the difference in the race.

"I knew I had to get the baton up near the front for Baylor to finish it out strong," Keyser said. "I knew that as long as I got it to him in a good position, he'll finish strong so that's always going through my mind."

Keyser reached out to Miller who received the baton in a bunch with the Tigers and Lions runners. He then paced out to a second-place lead.

"I got it in third and I knew I had to get up there," Miller said following the race. "I was feeling confident in my ability to get back up there and challenge them for the win. I went out a little too fast because I got excited. I tried to win it in the first lap instead of just being a little more patient because I fell apart in that last 200 meters but I tried."

With the three teams trading places throughout the final 400-meters of the race, the team from Northridge finished second with a time of 1:57.60 — second to Elkhart (1:55.94) which set a new regional record. The Raiders time was good enough for a new person record, although the team was certainly shooting for the title.

"That was my best time of the season by like half a second so I'm not mad, but losing sucks," Miller said.

OTHER ADVANCERS

Jackson Yoder of Concord won the 800-meter run with a tight finish at the line. With the title in hand, he'll join the Minutemen sprinters at next week's finals.

Northridge's Xavier Miller finished third in the 1,600-meter run, good to join his brother Baylor at the state finals in Bloomington.

The 120th annual boys state finals take place Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington. The girls state finals will run the day before on Friday.

GOSHEN REGIONAL 2 — State finals automatic qualifiers

Top three in each event automatically qualify for state. Call-backs will take place after each sectional in the state has concluded and the state competition is filled.

100-meter dash: Kellen Watson (Penn, 10.61); Jaron Thomas (Concord, 10.78); Zachary Anderson (Elkhart, 10.91).

200-meter dash: Elijah Coker (Penn, 21.89); Kohen Turner (Penn, 22.19); Wade Jones (Tippecanoe Valley, 22.48)

400-meter dash: AJ Kelly (Maconaquah, 49.22); John Afari-Aikins (Culver Academies, 49.39); Aiden Zolman (Mishawaka, 49.86)

800-meter run: Jackson Yoder (Concord, 1:56.85); Marcus Ridge (Columbia City, 1:57.22), Bol Agwick (South Bend Adams, 1:57.52)

1,600-meter run: Marcus Ridge (Columbia City, 4:16.71); Maxwell Malloy (Elkhart, 4:17.81), Xavier Miller (Northridge, 4:18.20)

3,200-meter run: Jackson Gackenheimer (Warsaw, 9:19.06); Liam Bauschke (Mishawaka, 9:25.22); Aaron Richter (Elkhart, 9:35.99)

110-meter hurdles: Luke Kaufhold (SB St. Joseph, 14.46), Skyler VanSkyhawk (Mishawaka, 14.79), Blake Keene (Warsaw, 14.81)

300-meter hurdles: Luke Kaufhold (SB St. Joseph, 38.74), Cooper Altherr (Tipton, 39.69), Keaton Nash (Penn, 40.17).

4X100-meter relay: Penn (Kohen Turner, Elijah Coker, Camden Anderson, Kellen Watson; 41.11); Elkhart (Zachary Anderson, Anthony Leonard, Alfonzo Newbern, Nathan Munson; 41.46); Concord (Char'rese Breveard, Joseph Moon, Simeon Lake, Jaron Thomas; 41.97)

4X400-meter relay: Penn (Dylan DeDario, Phillip Harris, Taylor Bauer, Elijah Coker; 3:23.22); Northridge (Jason Bauta, Mathias Hazen, Max Estep, Jaden Fisher; 3:23.43); Mishawaka (Leron Kindred, Brady Newsome, Trey Thomas, Aidan Zolman; 3:24.03)

4X800-meter relay: Elkhart (Max Buckleberry, Jackson Ezzell, Aaron Richter, Maxwell Malloy; 7:55.94); Northridge (David Gingerich, Trevin Schlabach, Joe Keyser, Baylor Miller; 7:57.60); Warsaw (Tyler Mimnaugh, Clark Meridew, Rick Orr, Tyler Swartz; 7:58.53)

High jump: Jordan Randall (Warsaw, 7' 1/2"), Trey Thomas (Mishawaka, J6'4"), Talan Asay (Warsaw, J6'4")

Long jump: Elijah Coker (Penn, 24'2 1/2"); Jeremiah Young (Kokomo, 22'4 1/2"), Trinton Harris (Elkhart, 21'9 1/2")

Pole vault: Lincoln Hulsey (LaVille, 15'9 1/4"); Caleb Farr (Tipton, 15'3"), Mavric Poe (Penn, 14'6")

Shot put: Kameron Kauffman (Warsaw, 55'10"); Gage Goralski (Penn, 55'1/4"); Tyler Bowman (NorthWood, 53'8")

Discus: Michael Good (LaVille, 178'3"); Kameron Kauffman (Warsaw, 170'1"); Jedaiah Beard (Kokomo, 158'6")

Team standings — Top 10 plus area schools

1. Penn (96)

2. Warsaw (71)

3. Elkhart (64)

4. Concord (57)

5. SB St. Joe (46)

6. Mishawaka (38)

7. Northridge (27)

8. SB Adams (23)

9. Columbia City (23)

10. LaVille (23)

15. NorthWood, Goshen (12)

30. Fairfield (1)

Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.