Vormohr short by inches (05/26/06)

INDIANAPOLIS — The length of a roll of quarters.

The diameter of a softball.

The distance from the tip of your index finger to your palm.

Those all approximate how close Joseph Vormohr was to reaching the state meet.

The top three finishers in each regional event earn a state berth, and Vormohr finished fourth in the shot put Thursday at Indianapolis North Central by just 3 inches.

His five points earned in that event were all the Jay County boys track team picked up as it finished in a tie for 18th with Lapel and the Indiana School for the Deaf. Ben Davis dominated for the title with 122 points, and Southport was second with 73.

“I think overall we represented the school pretty well,” said JCHS coach Greg Garringer. “We’re in a pretty tough regional. I’m proud of the Patriot track team.”

Vormohr was seeded fourth in the shot put, but sat in third place after his opening throw in the third flight of the preliminaries. He tossed a distance of 52 feet,1/2 inches — the best of his career — for third behind Brandon Pounds of Lawrence North and Delta’s Trey Sacksteder.

However, Bryan Hardister of Ben Davis pushed him to fourth by the end of the preliminary round.

The magic number to beat in the finals was Sacksteder’s 53 feet even, and Vormohr came oh-so-close. After fouling on his first throw of the finals, he made a strong effort on his second. It was a new career record, but still three inches short of a state berth at 52 feet, 9 inches.

He fouled on his final attempt, finishing in fourth place.

“I feel bad for him because as a senior it’s your last chance,” said Garringer. “Three little inches separated him. (Sacksteder) had one good throw.”

Sacksteder was the sectional runner-up by nearly two feet to Vormohr at Muncie Central, but came up with one big throw Thursday to take the final state berth. Pounds dominated at 57 feet, 8 inches, and Hardister was second with a toss of 53 feet, 5 inches.

Vormohr also competed in the discus at North Central, where it quickly became clear it would take a state-standard throw to advance. Five athletes reached the state standard of 161 feet, four inches to guarantee themselves a state berth regardless of finish.

The Jay County senior turned in another career-best performance, but was about six feet short of the necessary mark at 155 feet, 11 inches.

Chris Shaw of Pendleton Heights won at 177 feet, 9 inches.

The Patriots were no higher than 14th in any of their other five events.

Justin Gilbert placed 14th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.88 seconds, and Mason Shreve was 14th in the 110 hurdles in 18.16. Denny Gardner finished right behind Shreve in the hurdles in 19.25.

Jay County’s 4x400 relay team of Gilbert, Doug Murray, Alex Michael and Micah Enyart was also 14th in a time of 3-minutes, 42.22 seconds.

Of the eight Patriot athletes competing Thursday, three will return next season. Coming back to the team will be juniors Mason Shreve and Michael, and freshman Dexter Shreve.

It was a rough regional day for Dexter Shreve, as he scatched all three attempts in the long jump. He was unable to clear the opening height in the high jump.

“Just to be around these guys and get over the fear (is good),” said Garringer of Dexter Shreve. “Just being here is good experience for him.”[[In-content Ad]]