BLOOMINGTON – There were a couple of pleasant surprises at the 41st annual IHSAA girls track and field state finals at Indiana University in Bloomington Friday. One event after Manchester freshman Rae Bedke reset the school record for the fourth-straight meet in the 1600, finishing sixth in 4:59.64, the Warsaw 4x100 relay dropped jaws by finishing second with a school-record time of 47.62 seconds. Seeded sixth in the event after running a school-best time of 48.52 at the Warsaw Regional eight days earlier, the relay of junior Mariah Harter, sophomores Samantha Alexander and Audrey Rich, and senior Ann Harvuot had goals, but a state runner-up finish wasn't one of them. “We were hoping, that a really great day would be fifth,” Rich said. “We're still in shock.” Warren Central won the event in 47.33, but Warsaw had plenty of cushion between itself and third-place South Bend Adams, which finished in 48.04. “We came here just hoping to run our best of the season or a lifetime best,” Warsaw coach Scott Erba said. “We feel if we can do that at the state meet, that'd be great. If we can break a school record, that's even better. If we can get on the podium, that's even better. It never crossed my mind that these girls would be running fast enough to have a lead during the race, then end up as runners-up.” Following her final race on a track, Harvuot was beaming. “I could never have asked for anything better,” Harvuot said. “There's no way I could have gotten this high (of a place) as an individual. There's no way. This is just perfect.” Of the relay, Harvuot had dreams of qualifying for state as an individual in the 100, Alexander was close to being a state finalist long jumper and Rich had hoped to be in the 200, but none advanced out of the regional. “It kind of helped not being here as an individual,” Harvuot said. Instead of focusing on those individual events, the three were able to focus on the relay during a week of practice, and it definitely paid off. “We got to focus on this one thing,” Rich said. “We just really wanted to focus on having fun and having a good ending, especially since Ann is graduating. We wanted to give her a graduation present.” Competing at the meet, Harvuot was actually missing her graduation, but according to her, walking across a stage couldn't have compared to crossing the finish line. “All the hard work paid off,” she said. The race may have been Harvuot's last, but for Bedke, it may be the beginning of quite a future. One of only four freshman in the field of 28 competitors in the 1600, Bedke once again rose to the challenge. Setting a new school record in each of her last four meets, beginning with a 5:18.41, Bedke's sliced nearly 19 seconds off that time in just over three weeks. Seeded ninth with a time of 5:02.97, Bedke commented that her goal was to at least finish ninth, therefore medaling, while also breaking five minutes. Mission accomplished. “I was just pushing really hard,” she said. “I didn't really know what to expect, coming in. I was just like, ‘Keep going. Keep going.’” She's been cutting seconds off her time all month, but the state finals presented a new element – pack racing. With all 28 runners competing at once, Bedke got involved in a huge pack for the first lap-and-a-quarter, but says she was able to break free after that. “At the beginning, I was just thinking to keep moving on, not focusing on the big pack, just focusing on going hard,” she said. Also from the area, Whitko junior Elaine Warner finished 25th in long jump (15-10.25), Warsaw senior Claire Hickerson was 19th in pole vault (10-3) and Warsaw junior Nicole Eckert was 11th in 300 hurdles (45.46). In the relays, Warsaw's 4x800 team of sophomore Hannah Dawson, freshman Allison Miller, sophomore Brooke Rhodes and freshman Anna Craig was 13th in 9:32.15 and the 4x400 relay of Eckert, Dawson, junior Tennie Worrell and senior Jackie Ferguson was 14th in 4:02.25. “I was really pleased with all the girls,” Erba said. “We came up short in a few of our goals, but we hit a lot of them.” And the biggest goal hit wasn't even a goal at all. It was more of a dream. “I was in total shock,” Harvuot said of the second-place finish. “I went into this, hoping for (a top nine finish), but I was not expecting top three at all. “When (Rich) got (the baton) to me (for the anchor leg), she was around third, so I was thinking, 'OK, we're going to get third,’” she added. “Then, when I came out in second, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. How did that happen?’”
IHSAA GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD STATE FINALS Team Scores (Top 10, Local) – 1. Lawrence Central 47, 2. Pike 38, 3. Warren Central 35, 4. F.W. Northrop 28, 5. Hamilton Southeastern 28, 6. (tie) Noblesville 23, Carmel 23, 8. F.W. Concordia 22, 9. Bellmont 21, 10. West Lafayette 19, 30. Warsaw 8, 49. Manchester 4. (Winners, Local Results) 4x800 Relay – 1. West Lafayette (Erin Murphy, Lauren Johnson, Kristen Johnson, Susan Hubbard) 9:07.45, 13. Warsaw (Hannah Dawson, Allison Miller, Brooke Rhodes, Anna Craig) 9:32.15; 4x100 Relay – 1. Warren Central (Ashley Baker, Bryeana Byrdsong, Reagan Jarrett, Ashanetta Harris) 47.33, 2. Warsaw (Mariah Harter, Samantha Alexander, Audrey Rich, Ann Harvuot) 47.62; 4x400 Relay – 1. Fort Wayne Northrop (Amber McGee, Breanna Phillips, Latrice Bolton, Victoria McCuiston) 3:49.73, 14. Warsaw (Nicole Eckert, Jackie Ferguson, Tennie Worell, Hannah Dawson) 4:02.25; 100 – Lynna Irby (Pike) 11.61; 200 – Lynna Irby (Pike) 24.07; 400 – 1. Lynna Irby (Pike) 54.38; 800 – 1. Ashleigh Macleod (Penn) 2:11.32; 1600 – 1. Taylor Nicholson (Avon) 4:51.88, 6. Rae Bedke (Manchester) 4:59.63.; 3200 – 1. Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka) 10:14.43*; 100 Hurdles – 1. Symone Black (Concordia) 14.17; 300 Hurdles – 1. Symone Black (Concordia) 41.36*, 11. Nicole Eckert (Warsaw) 45.46; Pole Vault – 1. Kayla Smith (Lawrence Central) 13-0, 19. Claire Hickerson (Warsaw) 10-3; Discus – 1. Jacey Cauhorn (East Noble) 126-00; Shot Put – 1. Martina McQuay (Lafayette Jefferson) 39-5.75; Long Jump – 1. Yamani Hunter (Evansville Bosse) 19-7.75, 25. Elaine Warner (Whitko) 15-10.25; High Jump – 1. Rachel Mather (Noblesville) 5-9. * - Meet Record
