July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Patriots finish year at regional (05/26/04)
JCHS girls track
INDIANAPOLIS — Despite some solid runs at the Lawrence North regional Tuesday, the season came to an end for the Jay County girls track team.
The Patriots competed in six events, with a solid chance to advance to the state meet in three. But, none of those panned out as Alyssa Johnson scored the top finish for the team as she placed fifth in the 3,200-meter run.
Jay County was 17th in the team standings with nine points as host Lawrence North edged North Central 57-56 for the team title. Lawrence Central was third with 53 points.
The top three competitors in each event earned a trip to next week’s IHSAA state meet at Indiana University.
“It’s the end of the season for a great group of kids,” said Jay County coach Tyler Caldwell. “We’re only losing three seniors, and although they’ll be hard to replace we’ve got a lot of great kids coming back.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement.”
One of those returning to the team will be Johnson, a sophomore, who was involved in one of the best races of the night.
Johnson got out in front to start the 3,200-meter run and held the lead for the first two of her eight laps around the track. She dropped to third during the third lap, but it didn’t truly matter as the lead group of five runners bunched up during the next 400 meters.
Kelly O’Hara and Ashley Casavant of Indianapolis Cathedral, Clair Laverty of Yorktown, Erinn Brooks of Lawrence North and Johnson circled the track together for the next three laps. But, at the start of the final lap, Johnson’s shot at a state berth slipped away.
The rest of the pack picked up the pace to begin the final lap and she simply had nothing left. O’Hara, Casavant, Laverty and Brooks pulled away quickly to battle for the three state spots.
Laverty finished with an amazing final 200 meters to take the win in 11:30.80, and the Cathedral pair of O’Hara and Casavant took second and third. Johnson was fifth in 11:52.90, one second better than her sectional-record time from a week earlier.
In her other race — the 1,600-meter run — Johnson ran into the same problem she had at the sectional meet. She got caught in the middle of the pack and could not escape until late in the first lap.
She pulled ahead at the 400-meter mark, but she quickly dropped back to third place and then fourth midway through the second lap. By the midway point of the race she was battling for sixth, and she faded during the final 600-meters to place eighth in 5:33.85.
Lawrence Central’s Katie Koehler won the event in 5:14.27.
“It was a learning experience,” said Caldwell. “She ran good times in both of them. I do think there were a couple of things in those races that she can learn from, and I think she will.”
Jill Roughia represented the other chance for a state berth for Jay County as she was seeded fifth in the 800-meter run.
The junior was in sixth place when the runners merged after 100-meters, and that is where she remained for much of the race. She held her position until there were about 200 meter left before fading behind Winchester’s Tabitha Bogue.
Bogue, who lost to sectional champion Roughia last week, placed sixth in 2:24.97, and Roughia was just behind her in seventh at 2:28.89. Temeka Kincy of Lawrence North was first in 2:13.31.
“She’s got another year,” said Caldwell, noting Roughia’s tremendous improvement this year and the hope of a great senior season. “This is the first time she could come and compete (in an individual event) at regional. Next year I do think she’ll be in the top two or three.”
Johnson and Roughia did help give the Patriots their highlight of the night as the 4x800-meter relay team broke the school record for the third time this season. They joined senior Nicole VanSkyock and freshman Rose Weaver to win their heat and place seventh overall with a time of 10:12.04.
The record prior to the season was 10:26.
Lawrence North’s team of Kincy, Rachel Ehret, Rachel Titus, and Marta Scheiwe took first in 9:36.29.
Jessica Heitkamp was third in her heat of the 400-meter dash in 1:02.72 to finish 12th overall, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Roughia, Weaver, Heitkamp and Nicole Pfeifer was sixth in its heat at 14th overall in 4:29.44.[[In-content Ad]]
The Patriots competed in six events, with a solid chance to advance to the state meet in three. But, none of those panned out as Alyssa Johnson scored the top finish for the team as she placed fifth in the 3,200-meter run.
Jay County was 17th in the team standings with nine points as host Lawrence North edged North Central 57-56 for the team title. Lawrence Central was third with 53 points.
The top three competitors in each event earned a trip to next week’s IHSAA state meet at Indiana University.
“It’s the end of the season for a great group of kids,” said Jay County coach Tyler Caldwell. “We’re only losing three seniors, and although they’ll be hard to replace we’ve got a lot of great kids coming back.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement.”
One of those returning to the team will be Johnson, a sophomore, who was involved in one of the best races of the night.
Johnson got out in front to start the 3,200-meter run and held the lead for the first two of her eight laps around the track. She dropped to third during the third lap, but it didn’t truly matter as the lead group of five runners bunched up during the next 400 meters.
Kelly O’Hara and Ashley Casavant of Indianapolis Cathedral, Clair Laverty of Yorktown, Erinn Brooks of Lawrence North and Johnson circled the track together for the next three laps. But, at the start of the final lap, Johnson’s shot at a state berth slipped away.
The rest of the pack picked up the pace to begin the final lap and she simply had nothing left. O’Hara, Casavant, Laverty and Brooks pulled away quickly to battle for the three state spots.
Laverty finished with an amazing final 200 meters to take the win in 11:30.80, and the Cathedral pair of O’Hara and Casavant took second and third. Johnson was fifth in 11:52.90, one second better than her sectional-record time from a week earlier.
In her other race — the 1,600-meter run — Johnson ran into the same problem she had at the sectional meet. She got caught in the middle of the pack and could not escape until late in the first lap.
She pulled ahead at the 400-meter mark, but she quickly dropped back to third place and then fourth midway through the second lap. By the midway point of the race she was battling for sixth, and she faded during the final 600-meters to place eighth in 5:33.85.
Lawrence Central’s Katie Koehler won the event in 5:14.27.
“It was a learning experience,” said Caldwell. “She ran good times in both of them. I do think there were a couple of things in those races that she can learn from, and I think she will.”
Jill Roughia represented the other chance for a state berth for Jay County as she was seeded fifth in the 800-meter run.
The junior was in sixth place when the runners merged after 100-meters, and that is where she remained for much of the race. She held her position until there were about 200 meter left before fading behind Winchester’s Tabitha Bogue.
Bogue, who lost to sectional champion Roughia last week, placed sixth in 2:24.97, and Roughia was just behind her in seventh at 2:28.89. Temeka Kincy of Lawrence North was first in 2:13.31.
“She’s got another year,” said Caldwell, noting Roughia’s tremendous improvement this year and the hope of a great senior season. “This is the first time she could come and compete (in an individual event) at regional. Next year I do think she’ll be in the top two or three.”
Johnson and Roughia did help give the Patriots their highlight of the night as the 4x800-meter relay team broke the school record for the third time this season. They joined senior Nicole VanSkyock and freshman Rose Weaver to win their heat and place seventh overall with a time of 10:12.04.
The record prior to the season was 10:26.
Lawrence North’s team of Kincy, Rachel Ehret, Rachel Titus, and Marta Scheiwe took first in 9:36.29.
Jessica Heitkamp was third in her heat of the 400-meter dash in 1:02.72 to finish 12th overall, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Roughia, Weaver, Heitkamp and Nicole Pfeifer was sixth in its heat at 14th overall in 4:29.44.[[In-content Ad]]
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