Nichols wins 800

MUNCIE - The 1,600-meter sectional title barely eluded Tevan Nichols. He wasn't going to let the same happen in the 800.

Nichols dominated his second individual race of the night to earn the only sectional championship Thursday for the Jay County High School boys track team, which finished fourth at the meet hosted by Muncie Southside.

The Patriots scored 61 points to finish seven ahead of fifth-place Muncie Burris, but 41 behind third-place Muncie Central. The host Rebels won their second sectional title in three years with 170 points, and Delta was the runner-up with 103.

"For what we have this year, I really am pretty happy," said JCHS coach Greg Garringer, whose team won the 2009 sectional crown. "I'm very happy with the way the guys competed. I was hoping to be in the top five. ... This is a great night for us."

Zach Cash and Nichols were the only JCHS individuals to finish in the top four and advance to Thursday's regional meet at North Central.

Nichols left no question in the 800 run, moving to the front early and carrying about a 10-meter lead after the first lap. He never let anyone challenge him for the title, winning by nearly two seconds over Muncie Central's Daniel House in 2 minutes, 3.92 seconds.

"I felt a lot better than I thought I would," said Nichols, who had fallen just short in the 1,600 run about a half-hour earlier. "I felt pretty good running that second lap.

"It feels awesome (to win). There's not really any words to describe it."

"It got strategic, and Tevan ran his race," added Garringer. "I think the three or four guys behind him gave him too much of a cushion. Tevan took advantage of it, and in the last 100 to 150 meters he wasn't going to give up that spot."

The senior's championship followed up his battle with Ethan Evans in the 1,600 run in what was the most exciting finish of the night.

Nichols was second at the start, but moved ahead of Evans into the lead on the back stretch of the first lap. But Evans reclaimed the advantage by the end of the opening lap and stayed in front most of the way.

On the final lap, Nichols again grabbed the lead on the back stretch to set the stage for a dramatic battle to the finish. They were side-by-side - Nichols in lane one and Evans in lane two - for the final 50 meters, with Evans barely eking out the title in 4 minutes, 30.01 seconds.

Nichols was just 17 hundredths of a second behind his Olympic Athletic Conference rival as he surpassed his seed time by four seconds.

Cash earned regional berths in both hurdle events, finishing less than two seconds off the winning pace set by Winchester's Gabe Detro in the 300 with a time of 42.46 in third place. He was also third in 100 hurdles in 17.18.

Jay County also earned regional berths with a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay and a fourth-place effort in the 4x100.

"Cash ran solid races in the hurdles to get through," said Garringer. "Our 4x100 team was on the bubble, seeded fifth, and they got through ... and (the 4x400 team) was seeded sixth and we ended up getting second, which is a nice pick-up. We had some nice surprises."

The advancement of the 4x400 relay team was the biggest surprise as it entered as the No. 6 seed, nearly four seconds behind fourth-seeded Winchester.

However, after Joe Imel ran fifth for most of the first leg, Brad Leuthold jumped all the way up to second. He had slipped to third again by the time he handed off to Cash, but the junior quickly surged back to the No. 2 spot.

Cash solidified the Patriots' hold on the runner-up spot, and Patrick Johnson led off teams from Muncie Central and Burris as the team turned in a time of 3:38.92.

Jay County also improved upon its No. 5 seed in the 4x100 relay. The team of Blake Crouch, Gary Corle, Patrick Williams and Imel turned in a time of 46.13, finishing 0.21 seconds behind runner-up Muncie Central and 0.17 seconds behind third-place Delta.

"Williams hasn't been healthy," said Garringer of the 4x100 team. "We had a pretty decent group of kids ... and he was kind of that missing person. ...

"This 4x400 effort ... was a great race. They just really pushed themselves."

Also scoring individual points for the Patriots were Johnson (fifth - 400 dash, sixth - high jump), Imel (fifth - 300 hurdles), Dylan Cope (eighth - 3,200 run), Williams (eighth - 100 dash) and Leuthold (eighth - 400 dash). The Patriots placed fifth in the 4x800 relay.[[In-content Ad]]