Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
KOKOMO - On June 6, Manchester's Nick Iden, Triton's Josh Heck and Whitko's Tim Mason will travel to the same place: the state finals.
The three local athletes advanced out of Thursday's Kokomo Regional.
Iden won the 110-meter high hurdles and placed second in the 300 low hurdles. Heck placed third in the pole vault. Mason placed fourth in the long jump.
The top three regional finishers as well as any others with jumps or times that meet state cuts advance to Friday's state finals at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
Marion won the 36-team meet with 73 points. Manchester was ninth with 29, Whitko 18th with 13, Triton 21st with eight and Tippecanoe Valley 25th with six.
As usual, Iden took his results in stride.
After all, he's done this before. He went to the state finals in both hurdles last year, placing seventh in the 300 hurdles.
He may be doing it some more, too. Iden's just a junior.
As he walked toward the gate after last night's regional finished, duffle bag slung over one shoulder, someone simply said, "14.82."
"Yeah, that was probably one of my better times," Iden replied.
He definitely had a very good start.
Iden rocketed out of the blocks and blew past his opponents in the 110 hurdles. Last week he won them with a time of 15.11 seconds, but this week his 14.82 put him .16 seconds ahead of second place.
He ran the 300 low hurdles in 37.98 seconds, pulling in behind Adrian Swanson's (South Bend Adams) 37.77.
"I think it's the first time he's ever broken 38 in the lows," Manchester coach Casey McDowell said. "He was seeded seventh or something coming into these (both hurdles).
"He rose to the challenge and did a great job."
Heck pole vaulted 13 feet, 3 inches - the same score that won him last week's Plymouth Sectional. First place at the Kokomo Regional was also 13-3, but tiebreakers sent Heck down to third place.
Heck, a junior, placed eighth in last year's regional.
"That's (13-3) been my best ever," he said. "I was kind of nervous. It had been raining all week, so I didn't get a lot of practice time in. I just tried to relax and do what I knew I could do.
"I was a little shaky coming out. I wanted to go to state. It would have been nice to win, but going to state was my biggest goal. I'd like to place there and maybe get 13-6, 13-7."
Peru's Kendall McCroy won the long jump with a leap of 22-8. Mason jumped 21-7 3/4 for fourth place, but the he met the state standard of 21-7. Mason also competed in the 200 and finished fifth.
The top eight places in each event went toward a team score. Other local athletes who cracked the top eight included Whitko's Bo Mullins, fifth in the discus; Manchester's Rex Reimer, sixth in the long jump and eighth in the 200; Tippecanoe Valley's Kevin Hileman, sixth in the 800; Triton's Mason McIntyre, seventh in the 3,200; Tippecanoe Valley's Josh Brady, seventh in the 400; and Manchester's Nate Grossman, eighth in the 300 low hurdles.
Grossman graduates, ending his Manchester career. McDowell went out of his way to praise him.
"If there was a kid besides Nick Iden I wanted to get to state, it was Nate Grossman," McDowell said. "He's a senior, an honor student, a hard worker who does everything I ask. If there was anybody I'd ever put up for Scholastic Sports of America, it would be Nate Grossman."
Manchester's 1,600 relay team placed sixth, while its 400 relay team placed seventh. Tippecanoe Valley's 3,200 relay team placed eighth.
"I can't complain," McDowell said. "We had a phenomenal year. It was the first time in school history we won the sectional title.
"Next year, I guarantee there will be more Manchester people here at this meet. I think we'll have more going on to state, too."
KOKOMO REGIONAL
Team results:
1. Marion 73, 2. Peru 52, 3. Maconaquah 47, 4. South Bend Washington 44, 5. Lewis Cass 37, 6. South Bend Adams 30, 6. Penn 30, 6. Huntington North 30, 9. Manchester 28, 10. LaVille 25, 11. Northfield 24, 12. Northwestern 19, 13. Madison-Grant 15, 14. South Bend Riley 14, 14. Southwood 14, 14. Kokomo 14, 14. Culver Military Academy 14, 18. Mishawaka Marian 13, 18. Whitko 13, 20. South Bend Clay 11, 21. Triton 8, 21. Rochester 8, 21. Eastern (Greentown) 8, 24. Oak Hill 6.5, 25. Tippecanoe Valley 6, 25. Logansport 6, 25. Columbia City 6, 28. Mishawaka 5, 28. Plymouth 5, 30. South Bend LaSalle 4, 30. John Glenn 4, 32. Oregon-Davis 3, 32. Argos 3, 34. Mississinewa 2, 35. Eastbrook 1.50, 36. Blackford 1
Top three finishers automatically advance to state finals
*indicates time or jump that meets state cut
Other local athletes who competed but did not place in the top eight are also listed
110 high hurdles - 1. Nick Iden (MAN) :14.82, 2. Andy Leininger (CASS) :14.98, 3. Adrian Swanson (SBA) :15.16, 4. Dayo Danzy (PERU) :15.29, 5. Samuel Burris (SBW) :15.44, 6. Michael Roberts (KOK) :15.67, 7. DeWayne Krom (NF) :15.79, 8. Todd Shearer (PENN) :16.79
3,200 relay - 1. Penn 8:10.88 (new record; old regional record 8:14.42, Penn, 1996), 2. Marion 8:13.74, 3. Culver Military Academy 8:14.69, 4. Northwestern 8:21.57, 5. Northfield 8:24.97, 6. Mishawaka 8:26.19, 7. South Bend Clay 8:28.62, 8. Tippecanoe Valley 8:33.58
100 - 1. Kendall McCroy (PERU) :11.16, 2. Zeb Gathright (SBW) :11.23, 3. Tony Sheron (MAR) :11.30, 4. * George Tinnin (SBW) :11.34, 5. Robert Tutson (SBR) :11.39, 6. Brent Jones (MAR) :11.51, 7. Scott Stookey (M-G) :11.60, 8. Dondre Johnson (KOK)
1,600 - 1. P.J. Little (MAC) 4:30.25, 2. Brad Culbertson (SBC) 4:30.29, 3. David Rudy (NW) 4:31.87, 4. Corey Thomas (ROC) 4:33.80, 5. Jeremy Grams (KOK) 4:36.64, 6. Sydney Nicholson (EAS) 4:37.21, 7. Derrick Wallace (MAR) 4:39.42, 8. Josh Eckert (HN) 4:40.51, 9. William Salyer (TRI) 4:42.95
400 relay - 1. Marion :43.70, 2. South Bend Washington :43.75, 3. Kokomo :44.15, 4. Madison-Grant :44.16, 5. South Bend Adams :44.30, 6. Mishawaka Marian :44.55, 7. Manchester :44.83, 8. Maconaquah :44.84, 16. Whitko :46.86
400 - 1. Kendall McCroy (PERU) :49.05, 2. Andy Leininger (CASS) :49.25, 3. Robert Tutson (SBR) :50.39, 4. Neal Rush (LAV) :51.37, 5. Ryan Kauman (PLY) :51.73, 6. Courtney Miller (O-D) :52.15, 7. Josh Brady (TV) :52.36, 8. Mike Collett (BLA) :53.10
300 low hurdles - 1. Adrian Swanson (SBA) :37.77, 2. Nick Iden (MAN) :37.98, 3. Dayo Danzy (PERU) :39.34, 4. Samuel Burris (SBW) :39.98, 5. Corey Rough (JG) :40.02, 6. Eric Aschendorf (M-G) :40.36, 7. Joe Kindig (MIS) :40.49, 8. Nate Grossman (MAN) :40.86, 13. Joey Manns (TV) :42.09
800 - 1. P.J. Little (MAC) 1:55.53, 2. Joel Cotton (HN) 1:57.31, 3. Bob Shenefield (CC) 1:58.07, 4. Matt Walsh (PENN) 1:59.93, 5. Brad Lovellette (SW) 2:00.86, 6. Kevin Hileman (TV) 2:01.48, 7. David Rudy (SBC) 2:02.69, 8. Nicholas Belton (SBC) 2:02.87
200 - 1. Kendall McCroy (PERU) :22.51, 2. Tony Sheron (MAR) :22.72, 3. Zeb Gathright (SBW) :22.75, 4. Brent Jones (MAR) :23.29, 5. Tim Mason (WHI) :23.32, 6. Scott Stookey (M-G) :23.33, 7. Andy Kellogg (MISS) :23.61, 8. Rex Reimer (MAN)
3,200 - 1. Chad Andrews (NF) 9:46.12, 2. Anthony Bruns (MAR) 9:47.66, 3. Jason Hochstedler (NW) 9:51.89, 4. Josh Nealis (MAC) 10:03, 5. Cameron Norris (HN) 10:06.26, 6. Nick Baloun (PENN) 10:10.42, 7. Mason McIntyre (TRI) 10:12.95, 8. James Davis (PERU) 10:14.50
Discus - 1. Jonathan Chase (MAC) 166-0, 2. Derek Dyer (HN) 164-4, 3. James Bettcher (LAV) 162-2, 4. Robert Salamo (MAR) 157-11, 5. Eboka Mullins (WHI) 155-10, 6. Joshua Crites (EAS) 145-2, 7. Benjamin Platz (LAV) 138-7, 8. Mike Swaidner (HN) 138, 12. Ray Smith (WHI) 128-2
Shot put - 1. Robert Salamo (MAR) 56-8 3/4, 2. Derek Dyer (HN) 55-1 3/4, 3. James Bettcher (LAV) 53-3, 4. Benjamin Platz (LAV) 50-10, 5. Jonathan Chase (MAC) 49-9 1/2, 6. Jason Arnett (ROC) 49-1 1/2, 7. Joshua Crites (EAS) 46-7 1/2, 8. Andy Leap (MAR) 46-5 1/4
High jump - 1. Andy Leininger (CASS) 6-8, 2. Scott Stumbo (SW) 6-3, 3. Lu Sanders (MAC) 6-2, 4. Andy Gemmer (PENN) 6-2, 5. DeWayne Krom (NF) 6-1, 6. Richard Warren (ARG) 6-0, 7. Matt Backs (MAR) 6-0, 8. David Schadek (PLY) 6-0
Pole vault - 1. Brian Ward (MM) 13-3, 2. Taylor Thomas (CMA) 13-3, 3. Joshua Heck (TRI) 13-3, 4. Brent Peterson (OH) 13-0, 5. Jared Haupert (NF) 12-6, 6. Wally Bennett (CASS) 12-6, 7. Seth Peterson (OH) 12-0, 7. Chris Becker (EASTBROOK) 12-0, 13. Aaron Engle (WHI) 10-6
Long jump - 1. Kendall McCroy (PERU) 22-8, 2. George Tinnin (SBW) 22-7, 3. Adam Parmeter (LOG) 21-7 3/4, 4. *Tim Mason (WHI) 21-7 3/4, 5. *Robert Tutson (SBR) 21-7 1/2, 6. Rex Reimer (MAN) 21-1 1/4, 7. Scott Stumbo (SW) 21 1/4, 8. Neal Rush (LAV) 20-11 1/4, 14. Andy Trickle (MAN) 19-1 1/2
1,600 relay - 1. South Bend Adams 3:26.14, 2. Cass 3:29.87, 3. Penn 3:30.70, 4. Marion 3:31.37, 5. South Bend LaSalle 3:31.59, 6. Manchester 3:32.17, 7. Madison-Grant 3:32.99, 8. Maconaquah 3:34.06, 9. Tippecanoe Valley 3:34.12
