Three takeaways from Wednesday's SIAC girls track and field meet

EVANSVILLE — There was a Madelyn Knies from North. And another Madelyn Knies from Jasper.

Each is one of the top competitors in the 300-meter hurdles. Knies won the event for the Huskies in the City meet last week. Yet, they hadn't been introduced until Wednesday's Southern Indiana Athletic Conference girls track and field meet at Central Stadium.

Jasper and North ran twice earlier in the regular season, yet the Wildcats weren't aware there was another Madelyn Knies. Huskies coach Wes Camp approached Jasper's staff and thought there was an error on the seeding sheet.

Nope, the girls share a name and compete in the same event. And on Wednesday night, it was Jasper's Knies who took home the title in the 300-meter hurdles that helped propel her team to the conference title.

IHSAA track and field: North sweeps City track meet while Bosse, Reitz sprinters push records

The Wildcats are three-time defending champions since re-joining the SIAC.

"It was a shock when I found out that we had the same name," the freshman said. "I think that she's going to do great this year. If we continue on and be good competitors, that would be great."

Knies normally runs in the 400-meter race for Jasper but was inserted into the 300 hurdles because of an injury to another runner. Wildcats coach Dean Jerger found it impressive that Knies was a conference champion for the first time competing in the event.

"She stepped up and never complained about anything," Jerger said. "She just keeps cutting times, which is great to see. We'll see where we go with it."

Jasper utilized its depth in addition to its four individual championships. The Wildcats also took home first in the 4x400 meter relay team while Ava Englert won in high jump.

"We are just a very strong team overall," senior Naya Zazzetti said. "We just have such a competitive drive. It's just amazing to see all of us get to where we've been trying to get to all season. I'm proud of our team."

The Wildcats have talent across the board and aim to use it to their advantage for the postseason, which starts with the sectional in two weeks.

"I think the sectional is going to be good," Knies said. "I hope it's not too close and that we can pull through and win."

Castle's Amaya Royal has extra motivation going into the postseason

Amaya Royal, a junior, was a state qualifier and regional champion for the Knights last year in the 100-meter dash, finishing in the top 20 at state.

Royal, however, believed she could do even better this season. Particularly by making a podium appearance. So, she trained harder in the offseason having tasted what it was like to compete at the state meet.

And the results are paying off.

This season has been full of highlights for Royal. She already had broken the school record in the 100-meter race last month in 12.38 seconds. Then she one-upped herself in the conference meet Wednesday, this time finishing in 12.28 seconds.

"I just made sure that my start was really good and I've been really working on my finish," Royal said. "So that really helped me, too."

Royal was also a conference runner-up as part of Castle's 4x100-meter relay team, plus she finished in fourth place in the 200-meter dash. She's not looking too far ahead to the postseason yet, though. She simply plans to take each race at a time.

"Right now, I'm just going to stay really focused and trust the process and trust my training as a whole," Royal said.

Memorial's Carson Parks sets personal record, wins 3,200-meter run

Two years ago, Jacqueline Brasseale of Memorial broke the City meet record for the 3,200-meter. She had an astounding career as she placed at state multiple times and cemented herself as one of her school's best distance runners.

There's now another runner for Memorial looking to make her own mark on the record books.

Enter sophomore Carson Parks, now the conference champion in the 3,200. She took home first place with a time of 11:53.88 to improve on an already impressive outing last week at the City meet with runner-up finishes in both the 1,600 and 3,200.

Winning the conference championship while also setting a personal record was certainly a boost entering the home stretch of the season.

"I've been trying to break 12 (minutes) this season, and it just felt really great to finally be able to pace myself right and be able to get that," Parks said.

Parks learned about what it takes to be at her best from one of the best. She trained with Brasseale and admired how humble she was around her teammates and how passionate she was about her running.

"She was a really great role model to look up to," Parks said. "I try to be like her every day."

Parks is excited to see the competition continue to increase. She aims to set more personal records and continue the legacy of elite distance runners at Memorial.

"I'm going to try my best," Parks said.

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on Twitter @Twashington490.

RESULTS FROM THE SIAC GIRLS TRACK MEET

Wednesday at Central Stadium

Team: Jasper 149.5, Castle 130, North 74, Memorial 52.5, Bosse 48.5, Reitz 44, Mater Dei 43, Vincennes Lincoln 30.5, Harrison 27, Central 24

Individual winners

100: Amaya Royal (Castle) 12.28

200: Alexia Smith (Bosse) 25.30

400: Taylor Johnson (Reitz) 59.68

800: Anna Seibert (Castle) 2:27.12

1,600: Cordelia Hoover (Reitz) 5:17.90

3,200: Carson Parks (Memorial) 11:53.88

100 hurdles: Maya Miller (Vincennes Lincoln) 15.82

300 hurdles: Madelyn Knies (Jasper) 46.87

4x100 relay: North 49.64 (Iana Tecson, De'Janay Layne, Ahmera Harris, Vanessa Nankwenya)

4x400 relay: Jasper 4:13.12 (Allie Werner, Hallie Skorge, Niya Zazzetti, Madelyn Knies)

4x800 relay: Jasper 10:22.19 (Riley Fischer, Alexis Byrd, Ellie Leonard, Emma Leonard)

High jump: Ava Englert (Jasper) 5-04

Pole vault: Elsie Krodel (Castle) 9-06

Long jump: Alexia Smith (Bosse) 16-06.75

Shot put: Gretchen Hurt (Castle) 36-08

Discus: Gretchen Hurt (Castle) 114-09

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Jasper wins Southern Indiana Athletic Conference girls track meet