Argentino Leads Locals At Fort Wayne Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
FORT WAYNE - Top-ranked Northrop ran away from the rest of the Fort Wayne Regional field Thursday at Wayne High School, but for 52 seconds Wawasee's Anthony Argentino was right there.
The talented Warrior senior, who missed five weeks of competition because of mono, ran his best time in both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles Thursday - breaking the regional record in the latter of the two - only to finish just short of victory.
Such was the case for those trying to beat the Bruins, who won 11 of the 16 events and scored 141 points to win the regional championship. Snider and Elkhart Memorial tied for second with 65 points each, followed in the top 10 by Harding (41), Wayne (35), Wawasee (31), Elkhart Central (31), Garrett (25), Goshen (22) and Bellmont (20).
Warsaw finished in a tie for 15th with 11 points.
Argentino and Northrop senior Charles Bailey posted the two fastest 110 hurdles times in the state in last week's sectional - with Bailey running a time of 14.18 seconds in the Fort Wayne Sectional and Argentino a time of 14.33 seconds in the Goshen Sectional.
Thursday they went head-to-head for the first time since last year's state finals and wowed the crowd.
Bailey won the 110 hurdles race in 13.98 seconds, with Argentino a step behind in 14.15 seconds.
In the 300 hurdles, Argentino got off to a slow start - if that's possible in a regional record-breaking run - but closed the gap considerably over the final 100 meters.
The two were nearly even when they came to the last set of hurdles, and then Bailey crossed the line in a winning time of 37.45 seconds, with Argentino right on his heels in a runner-up time of 37.55 seconds.
Both broke the regional record of 37.67 seconds set by Concord's Daniel Martin in 2000.
"Charles is awesome," said Argentino, who beat Bailey in last year's regional but lost to him in the state finals. "If anyone anyone deserved it, he did. He's the man. I ran my best time of the season and finished second. I would like to finish first. Everyone thinks that, but he wanted it more and he got it. I shook his hand, I've got no hard feelings. He's a really good hurdler, also. If you don't respect him for that, you're crazy."
The two will face each other again June 5 at the state finals at Indiana University in Bloomington.
And as their high school careers end next week, their rivalry will continue as Argentino will run next year for the Indiana Hoosiers and Bailey for the University of Illinois.
"It was something to look forward to," Bailey said of competing against Argentino. "In our conferences we're like the top hurdlers, but we don't get any competition until we see each other."
Bailey also ran on Northrop's record-setting 400 relay team, and its regional champion 1600 relay team.
The Bruins dominated the meet by taking first in 11 of 16 events.
The top three individuals or relay teams in each event, as well as those meeting the state standard, qualify for the June 5 state finals at Indiana University.
So strong was Thursday's regional field - a field that included the state's No. 1 performer from last week's sectional in 11 of 16 events - that the state standard was met in nine events.
Eight competitors advanced in the pole vault, including Warsaw's Kyle Boley, while eight advanced in the high jump, six teams in the 400 relay and five competitors each in the long jump, 400 and 300 hurdles.
Locals joining Argentino at state include Warsaw's Boley and Wawasee's Alex Similton, Seth Blakeslee, Michael Conrad, Luke Stoffel and David Slabaugh.
Boley advanced to the state finals for the third straight year by hitting the state standard of 14-0. He finished fifth in a pole vault competition that had three competitors top the 16-foot mark this year.
"I played it conservative and just tried to make it to state," Boley said of his strategy.
While he's advanced to the state finals in pole vault three consecutive years, this marks his fourth trip to a state finals event, as he advanced to Conseco Fieldhouse as a wrestler during his freshman year at WCHS.
"That makes me realize just how hard I've worked," said Boley. "To go to state in two sports, that's something very few have done."
Boley's older brother Anthony (wrestling) and father Tony (track) also advanced to the state finals during their prep careers.
For Wawasee, Similton, who won last week's sectional with a jump of 6-7, finished sixth in the high jump and advanced by hitting the state standard of 6-4.
The Wawasee foursome of Blakeslee, Stoffel, Conrad and Slabaugh advanced by finishing third in the 3,200 relay with a time of 8:05.67.
Stoffel also competed in the 1,600 and 3,200, finishing seventh in both races.
Just missing a state finals berth was Warsaw's 1,600 relay team of Tony Castillo, Dan Erickson, Thomas Balestri and Nate Miller.
The Tiger foursome finished fourth in a time of 3:22.81, just missing the state standard time of 3:22.34.
Individual multiple winners Thursday included Bailey (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Bruin teammates Kesonn Lee (100, 200), Brennon Plotner (800, 1,600). Harding's Selwyn Lylmon won the long jump and the 400.
FORT WAYNE WAYNE REGIONAL
Top 10 Team Scores - Northrop 141, Snider 65, Elkhart Memorial 65, Harding 41, Wayne 35, Wawasee 31, Elkhart Central 31, Garrett 25, Goshen 22, Bellmont 20
Local Team scores - Wawasee 22, Warsaw 11
100 - 1. Lee (Nor) :10.88, 2. Jordan (EM) :10.91, 3. Talley (Sni) :11.09, 4. Perez (EC) :11.16, 5. Horton (EC) :11.26, 6. Mundon (EN) :11.38
400 - 1. Lylmon (Har) :48.49, 2. Surry (Sni) :49.34, 3. Manning (Way) :49.58, 4. Brown (NW) :49.63, 5. Bigelow (Dek) :49.86, 6. Payton (Con) :50.06
1600 - 1. Plotner (Nor) 4:18.47, 2. Placencia (Gar) 4:19.19, 3. Stairs (Leo) 4:21.41, 4. Matteson (EM) 4:29.63, 5. Jacobson (Dwe) 4:30.95, 6. Krock (EN) 4:32.97
110 hurdles - 1. Bailey (Nor) :13.98, 2. Argentino (Waw) :14.15, 3. Waters (Way) :14.62, 4. Burks (Sni) :14.70, 5. Washington (Way) :14.97, 6. Smiley (Con) :15.19
400 relay - 1. Northrop (Bailey, Wims, Hopkins, Lee) :41.74, 2. Harding :42.14, 3. NorthWood :42.33, 4. Elkhart Central :42.34, 5. Snider :42.44, 6. Elkhart Memorial :42.97
3200 relay - 1. Snider (Altevogt, Degitz, Sanders, Young) 8:01.40, 2. Northridge 8:04.22, 3. Wawasee (Blakeslee, Conrad, Stoffel, Slabaugh) 8:05.67, 4. East Noble 8:08.18, 5. Concordia 8:09.42, 6. Warsaw 8:09.59
200 - 1. Lee (Nor) :21.94, 2. Jordan (EM) :22.04, 3. Wims (Nor) :22.14, 4. Perez (EC) :22.34, 5. Horton (EC) :22.44, 6. Grayson (Way) :22.54
800 - 1. Plotner (Nor) 1:54.99, 2. Suggs (EM) 1:56.01, 3. Sanders (Sni) 1:56.42, 4. Crum (Har) 1:56.62, 5. Eckert (NW) 1:58.01, 6. May (Ang) 1:58.86
3200 - 1. Moldovan (Nor) 9:30.51, 2. Rojas (WN) 9:36.68, 3. Gaffer (Nor) 9:48.78, 4. Hiner (Fre) 9:58.10, 5. Steury (Leo) 10:01.59, 6. Collins (NR) 10:04.71
300 hurdles - 1. Bailey (Nor) :37.45, 2. Argentino (Waw) :37.55, 3. White (Sni) :38.85, 4. Mattox (Ang) :38.99, 5. Hopkins (Nor) :39.02, 6. Waters (Way) :40.12
1600 relay - 1. Northrop (Bailey, Lee, White, Walker) 3:18.70, 2. Harding 3:21.05, 3. Wayne 3:21.92, 4. Warsaw 3:22.81, 5. Elkhart Memorial 3:23.67, 6. Concordia 3:23.86
High jump - 1. Wynn (Sni) 6-8, 2. Sunderland (Dek) 6-7, 3. White (Nor) 6-6, 4. Julian (Fre) 6-5, 5. Schultz (Bel) 6-5, 6. Similton (Waw) 6-4
Pole vault - 1. Wilson (Nor) 15-0, 2. Sieleschott (Bel) 14-9, 3. Martzall (Nor) 14-6, 4. Hostetler (EM) 14-6, 5. Boley (War) 14-0, Morningstar (EM) 14-0, Schneider (Nor) 14-0
Long jump - 1. Lylmon (Har) 23-5, 2. Perez (EC) 23-1, 3. Wynn (Sni) 23-1, 4. Didion (Gar) 22-8, 5. Britt (Elm) 22-5, 6. Chupp (NW) 21-10
Shot put - 1. Sparklin (Gosh) 57-3 1/2, 2. Koronkiewicz (Gosh) 56-10 3/4, 3. Hicks (Gar) 56-9 1/2, 4. Ennis (Car) 54-7 1/4, 5. Aby (Bel) 53-4, 6. Gaines (Nor) 52-5 1/2
Discus - 1. Smith (EM) 176-9, 2. Fearnow (EM) 174-9, 3. Hicks (Gar) 167-8, 4. Ripley (Nor) 163-8, 5. Sparklin (Gosh) 158-4, 6. Shown (Luers) 155-9 [[In-content Ad]]
FORT WAYNE - Top-ranked Northrop ran away from the rest of the Fort Wayne Regional field Thursday at Wayne High School, but for 52 seconds Wawasee's Anthony Argentino was right there.
The talented Warrior senior, who missed five weeks of competition because of mono, ran his best time in both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles Thursday - breaking the regional record in the latter of the two - only to finish just short of victory.
Such was the case for those trying to beat the Bruins, who won 11 of the 16 events and scored 141 points to win the regional championship. Snider and Elkhart Memorial tied for second with 65 points each, followed in the top 10 by Harding (41), Wayne (35), Wawasee (31), Elkhart Central (31), Garrett (25), Goshen (22) and Bellmont (20).
Warsaw finished in a tie for 15th with 11 points.
Argentino and Northrop senior Charles Bailey posted the two fastest 110 hurdles times in the state in last week's sectional - with Bailey running a time of 14.18 seconds in the Fort Wayne Sectional and Argentino a time of 14.33 seconds in the Goshen Sectional.
Thursday they went head-to-head for the first time since last year's state finals and wowed the crowd.
Bailey won the 110 hurdles race in 13.98 seconds, with Argentino a step behind in 14.15 seconds.
In the 300 hurdles, Argentino got off to a slow start - if that's possible in a regional record-breaking run - but closed the gap considerably over the final 100 meters.
The two were nearly even when they came to the last set of hurdles, and then Bailey crossed the line in a winning time of 37.45 seconds, with Argentino right on his heels in a runner-up time of 37.55 seconds.
Both broke the regional record of 37.67 seconds set by Concord's Daniel Martin in 2000.
"Charles is awesome," said Argentino, who beat Bailey in last year's regional but lost to him in the state finals. "If anyone anyone deserved it, he did. He's the man. I ran my best time of the season and finished second. I would like to finish first. Everyone thinks that, but he wanted it more and he got it. I shook his hand, I've got no hard feelings. He's a really good hurdler, also. If you don't respect him for that, you're crazy."
The two will face each other again June 5 at the state finals at Indiana University in Bloomington.
And as their high school careers end next week, their rivalry will continue as Argentino will run next year for the Indiana Hoosiers and Bailey for the University of Illinois.
"It was something to look forward to," Bailey said of competing against Argentino. "In our conferences we're like the top hurdlers, but we don't get any competition until we see each other."
Bailey also ran on Northrop's record-setting 400 relay team, and its regional champion 1600 relay team.
The Bruins dominated the meet by taking first in 11 of 16 events.
The top three individuals or relay teams in each event, as well as those meeting the state standard, qualify for the June 5 state finals at Indiana University.
So strong was Thursday's regional field - a field that included the state's No. 1 performer from last week's sectional in 11 of 16 events - that the state standard was met in nine events.
Eight competitors advanced in the pole vault, including Warsaw's Kyle Boley, while eight advanced in the high jump, six teams in the 400 relay and five competitors each in the long jump, 400 and 300 hurdles.
Locals joining Argentino at state include Warsaw's Boley and Wawasee's Alex Similton, Seth Blakeslee, Michael Conrad, Luke Stoffel and David Slabaugh.
Boley advanced to the state finals for the third straight year by hitting the state standard of 14-0. He finished fifth in a pole vault competition that had three competitors top the 16-foot mark this year.
"I played it conservative and just tried to make it to state," Boley said of his strategy.
While he's advanced to the state finals in pole vault three consecutive years, this marks his fourth trip to a state finals event, as he advanced to Conseco Fieldhouse as a wrestler during his freshman year at WCHS.
"That makes me realize just how hard I've worked," said Boley. "To go to state in two sports, that's something very few have done."
Boley's older brother Anthony (wrestling) and father Tony (track) also advanced to the state finals during their prep careers.
For Wawasee, Similton, who won last week's sectional with a jump of 6-7, finished sixth in the high jump and advanced by hitting the state standard of 6-4.
The Wawasee foursome of Blakeslee, Stoffel, Conrad and Slabaugh advanced by finishing third in the 3,200 relay with a time of 8:05.67.
Stoffel also competed in the 1,600 and 3,200, finishing seventh in both races.
Just missing a state finals berth was Warsaw's 1,600 relay team of Tony Castillo, Dan Erickson, Thomas Balestri and Nate Miller.
The Tiger foursome finished fourth in a time of 3:22.81, just missing the state standard time of 3:22.34.
Individual multiple winners Thursday included Bailey (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles) and Bruin teammates Kesonn Lee (100, 200), Brennon Plotner (800, 1,600). Harding's Selwyn Lylmon won the long jump and the 400.
FORT WAYNE WAYNE REGIONAL
Top 10 Team Scores - Northrop 141, Snider 65, Elkhart Memorial 65, Harding 41, Wayne 35, Wawasee 31, Elkhart Central 31, Garrett 25, Goshen 22, Bellmont 20
Local Team scores - Wawasee 22, Warsaw 11
100 - 1. Lee (Nor) :10.88, 2. Jordan (EM) :10.91, 3. Talley (Sni) :11.09, 4. Perez (EC) :11.16, 5. Horton (EC) :11.26, 6. Mundon (EN) :11.38
400 - 1. Lylmon (Har) :48.49, 2. Surry (Sni) :49.34, 3. Manning (Way) :49.58, 4. Brown (NW) :49.63, 5. Bigelow (Dek) :49.86, 6. Payton (Con) :50.06
1600 - 1. Plotner (Nor) 4:18.47, 2. Placencia (Gar) 4:19.19, 3. Stairs (Leo) 4:21.41, 4. Matteson (EM) 4:29.63, 5. Jacobson (Dwe) 4:30.95, 6. Krock (EN) 4:32.97
110 hurdles - 1. Bailey (Nor) :13.98, 2. Argentino (Waw) :14.15, 3. Waters (Way) :14.62, 4. Burks (Sni) :14.70, 5. Washington (Way) :14.97, 6. Smiley (Con) :15.19
400 relay - 1. Northrop (Bailey, Wims, Hopkins, Lee) :41.74, 2. Harding :42.14, 3. NorthWood :42.33, 4. Elkhart Central :42.34, 5. Snider :42.44, 6. Elkhart Memorial :42.97
3200 relay - 1. Snider (Altevogt, Degitz, Sanders, Young) 8:01.40, 2. Northridge 8:04.22, 3. Wawasee (Blakeslee, Conrad, Stoffel, Slabaugh) 8:05.67, 4. East Noble 8:08.18, 5. Concordia 8:09.42, 6. Warsaw 8:09.59
200 - 1. Lee (Nor) :21.94, 2. Jordan (EM) :22.04, 3. Wims (Nor) :22.14, 4. Perez (EC) :22.34, 5. Horton (EC) :22.44, 6. Grayson (Way) :22.54
800 - 1. Plotner (Nor) 1:54.99, 2. Suggs (EM) 1:56.01, 3. Sanders (Sni) 1:56.42, 4. Crum (Har) 1:56.62, 5. Eckert (NW) 1:58.01, 6. May (Ang) 1:58.86
3200 - 1. Moldovan (Nor) 9:30.51, 2. Rojas (WN) 9:36.68, 3. Gaffer (Nor) 9:48.78, 4. Hiner (Fre) 9:58.10, 5. Steury (Leo) 10:01.59, 6. Collins (NR) 10:04.71
300 hurdles - 1. Bailey (Nor) :37.45, 2. Argentino (Waw) :37.55, 3. White (Sni) :38.85, 4. Mattox (Ang) :38.99, 5. Hopkins (Nor) :39.02, 6. Waters (Way) :40.12
1600 relay - 1. Northrop (Bailey, Lee, White, Walker) 3:18.70, 2. Harding 3:21.05, 3. Wayne 3:21.92, 4. Warsaw 3:22.81, 5. Elkhart Memorial 3:23.67, 6. Concordia 3:23.86
High jump - 1. Wynn (Sni) 6-8, 2. Sunderland (Dek) 6-7, 3. White (Nor) 6-6, 4. Julian (Fre) 6-5, 5. Schultz (Bel) 6-5, 6. Similton (Waw) 6-4
Pole vault - 1. Wilson (Nor) 15-0, 2. Sieleschott (Bel) 14-9, 3. Martzall (Nor) 14-6, 4. Hostetler (EM) 14-6, 5. Boley (War) 14-0, Morningstar (EM) 14-0, Schneider (Nor) 14-0
Long jump - 1. Lylmon (Har) 23-5, 2. Perez (EC) 23-1, 3. Wynn (Sni) 23-1, 4. Didion (Gar) 22-8, 5. Britt (Elm) 22-5, 6. Chupp (NW) 21-10
Shot put - 1. Sparklin (Gosh) 57-3 1/2, 2. Koronkiewicz (Gosh) 56-10 3/4, 3. Hicks (Gar) 56-9 1/2, 4. Ennis (Car) 54-7 1/4, 5. Aby (Bel) 53-4, 6. Gaines (Nor) 52-5 1/2
Discus - 1. Smith (EM) 176-9, 2. Fearnow (EM) 174-9, 3. Hicks (Gar) 167-8, 4. Ripley (Nor) 163-8, 5. Sparklin (Gosh) 158-4, 6. Shown (Luers) 155-9 [[In-content Ad]]