BLOOMINGTON - The area didn't bring home any boys track and field state champions, but it did welcome back some top performers.
At Saturday's 105th Annual Indiana High School Boys Track and Field meet at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex, the Times-Union area had six top-eight finishes, led by Warsaw senior Leonard Wells.At discus, Wells entered the state meet with the top seed, but finished behind Decatur Central's Robert Belden, taking second in his final high-school meet.
"I did the best I could, but I wish I could have done better," Wells said.
Entering the meet with a 189-11 throw at regionals, windy conditions at Indiana University may have played a factor, as Wells second-place throw was 180-03, while Belden's state-winning toss was 185-08.
"I know going in, he wanted to win," Warsaw head coach Dave Hoffert said. "Things worked out like they did, but second place is a huge accomplishment.
"Leonard really performed at his best," Hoffert added. "He's had far better throws, but conditions are different from day to day."
On top of holding the top seed in discus, Wells also entered the state meet with the fourth-best throw in the shot put (59-11), and stayed pat, finishing fourth at state with a throw of 57-05.
He may not have won either event he competed in, but he did help Warsaw place 12th at the meet, the school's best showing in a while.
"You look at our score, and all the points came from Leonard," Hoffert said. "The other guys performed well, but didn't score any points."
The other Warsaw competitors were David Spangle in high jump and Victor Sapara-Grant at the long jump pit.
Spangle placed 11th at the meet, clearing 6-4. Though his personal best in the event is 6-6, he may have been a little distracted.
"He's leaving for the National Guard (June 8)," Hoffert said of the junior. "He's going to graduate early next year, so this was his final high school meet. So, he had a lot of different things on his mind."
Sophomore Sapara-Grant finished 25th in the long jump, leaping 20-10.25.
"The biggest thing for him was to get the experience," Hoffert said. "Now when he goes back, he'll have no nerves or anxiety. And I guarantee he'll be back."
From Wawasee, senior Eric Brown closed out his high school career with a fourth-place finish in the 400, running it in 48.43 seconds.
"I was happy, but think I could have gone a little faster," Brown said. "But I'm happy with fourth."
On top of competing in the 400, Brown also anchored the 4x400 relay, which took eighth place in a time of 3:20.40. The relay entered the meet with a time of 3:22.10, so Tyson Kaase, Ryan McDonald, Anthony Reyes and Brown did cut almost two seconds from their time.
"We were all pretty happy with it," Brown said.
The meet was Brown's fourth, and though he's enjoyed his time at Wawasee, Friday's graduation and Saturday's meet ended his time wearing forest green and old gold as he's now set to compete at Indiana Wesleyan.
"It's sad, but at the same time, I'm glad it's over," he said. "I had a fun four years. Now I'm ready to go onto to compete at college and improve even more."
Brown may be finished, but Wells still has another meet to compete in after being invited to the Midwest Meet of Champions in Michigan June 13 and 14, where he and other Indiana seniors will face off against Ohio and Michigan seniors.
"It's a shot to practice and throw a little more," Wells said about the all-star invitational.
Other local athletes at state were Cory Snep of Whitko and Troy McIntyre of Triton, both of whom competed at high jump.
After spending an hour playing for the Triton baseball team in its sectional championship win over South Central, McIntyre hit the road for Bloomington, making it to the meet in time to compete. Once on the track, McIntyre cleared 6-4, good for the eighth place.
With the wind blowing, Snep took fifth place, clearing 6-6, even with his height of 6-7 at regionals giving him a seventh-seed going in.
Of the six local competitors, only Whitko's Snep and Warsaw's Sapara-Grant will be back next year.
"You always have a new group coming in," Hoffert said, after losing Wells and Spangle. "It all goes in a cycle."
