July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Bound for Bloomington (05/23/07)
JCHS girls track
Bound for Bloomington (05/23/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
INDIANAPOLIS - Put Amanda Johnson in a regional meet and nothing else matters.
Seeds mean nothing. Previous times can be thrown out the window.
The season is on the line and she plans on running for one more week.
Despite entering as the No. 6 seed, Johnson ran to a second-place finish in the 800-meter run at Tuesday's girls track regional meet at Lawrence North to earn her a second consecutive trip to the state finals.
"Amanda Johnson is a top-notch runner for us," said JCHS coach Brian McEvoy. "She came in with experience and ran another smart race. ... I'm really proud of her."
Johnson will compete at the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals Saturday, June 2, at Indiana University in Bloomington. The 800 run is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
"I'm excited. The first time I was psyching myself out so bad," said Johnson of her state appearance a year ago. "I just wanted to (go back) to see how well I could really do with a year under my belt. I'll still be nervous, but it's not going to be like last year. I'm really anxious to see how I can compete with those kind of girls."
Erika Hunt scored the only other point for Jay County, giving it nine for a 15th-place finish out of 31 scoring teams. No. 3 Ben Davis rallied to win the 4x400 relay to take the team title with 98.5 points, and the second-ranked host Wildcats were second with 94.
Johnson started off smoothly and was just 11th in the 14-runner field when the group broke in after the first 100 meters. She managed to make some progress on the inside, then made her move when the runners came down the front stretch for the first time.
The junior moved to the outside and passed a group of runners as they moved toward the finish line, then surged even more on the turn to push to second place with just 300 meters remaining. She moved ahead of Bishop Chatard's Christine Kirby on the back stretch and opened a several-meter lead.
"The first lap when everyone breaks in after the 100 I was starting to get worried because ... (they) were really boxing me in and I couldn't get out," said Johnson, adding that she felt like she was in last place after 200 meters. "That's when I started going around the first pack of girls.
"When I got to the second lap ... I tried to mentally just make myself run it like I run a 400. That's when I passed the second pack on the curve.
"And then after that I got to where I had a 300 to go, and that's where coach had told me to kick it in and sprint strong from there. And then for some reason I was ahead ..."
Johnson looked primed for a regional title as she held the lead for more than 200 meters, but Kirby started to reel her in as they came off the final turn. Kirby got past Johnson with about 50 meters to go, but no one else could as she posted a runner-up finish in 2:19.33.
Kirby, a freshman, won the regional crown in 2:18.59. Yorktown's Megan Bevans was just behind Johnson in 2:19.59.
"I think she knows her capabilities and she knew where she was at," said McEvoy. "She knew to run her race and not somebody else's race. She's done that all year. ...
"She runs her race and does what she needs to do to be successful. That's really the key. She's calm and cool and she does what she knows is right."
Johnson's time was the second-fastest of her career, trailing only her regional effort from a year ago. She ran a school-record 2:17.89 in 2006 to finish third in the event for her first career state berth.
"I guess I just don't want it to be over," Johnson said, who was 4.57 seconds faster than last week's sectional meet, of her regional success. "The competition is amazing. Between our sectional and regional, you can't even compare them. You know if you don't kick it in, this could be your last race. ... When you get to regionals ... you can't have a bad race."
Hunt was the only other Patriot to make it to the regional podium. She overcame her No. 11 seed to earn the final qualifying spot in the 100 hurdles by just one hundredth of a second over Southport senior Miriam Karwath (16.79-16.8), then posted a time of 16.81 for eighth place in the finals.
Her time was seven tenths faster than at the sectional meet.
"Erika came a long way," said McEvoy of Hunt, who also finished 14th in the 300 hurdles in 53.28. "She dropped a second-and-a-half or two seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, which is almost impossible in that short a race."
Jay County's next best finish came from sophomore Lindsey Current in the high jump. She tied for 10th with Stephanie Julian of Frankton, clearing the bar at 5 feet,1/2 inch.
Senior Sara Garringer was 11th in the discus at 88 feet, 10 inches, and freshmen Kelsey Wood and Kari Hemmelgarn each posted 15th-place finishes. Wood cleared the high jump bar at 4 feet, 101/2 inches, and Hemmelgarn finished behind Hunt in the 300 hurdles in 56.95.
Johnson anchored the best relay effort for JCHS, joining seniors Jessica Mosier and Tina Gingrasso and freshman Erica Butcher to place 11th in the 4x800 in 10:34.79. Johnson, Mosier and Gingrasso teamed with Hemmelgarn to take 14th in the 4x400 relay at 4:26.98, and Current and Wood joined seniors Nicole Pfeifer and Janel Chittum for 16th in the 4x100 relay in 54.69.[[In-content Ad]]FORT WAYNE - Normally only the top three athletes in each regional event move on to the state meet. Haleigh Lehman finished fourth, but she'll still be heading to Bloomington.
The South Adams senior ran a season-best time to place fourth in the 1,600 run at the Fort Wayne Northrop regional, and two of the runners who crossed the finish line ahead of her scratched from the state meet to push her on to a state berth.
She'll run in the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals Saturday, June 2, at Indiana University in Bloomington at 8:30 p.m.
The Starfire girls track team totaled six points overall, putting it 22nd out of 31 scoring teams. The host Bruins took the regional title with 68.5 points, followed by No. 14 Homestead with 56.5.
Lehman finished just two seconds off her South Adams school record in the 1,600 run with a time of 5-minutes, 20.64 seconds. She was nearly nine seconds behind third-place finisher Sarah Neubacher of Concordia, and 0.33 ahead of Central Noble freshman Sage Knopp.
Madison Moore, a sophomore, also competed in the 1,600 run at Northrop and was the only other Starfire to score a point. She finished eighth in the event at 5:37.98.
Holly Yoder finished just out of the points in ninth place with a toss of 100 feet, 4 inches in the discus, and Lehman finished the 3,200 run in 14th place with a time of 12:00.98.
Seeds mean nothing. Previous times can be thrown out the window.
The season is on the line and she plans on running for one more week.
Despite entering as the No. 6 seed, Johnson ran to a second-place finish in the 800-meter run at Tuesday's girls track regional meet at Lawrence North to earn her a second consecutive trip to the state finals.
"Amanda Johnson is a top-notch runner for us," said JCHS coach Brian McEvoy. "She came in with experience and ran another smart race. ... I'm really proud of her."
Johnson will compete at the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals Saturday, June 2, at Indiana University in Bloomington. The 800 run is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
"I'm excited. The first time I was psyching myself out so bad," said Johnson of her state appearance a year ago. "I just wanted to (go back) to see how well I could really do with a year under my belt. I'll still be nervous, but it's not going to be like last year. I'm really anxious to see how I can compete with those kind of girls."
Erika Hunt scored the only other point for Jay County, giving it nine for a 15th-place finish out of 31 scoring teams. No. 3 Ben Davis rallied to win the 4x400 relay to take the team title with 98.5 points, and the second-ranked host Wildcats were second with 94.
Johnson started off smoothly and was just 11th in the 14-runner field when the group broke in after the first 100 meters. She managed to make some progress on the inside, then made her move when the runners came down the front stretch for the first time.
The junior moved to the outside and passed a group of runners as they moved toward the finish line, then surged even more on the turn to push to second place with just 300 meters remaining. She moved ahead of Bishop Chatard's Christine Kirby on the back stretch and opened a several-meter lead.
"The first lap when everyone breaks in after the 100 I was starting to get worried because ... (they) were really boxing me in and I couldn't get out," said Johnson, adding that she felt like she was in last place after 200 meters. "That's when I started going around the first pack of girls.
"When I got to the second lap ... I tried to mentally just make myself run it like I run a 400. That's when I passed the second pack on the curve.
"And then after that I got to where I had a 300 to go, and that's where coach had told me to kick it in and sprint strong from there. And then for some reason I was ahead ..."
Johnson looked primed for a regional title as she held the lead for more than 200 meters, but Kirby started to reel her in as they came off the final turn. Kirby got past Johnson with about 50 meters to go, but no one else could as she posted a runner-up finish in 2:19.33.
Kirby, a freshman, won the regional crown in 2:18.59. Yorktown's Megan Bevans was just behind Johnson in 2:19.59.
"I think she knows her capabilities and she knew where she was at," said McEvoy. "She knew to run her race and not somebody else's race. She's done that all year. ...
"She runs her race and does what she needs to do to be successful. That's really the key. She's calm and cool and she does what she knows is right."
Johnson's time was the second-fastest of her career, trailing only her regional effort from a year ago. She ran a school-record 2:17.89 in 2006 to finish third in the event for her first career state berth.
"I guess I just don't want it to be over," Johnson said, who was 4.57 seconds faster than last week's sectional meet, of her regional success. "The competition is amazing. Between our sectional and regional, you can't even compare them. You know if you don't kick it in, this could be your last race. ... When you get to regionals ... you can't have a bad race."
Hunt was the only other Patriot to make it to the regional podium. She overcame her No. 11 seed to earn the final qualifying spot in the 100 hurdles by just one hundredth of a second over Southport senior Miriam Karwath (16.79-16.8), then posted a time of 16.81 for eighth place in the finals.
Her time was seven tenths faster than at the sectional meet.
"Erika came a long way," said McEvoy of Hunt, who also finished 14th in the 300 hurdles in 53.28. "She dropped a second-and-a-half or two seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, which is almost impossible in that short a race."
Jay County's next best finish came from sophomore Lindsey Current in the high jump. She tied for 10th with Stephanie Julian of Frankton, clearing the bar at 5 feet,1/2 inch.
Senior Sara Garringer was 11th in the discus at 88 feet, 10 inches, and freshmen Kelsey Wood and Kari Hemmelgarn each posted 15th-place finishes. Wood cleared the high jump bar at 4 feet, 101/2 inches, and Hemmelgarn finished behind Hunt in the 300 hurdles in 56.95.
Johnson anchored the best relay effort for JCHS, joining seniors Jessica Mosier and Tina Gingrasso and freshman Erica Butcher to place 11th in the 4x800 in 10:34.79. Johnson, Mosier and Gingrasso teamed with Hemmelgarn to take 14th in the 4x400 relay at 4:26.98, and Current and Wood joined seniors Nicole Pfeifer and Janel Chittum for 16th in the 4x100 relay in 54.69.[[In-content Ad]]FORT WAYNE - Normally only the top three athletes in each regional event move on to the state meet. Haleigh Lehman finished fourth, but she'll still be heading to Bloomington.
The South Adams senior ran a season-best time to place fourth in the 1,600 run at the Fort Wayne Northrop regional, and two of the runners who crossed the finish line ahead of her scratched from the state meet to push her on to a state berth.
She'll run in the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals Saturday, June 2, at Indiana University in Bloomington at 8:30 p.m.
The Starfire girls track team totaled six points overall, putting it 22nd out of 31 scoring teams. The host Bruins took the regional title with 68.5 points, followed by No. 14 Homestead with 56.5.
Lehman finished just two seconds off her South Adams school record in the 1,600 run with a time of 5-minutes, 20.64 seconds. She was nearly nine seconds behind third-place finisher Sarah Neubacher of Concordia, and 0.33 ahead of Central Noble freshman Sage Knopp.
Madison Moore, a sophomore, also competed in the 1,600 run at Northrop and was the only other Starfire to score a point. She finished eighth in the event at 5:37.98.
Holly Yoder finished just out of the points in ninth place with a toss of 100 feet, 4 inches in the discus, and Lehman finished the 3,200 run in 14th place with a time of 12:00.98.
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