As the top-ranked girls track team in the state, Center Grove has only faced a handful of serious challenges to its supremacy this season.
At Tuesday’s Franklin Sectional, with two other top-15 teams in the field, the Trojans got all that they could handle.
Center Grove totaled 152 points to squeak past No. 11 Columbus North by six; No. 14 Whiteland was third with 108.
“There’s some great teams here,” Trojans coach Wes Dodson said. “I tried to tell them, ‘Hey, this is going to be a hell of a meet and there’s going to be some great teams here; you’d better be ready.’ We’ve been winning by so much that I don’t know that they believed me, and hopefully now they realize that yeah, I’m for real. We’ve really got to go after it.”
Makensie Kramer helped lead the way for Center Grove with first-place efforts in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, posting respective times of 15.01 and 47.11 seconds in those races. She also led off the victorious 4×100 relay, joining younger sister Madi Kramer, Kristen Lavergne and Skylar Sichting to win in 50.01.
“I’m just really happy that I got first in all my events,” the older Kramer said. “I didn’t PR, but I still felt like I ran good races, so I’m still happy with myself and I’m hoping to drop time in regionals.”
Taylor Jarosinski won the pole vault handily, clearing a height of 11 feet, 9 inches, while Kate Henselmeier cruised to victory in the 400-meter run in 1:00.15 and joined Molly Tapak, Bella Hodges and Lara Phipps on the title-clinching 4×400 relay.
Sichting was second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles, earning regional berths in both. Madi Kramer was second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 100, and Hodges finished second in the 800 meters. Shelby Wingler and Ella Rasche were second and third, respectively, in the shot put.
Bella Jackson cleared 5 feet, 8 inches to win the high jump for Whiteland, which also got an individual victory from Gabi Allen in the 200 meters (25.97).
Allen also finished second in the 100 hurdles and anchored the third-place 4×100 relay team, which also featured Gabrielle Vargo, Megan Lester and Sydney Rogers.
Allen welcomed the stiffer competition on Tuesday, especially from Kramer in the hurdles.
“It definitely helps, especially getting down to the bigger meets,” she said. “She’s definitely a good girl to push me.”
Drew Mallory and Brooklyn Taylor finished 2-3 in the discus for the Warriors, while Lauren Fish was second in the 400 meters and Melia Marlin was third in the high jump. Whiteland’s 4×800 relay team of Katia Olmstead, Victoria Jackson, Claire Overfelt and Fish advanced to the regional with a second-place finish.
For Franklin, which finished fourth with 83 points, Cami Kelsay won the long jump (17-2 1/2) but appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in the 100-meter dash, leaving her status for the regional up in the air.
Lauren Klem was third in both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the Grizzly Cubs, Jaclyn Boardman and Kendall Mirise were second and third in the pole vault and Hailey Stewart finished third in the long jump and teamed with Alyssa Henderson, Lillian Lacy and Macy Doublin to take second in the 4×400 relay.
Indian Creek freshman Ella Taylor kept her season alive with a third-place showing in the 300 hurdles, while the Braves’ 4×800 quartet of Kiley Breeden, Luci Woodrum, Paige Iaria and Phoebe Dowty finished third to move on to next week.
Ellie Irwin placed second in the high jump for Greenwood.
The advancing competitors know that life won’t get any easier at next week’s regional with the likes of Warren Central joining the fray, which is why just about everyone was happy to get a little extra push from a tough sectional field.
“Coming into the sectional, you know you’d better be on your ‘A’ game,” Whiteland coach Brandon Bangel said. “You know you’d better compete well, because if not, you’re going home. … So I see it as a plus, and it helps us get ready for the next round.”
