1998 BOYS TRACK & FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

1998 BOYS TRACK & FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 6, 1998

Indiana University Track Stadium, Indianapolis

LAWRENCE CENTRAL WINS FIRST BOYS TRACK & FIELD STATE TITLE

Winning three events and finishing second in the critical final relay, Lawrence Central captured its first state title

June 6, 1998 in the 95^th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association State Championships at the Indiana University Track and Field Stadium in Indianapolis.

Lawrence Central finished with 54 1/2 points, followed by Fort Wayne Northrop with 48 and North Central (Indianapolis) with 31. Fort Wayne Wayne and Southport tied for fifth with 25.

Coached by Mike Holman, Lawrence Central won titles in the 400 relay, 400 meters and 200. James Bullock took the 200 meters in 21.50 after running the third leg of the winning 400 relay unit that was clocked in 41.90. The 400 meters was won by Andre Franklin in 48.90.

Fort Wayne Northop won three championships and had the meet's only repeat state champion as senior Jo'L Gerardot captured the pole vault. Gerardot's winning effort was 16-0, and he missed three tries at 16-7 that would have broken the 11-year-old state meet record.

Fort Wayne Northrop received its other first-place points from the 3,200 meter relay team in a record time of 7:48.84, and from junior Brett Tipton in the 1,600 meters with a 4:14.90 clocking.

The meet's only double winner was senior Tyler Garrett of Southport. He won the shot put by more than four feet and the discus by more than 22 feet. Garrett's older brother, Travis Garrett, was the state discus champion in 1991 and 1992.

Besides Gerardot, the only other former champion to earn a title was senior sprinter Kevin Craig of Fort Wayne Wayne with a victory in the 100 meters. Craig was the state 200 meters champion as a freshman in 1995.

Jacquimm Jackson of Hammond won the 100 high hurdles and was leading the 300 low hurdles with less than 70 meters to go when he pulled up.

WEATHER BRISK BUT DRY -- The meet was conducted under sunny conditions with a light breeze. The temperature was 58 degrees at 6 p.m. and 54 degrees at 10 p.m. as the meet ended.

DYER OF HUNTINGTON NORTH NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE RECIPIENT -- Derek Dyer of Huntington North High School was named the 1998 recipient of the Robert S. Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award in Boys Track and Field. Dyer finished second in the state in the discus and the shot put. A four-year participant in track and field, he was a state finals qualifier in the discus all four years. Dyer also is involved in a number of other school activities. Dyer is president of the school's National Honor Society and plays in the school band. He ranked in the top 10 percent of his graduating class. Dyer was selected as the Outstanding Youth of Huntington in 1997. He intends to enroll at the University of Notre Dame and major in pre-medicine. Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Huntington North High School in Dyer's name.

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