Whitko coach Ron Cherry has only one complaint when he talks about 17-year-old Tim Mason and track and field meets: he can use him in only four events.

Track and field rules stipulate this, so Cherry plugs Mason in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, long jump and 400 relay.

He usually wins those. He has lost only once this year in each the 100, 200 and long jump.

"He is our leading scorer by far," Cherry said. "He's kind of inspired our other kids who now try to up their performances.

"He's an excellent athlete in terms of his leaping ability and quickness. He could be our best high jumper, but we're allowed to put him in only four events."

Of the four events, long jump has pushed Mason into the record books. He tied Kevin Kline's Whitko record with a leap of an even 22 feet this year.

"He's shown promise of being over 22 feet, but he's scratched," Cherry said.

Cherry predicts a leap of 22 feet will put Mason at least second in Thursday's Plymouth Sectional. He can't guarantee a first place, not with Rex Reimer around.

Reimer, who will compete for Manchester in the long jump at the sectional, owns the better long jump. Reimer has jumped 22-feet, 1-inch this year.

But they've gone head to head twice, and Mason has beaten Reimer both times.

Track and field coaches like to talk about barriers. Mason had one earlier this year. The first three or four meets, his jumps huddled around 20-feet, 8-inches.

Those jumps still were good enough to win most meets. Then he competed in the Goshen Relays during the middle of the season. Twenty-feet, 8-inches wouldn't be good enough. Reimer and a persistent challenger from Lakeland made sure of that.

So Mason jumped 22 feet.

"Once they hit their barrier, it takes the pressure off," Cherry said. "When he hit 22, it really lifted his confidence. All of a sudden, it was nothing for him to jump 21-7, 21-8, 21-9 all the time.

"He hasn't been pushed too often this year. The Goshen Relays were one time, and that's where he set the school record. A kid from Lakeland and Rex Reimer were very close at second and third."

Now that he's healthy, Mason can raise the bar on the competition. That's counts for something, because he hasn't always been healthy.

Last year Mason missed more than half a season with a hip flexor. He came back in time for the sectional. He placed second in the long jump to advance to the regional finals.

"We've had more of an emphasis on stretching," Cherry said. "This the first time in two years we've had him healthy for a whole campaign. It's kind of nice to be able to rely on those points."

Only one team can win the team title, but the top four finishers in every event also advance to the regional. Cherry believes Ray Smith (discus), Bo Mullins (discus), Jimmy Linn (hurdles) and his 400 relay team (Cory Clark, Aaron Engle, Linn, Mason) could advance.

Then he has Mason, the one guy he (knock on wood) almost counts as a given top-four guy in the 100, 200 and long jump.

"To be honest, part of it's talent he's born with," Cherry said, explaining Mason's success. "Part of it is he's competitive. He really does not like to get beat. I mean, he really does not like to get beat."

Then he mentioned barriers one last time. He sees Mason knocking down another one at the sectional.

"If the weather's nice and his steps are on, he will beat 22 feet," Cherry said.

PLYMOUTH SECTIONAL

Thursday, May 22

5:30 p.m.

Competing teams: MANCHESTER, TIPPECANOE VALLEY, TRITON, WHITKO, Argos, Caston, Culver Community, Culver Military Academy, Northfield, Oregon-Davis, Plymouth, Rochester [[In-content Ad]]