Like virtually every other spring sports tradition, the annual Midwest Meet of Champions track and field showcase is returning after a one-year hiatus.
Traditionally a three-way competition between senior athletes representing Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, the latter has chosen not to partake in Saturday’s event on the campus of Olivet College in Michigan.
Among those on the Indiana girls roster are two Johnson County athletes — Center Grove pole vaulter Taylor Jarosinski, who last week won a state title in her specialty, and Whiteland’s Bella Jackson, the state runner-up in the high jump.
Connor Delp, who qualified for the boys state meet in four events in helping the Trojans to a third-place finish in the team standings, also plans to represent his state. Delp, who finished third in the 300-meter hurdles at state, will compete in that event and possibly one of the team’s sprint relays.
Jackson, who leaves in August for Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, says the Midwest Meet of Champions is the ideal event to connect her prep and collegiate careers.
“I’m really excited. It’s a special thing to do, and it’s just sort of one last meet for my senior year,” said Jackson, who nearly topped her personal best of 5-foot-9 when she barely grazed the bar on her second attempt at 5-10 at state.
“It’s something fun and exciting to do. I’m naturally really competitive, so it would be great to get a new personal record and hit 5-10.”
The Midwest Meet of Champions started in 1974 as a way to have senior boys from the three states gather for a day of track and field competition. The first girls meet was in 1980; teams from Illinois (1977-94, 1996) and West Virginia (1997-2001) were also previously included.
The record for the women’s pole vault at the Meet of Champions is the 12-9 by Mackenzie Wills of Ohio at the 2008 meet. Jarosinski, whose personal best of 13 feet earned her the first-place medal at state, could be in line to make even more history.
The Midwest Meet of Champions was not something Jarosinski originally planned to be part of, but she looks forward to representing her state before starting her freshman year at Indiana University.
“I kind of remembered other seniors doing it in the past, but it definitely wasn’t on my radar,” Jarosinski said. “I think it will be interesting. This will be the first meet in a while with no pressure where I can just have fun.
“I think it will be a learning experience. I want to see if I can thrive in that environment.”
