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____________________________________________________________________
MEDIA
ADVISORY June 7, 2003
Contact:
E-Mail:
jbaker@ihsaa.org
FOUR RECORDS BROKEN,
ONE ESTABLISHED AS
FORT WAYNE NORTHROP
CAPTURES FOURTH STRAIGHT
GIRLS TRACK &
FIELD TITLE
In contrast to the previous evening when the boys contested
their championship, near-perfect weather conditions greeted the field and a
crowd of 4,627 for the 30th Annual Girls Track and Field State
Finals at the Michael A. Carroll Track and Soccer Stadium in
The state’s number-one team, Fort Wayne Northrop, was expected to be front and center in the evening’s festivities as the Bruins set out for an unprecedented fourth consecutive state title and sixth overall. Warren Central had other ideas, as the eastside Indianapolis school gathered in three first place finishes early to take what appeared to be, at the time, a near insurmountable margin, leading by as many as 26 points as the meet wound down.
However, it all came down to the final event of the evening, the final heat of the 1600 Meter Relay. Fort Wayne Northrop started in lane one, with Warren Central in lane four and all eyes were focused on the outcome. But the result was settled quickly, as Northrop jumped out front early and never looked back, with Lakeesha Burnett (10), Tamara Adams (9), Natasha Fletcher (10) ad Shauntel Elcock (10) winning in a time of 3:47.94. With Warren Central unable to do any better than fourth in the event, the Bruins and coach Tom Knudson were state champs again by a 93-85 margin.
The 93 points tallied by the Bruins set a new standard for points scored in the girls track and field competition. The previous high total was 70, scored by Gary Wallace in 1993.
Warren Central entered the winner’s circle in the 100 Meter
Hurdles, when Briana Cunningham (11) led the field
across the finish line in
Warren Central’s Lorian Price (12) was dominant in the Long Jump. After an 18-05.75 performance in 2002, she increased that effort by one foot, three inches and closed out the day’s action in the event at 19-08.75, eight inches ahead of second place.
Warren Central was back in the win column again in the High
Jump, with Mariesa Greene (11) getting over the bar
at 5-09.00. She had finished second last
year, performing in a
Fort Wayne Northrop did not reach the top of the podium until the 400 Meter Relay and when they did, they did it in style, turning in a time of 45.75, smashing the old mark of 47.32, set by cross-town rival Concordia last year. Tamara Adams (9), Lakeita Rox (12), Kyndal Carr (11) and Zakiya Robinson (11) carried the mail for the Bruins.
Northrop was back in the winners’ circle for the second time in the 400 Meter Dash, as Elcock and Burnett finished one-two to chop Warren Central’s once-huge lead to only eight points at the time.
And then, Northrop finally took over the points lead, finishing one-two-three in the 200 Meters, with Elcock showing the way at 24.22, Robinson finishing second and Carr third.
The evening got off to a blazing fast start when Chesterton’s 3200 Meter Relay team set a new state mark, as Mandi Loving (12), Ali Bishel (9), Kelly Peller (9) and Cassie Peller (11) combined their talents to finish in 9:11.30, erasing the state meet mark of 9:13.41 set by Carmel a year ago.
Christina Poulson (12) of Delta has owned the 100 Meter Dash the past two seasons and she made it three in a row on Saturday in a time of 11.75, her best effort of the trio of titles she has garnered in the event.
Katie Harrington (11) gave Carmel its two top efforts on the evening, turning in a record setting 4:49.38 as the 2002 cross country champion went on to win by over four seconds in the 1600 Meter Run, moving up from her second place slot a year back. The previous mark was set by Sherry Hoover of Woodlan in 1985, with a 4:49.54. She then returned to capture the 3200 Meter Run by a margin of 14 seconds in a time of 10.27.08.
Another mark bit the dust late in the competition in the 800 Meter Run, as Temeka Kincy (11) carried on some of the excitement the Lawrence North boys had generated the previous night with their third straight championship, as she romped home in the record time of 2:09.82. The previous standard of 2:09.99 had been set in 1985 by Kari Krehnbrink of Lafayette Jefferson.
For the first time in the history of the sport, Pole Vaulting entered the competition as a non-scoring event. Tori Allen (10) of Lawrence Central was an easy winner with a vault of 11-10.25, just over a foot higher than her closest competitor, thus establishing the new standard.
In the other field events, Lafayette Jefferson grabbed their first 10 points of the day as Liz Honegger (12), fifth place finisher a year ago at 131-07, bettered that mark by 18 feet, turning in a 149-07 in the Discus. And Honegger wasn’t finished for the day, as she moved over to the Shot Put arena, where she was third a season ago, and gathered in her second blue ribbon there with a put of 46-04.25.