Track and field teams to compete in 79th conference
Event to take place Friday at Dick Lootens Stadium
By Chuck Landis
clandis@chronicle-tribune.com
Published: Thursday, May 1, 2008 1:13 AM EDT
Race cars won’t be the only thing going around in circles Friday evening around Grant County.
Local boys’ and girls’ track and field teams also will compete in three big meets within the county borders. North Central Conference schools gather at Marion’s Dick Lootens Stadium for the 79th conference meet. The Oak Hill and Madison-Grant relays also will be staged Friday evening.
Marion seeks its sixth consecutive NCC boys’ championship and seventh in nine years. If the Giants are successful in their sixth straight title, it will be the first time in conference history a school has managed the feat. In the new millennium, only Richmond (2001) and former league member Lafayette Jeff (2002) have deprived the Giants of the conference title.
For Marion to maintain its NCC boys’ track and field dominance, the Giants will need big evenings from their sprint and middle distance runners. Yet, Sam Trahan, Devin Randle and Montez Carter among others are capable of dominant performances.
The trio was part of Marion’s state runner-up 400 relay team last June and have posted some impressive times this spring. Trahan and Carter each have been timed at 11.1 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Meanwhile, Randle has produced state meet caliber clockings of 22.2 seconds in the 200 and 49.8 seconds in the 400.
Hurdler Pierre Banks is another threat for multiple wins in the 110 high hurdles and 300 low hurdles. Banks’ best time in the highs is 14.7 seconds, and his top performance in the lows is 40.4 seconds.
Marion distance runners Michael Waymire and Matthew Lakes should be a reliable source for points in the 1,600 and 3,200 races and as part of the 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams. The Giants have struggled in field events, and that could give other conference teams a chance to unseat them as champs.
The other four county teams will split up with Eastbrook running at Oak Hill and Mississinewa joining Madison-Grant. The Golden Eagles boys’ are a solid favorite to win their own relays, and the Panthers are among the contenders in the girls’ meet.
With the state tournament two weeks away, Oak Hill distance standouts Cameron Balser and Matt McClain are looking to hit peak form. Balser has the county’s best time in the 800 at 2:04, and the pair consistently finish in the top two in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 races.
Eastbrook’s Jon Carder will have another chance to show off his skills in the 110 and 300 hurdles and high jump, where his 6-foot, 2-inch leap is the county’s best this spring.
Madison-Grant may not win its relays, but Ethan Wallace has a chance to win in the boys’ 100 and 200, and Robert Dickey will be a threat in the long jump. Sprinter Betsy Floyd is another Argyll contender in the girls’ 100 and 200.
Liz Skinner has led the Panthers girls’ team and set school records this spring in four events — 100 dash, 100 and 300 hurdles and pole vault. Sprinter Alayna Martin and discus thrower Kelsey Green also have stood out and contributed to Eastbrook’s victory in last Friday’s Grant Four Invitational.
The Oak Hill girls also figure to contend behind Courtney Moses in middle distance races, Jenna Norris in distance events, and field events standout Christina Carter in the shot put and discus.
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