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A contingent of athletes from Wabash Valley schools will be competing in the IHSAA track and field state finals this week at Indianapolis North Central's complex.
The girls state finals is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, while the boys commences at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The local group includes a trio of regional champions. Terre Haute North freshman distance standout Addy Bautista qualified in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs at the girls state finals after winning both events at last week's Ben Davis Regional. At that same regional, Northview's Karsyn Buck won the high jump and is among the state finals field in that field event. Among the boys, Sullivan sprinter Zane Catlin is a state finals qualifier in the 100-meter dash following his victory in that event at the Plainfield Regional last week.
They'll have company at Indy.
Terre Haute South sophomore Za'Nariae "Moose" White qualified to compete in the girls long jump, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Braves teammate Samarra Newburn made the 100-meter hurdles state finals field also.
Also qualified for Friday's girls state finals are Terre Haute North senior Miley Wuestefeld in pole vault.
Along with Catlin, the Wabash Valley boys state finals qualifiers include sophomore Owen Loftus of Terre Haute South in pole vault; sophomore Austin Brewer of Northview in shot put; and Northview's 4-by-100 team of seniors Zane Scales and Colton Bath, and juniors Keegan Bell and Logan Bell.
In Friday's girls meet, Bautista is focusing on the 3,200 run. Her top time of 10 minutes, 43.21 seconds ranks among the top eight qualifiers in that event. The top qualifier statewide belongs to Carmel junior Annabel Pollert at 10:30.55, but Bautista's time is within 5 seconds of the next six top qualifiers.
Terre Haute North coach Kaylen Pursch believes the level of competition could elevate her young runner's performance.
"For most of the season, she hasn’t had a whole lot of competition that is at her level, so entering into the state meet will give her a great chance to compete with other athletes that are just as fast as her," Pursch said Wednesday. "With her competitiveness I believe she will gain an edge on others and race really well."
Bautista set North school records this season in her two distance events. "So it is no surprise to me that she qualified for state," Pursch said.
Wuestefeld, Bautista's Patriots teammate, heads into the state finals as a senior, and a team leader, Pursch said. Wuestefeld's qualifying pole vault height — 10 feet, 9 inches — ranks in the middle of the field of 34 competitors for Friday. The top qualifying vault belongs to Guerin Catholic junior Amelia Smith at 13-1.5 feet.
Wuestefeld got her 10-9 vault at last week's regional and it was a personal record.
"With her confidence and determination, I fully believe she will end her season off with another PR and an amazing finish of her track and field career at the high school level," Pursch said.
For Terre Haute South, White will compete in the 100 and 200 sprints and the long jump and Newburn will run the 100 hurdles.
White has the second-best qualifying long jump distance at 19 feet, 3.25 inches, topped only by Whiteland's Elnora Stevenson at 19-8. She also ranks in the middle of the packs for the 100 and 200.
"All of her coaches see a special day for her at the state championship," South coach Josh Lee said Wednesday.
White's teammate Newburn has "set, reset and reset" the school's 100 hurdles record this season and ranks 20th among the state finalists in that event, with a best of 14.91 seconds.
"She is a phenomenal athlete and extremely competitive, and will look to reset her school record against the best hurdlers in the state this Friday," Lee said.
Meanwhile, an interesting matchup is possible in the girls high jump, with Buck of Northview and Kira Smith of Warren Central sharing the top qualifying height of 5 feet, 8 inches. Right behind that duo is Peytan Denagall of Avon at 5-7. Buck is a senior, while Smith and Denagall are juniors.
Likewise, the boys 100 showdown should be intriguing. Catlin of Sullivan has the second-fastest qualifying time of 10.55 seconds, tying him with Hammond Morton sophomore Michael Walker Jr. They're right behind a 10.54 recorded by Richard Hilaire, an Evansville Harrison senior.
In the boys field events, two Valley athletes — Terre Haute South pole-vaulter Loftus and Northview shot-putter Brewer — are among the top three sophomores qualifying for the state finals in their respective events.
Brewer made the field with a shot put of 54-4.5, while Loftus qualified with a vault of 13-6. Loftus reached that height at last week's Plainfield Regional, where he placed third, just ahead South teammate Ace Snider, who placed sixth at 13 feet even.
South Putnam's Keenan Mowery-Shields holds the No. 1 shot-put qualifying distance at 65-3.75 and Crown Point's Isaac Roman carries the top pole vault at 16-6.
"Owen Loftus has put in tremendous amount of work in the pole vault and has cemented himself in a group of some of the best vaulters in school history, only as a sophomore," Lee said. "He will look to get into some good competition and see how many bars he can climb amongst the best vaulters in the state."
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The girls state finals is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, while the boys commences at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The local group includes a trio of regional champions. Terre Haute North freshman distance standout Addy Bautista qualified in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs at the girls state finals after winning both events at last week's Ben Davis Regional. At that same regional, Northview's Karsyn Buck won the high jump and is among the state finals field in that field event. Among the boys, Sullivan sprinter Zane Catlin is a state finals qualifier in the 100-meter dash following his victory in that event at the Plainfield Regional last week.
They'll have company at Indy.
Terre Haute South sophomore Za'Nariae "Moose" White qualified to compete in the girls long jump, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Braves teammate Samarra Newburn made the 100-meter hurdles state finals field also.
Also qualified for Friday's girls state finals are Terre Haute North senior Miley Wuestefeld in pole vault.
Along with Catlin, the Wabash Valley boys state finals qualifiers include sophomore Owen Loftus of Terre Haute South in pole vault; sophomore Austin Brewer of Northview in shot put; and Northview's 4-by-100 team of seniors Zane Scales and Colton Bath, and juniors Keegan Bell and Logan Bell.
In Friday's girls meet, Bautista is focusing on the 3,200 run. Her top time of 10 minutes, 43.21 seconds ranks among the top eight qualifiers in that event. The top qualifier statewide belongs to Carmel junior Annabel Pollert at 10:30.55, but Bautista's time is within 5 seconds of the next six top qualifiers.
Terre Haute North coach Kaylen Pursch believes the level of competition could elevate her young runner's performance.
"For most of the season, she hasn’t had a whole lot of competition that is at her level, so entering into the state meet will give her a great chance to compete with other athletes that are just as fast as her," Pursch said Wednesday. "With her competitiveness I believe she will gain an edge on others and race really well."
Bautista set North school records this season in her two distance events. "So it is no surprise to me that she qualified for state," Pursch said.
Wuestefeld, Bautista's Patriots teammate, heads into the state finals as a senior, and a team leader, Pursch said. Wuestefeld's qualifying pole vault height — 10 feet, 9 inches — ranks in the middle of the field of 34 competitors for Friday. The top qualifying vault belongs to Guerin Catholic junior Amelia Smith at 13-1.5 feet.
Wuestefeld got her 10-9 vault at last week's regional and it was a personal record.
"With her confidence and determination, I fully believe she will end her season off with another PR and an amazing finish of her track and field career at the high school level," Pursch said.
For Terre Haute South, White will compete in the 100 and 200 sprints and the long jump and Newburn will run the 100 hurdles.
White has the second-best qualifying long jump distance at 19 feet, 3.25 inches, topped only by Whiteland's Elnora Stevenson at 19-8. She also ranks in the middle of the packs for the 100 and 200.
"All of her coaches see a special day for her at the state championship," South coach Josh Lee said Wednesday.
White's teammate Newburn has "set, reset and reset" the school's 100 hurdles record this season and ranks 20th among the state finalists in that event, with a best of 14.91 seconds.
"She is a phenomenal athlete and extremely competitive, and will look to reset her school record against the best hurdlers in the state this Friday," Lee said.
Meanwhile, an interesting matchup is possible in the girls high jump, with Buck of Northview and Kira Smith of Warren Central sharing the top qualifying height of 5 feet, 8 inches. Right behind that duo is Peytan Denagall of Avon at 5-7. Buck is a senior, while Smith and Denagall are juniors.
Likewise, the boys 100 showdown should be intriguing. Catlin of Sullivan has the second-fastest qualifying time of 10.55 seconds, tying him with Hammond Morton sophomore Michael Walker Jr. They're right behind a 10.54 recorded by Richard Hilaire, an Evansville Harrison senior.
In the boys field events, two Valley athletes — Terre Haute South pole-vaulter Loftus and Northview shot-putter Brewer — are among the top three sophomores qualifying for the state finals in their respective events.
Brewer made the field with a shot put of 54-4.5, while Loftus qualified with a vault of 13-6. Loftus reached that height at last week's Plainfield Regional, where he placed third, just ahead South teammate Ace Snider, who placed sixth at 13 feet even.
South Putnam's Keenan Mowery-Shields holds the No. 1 shot-put qualifying distance at 65-3.75 and Crown Point's Isaac Roman carries the top pole vault at 16-6.
"Owen Loftus has put in tremendous amount of work in the pole vault and has cemented himself in a group of some of the best vaulters in school history, only as a sophomore," Lee said. "He will look to get into some good competition and see how many bars he can climb amongst the best vaulters in the state."
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