GREENFIELD — Two more champions and a runner-up finish in the team event was well worth the wait.
The Greenfield-Central Boys Track and Field Sectional turned into a two-day event after a malfunction to the timing and scoring system Thursday forced postponement to the track portion of the meet to Friday.
Greenfield-Central added two more champions and two more regional qualifiers, while New Palestine qualified in three more events when the meet resumed.
The Cougars placed second overall with 109 points. Franklin Central had seven champions and won with 155.5 points. G-C edged Warren Central by three points. New Palestine tied for fifth with 44 points.
“To beat Warren Central by three points, I didn’t think that was going to happen,” Greenfield-Central coach Aaron Smith said. “We knew they were down a little bit, but that’s pretty awesome, I can’t tell you the last time we’ve been second.”
The night started off with a Greenfield-Central victory in the 110-meter high hurdles.
At the tape, Cash Looper won the sectional championship with a personal best time of 14.9 seconds. Warren Central runner-up De’andre Erskine finished in 14.94. Franklin Central’s Rylan Hainje was third at 15.04.
“He’s been working hard and putting in extra time on his own,” Smith said. “He really wanted it at the end and that’s his competitiveness. He was close and he was going to go get it.”
G-C distance runner Chris Ross won the 3200 with a time of 9:28.34. He finished 17 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Justin Reedus of Franklin Central.
“I give all the glory to God,” Ross said. “Going into the race I was unsure on how I was going to do because I haven’t been feeling well the last few meets. I knew I could still perform well. … I was happy with my time. I wanted to be under 9:30 and I reached that.”
For G-C, senior Kirk Knecht broke the school record in the 200-meter dash twice. He won his heat in the prelims with a record time of 22.21 seconds. He placed third in the tight final with a time of 22.16. Franklin Central’s Ivan Weaver won in 21.99 and Triton Central’s Brayden Wilkins was second at 22.12.
Greenfield-Central had a runner-up finish in the 1600. Carter Crouch was second with a personal record time of 4:20.43.
New Palestine added three qualifiers to its regional lineup, including a pair of relays.
Jake Cooper was right behind Crouch in the 1600, advancing to the regional as a third-place finisher in a time of 4:21.29.
The Dragons team of Will Bardonner, Eli Wasson, Desmond Palmer and Colton Spears finished third in the 4×100 relay in 43.11 seconds.
In the final race of the evening, the New Pal group of Charlie Rigsbee, Cooper, Dylan Dragoo and David Pack placed third in 3:25.45.
The top three in all events automatically qualify for the regional. Additional top finishers could receive callbacks to complete the 16-participant entrant list for each event. The regional is scheduled for next Thursday at Greenfield-Central.
Field events and the 4×800-meter relay race took place on Thursday.
Greenfield-Central had regional automatic qualifiers in four events. Last year’s state runner-up and this year’s top ranked high jumper, Elliot Ryba won his event by clearing 6-feet, 8-inches. Bradley Streveler also moves on to the regional by finishing third at 6-4.
Zachary Blevens was runner-up in the shot put with a distance of 41-feet. David Wasson, Ross, Braylon Mumaugh and Crouch were second in the 4×800-meter relay with a school-record time of 8:07.52. Knecht was third in the long jump at 22-feet, 3.75-inches.
New Palestine’s qualifiers included Brock Brownfield, a runner-up in the discus (104-feet, 11-inches), and Quinn Crawmer, a third-place finisher in the pole vault (12-feet, 6-inches).
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2024 Greenfield-Central Boys Track and Field Sectional Results
Team scores (champions): Franklin Central (7) 155.5, Greenfield-Central (3) 109, Warren Central (1) 106, Roncalli (2) 89.5, New Palestine 44, Triton Central (2) 44, Lutheran 41, Shelbyville (1) 17, Scecina 10, Beech Grove 5, Morristown 3.
Event: Winner, School (Time/Distance)
100-meter dash: Brayden Wilkins, Triton Central (10.79 seconds)
200-meter dash: Ivan Weaver, Franklin Central (21.99 seconds)
400-meter dash: Ivan Weaver, Franklin Central (49.28 seconds)
800-meter run: Joey Ashman, Franklin Central (1:53.81)
1,600-meter run: Sam Vaught, Roncalli (4:19.04)
3,200-meter run: Christopher Ross, Greenfield-Central (9:28.34)
110-meter hurdles: Cash Looper, Greenfield-Central (14.9 seconds)
300-meter hurdles: Zeke Robertson, Triton Central (40.36 seconds)
4×100-meter relay: Warren Central – Chaz Corley, De’Andre Erskine, Cameron Onyebuagu, Isaiah Rollins (42.68 seconds)
4×400-meter relay: Franklin Central – Hudson Moritz, Kervenson Clerger, Joey Ashman, Ivan Weaver (3:19.72)
4×800-meter relay: Franklin Central – Emilio Leal, Justin Reedus, Evan Farmer, Joey Ashman (7:59.19)
Shot put: Joshua Eikman, Shelbyville (41-feet, 6-inches)
Discus: Seth Brosseau, Roncalli (173-feet, 10-inches)
Long jump: Damir Swanigan, Franklin Central (22-feet, 9.75-inches)
High jump: Elliot Ryba, Greenfield-Central (6-feet, 8-inches)
Pole vault: Ivan Weaver, Franklin Central (14-feet)
