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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

RTC4 Boys Track Athlete of the Year Wade Jones

Tippecanoe Valley senior Wade Jones might have the nickname “Drago” in an homage to the villainous boxer from Rocky IV, but he might be selling himself short. Could actor Dolph Lundgren beat him in a 200-meter race?

We are not so sure, and for that, and more importantly, for the fact that he qualified for state in the 200 for the third straight year, he is our RTC4 Boys Track Athlete of the Year.

Because of rotten weather most of the spring and Valley’s rather low-key season as an independent, Jones had his teammates had an under-the-radar season, but by the time he got to the postseason, it seemed like schools like Penn, Elkhart and Northridge sent their best kids to try and knock him off. Jones, a Taylor University football recruit, fought off the challenges to finish third at the regional and make state again.

Having said that, we would like to give a collective shout-out to the distance runners from Pioneer. Leighton Dodt, Jackson Baker, Ian Kitchell, Carson Meyer and Austin Brooke sizzled on the track at every event they ran from 400 to 3,200, and the 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relay teams were special.

A 4 x 400 relay that breaks 3:30 is special. So is a 4 x 800 relay that breaks 8:15. Pioneer did both.

We would like to thank area coaches for sharing their results and their insights with us. Track coaches brave bad weather every year just to hopefully see their athletes cut their time by one-tenth or two-tenths of a second. Coaching is a thankless job, and it might be particularly thankless for track coaches.

This list is ours and ours alone, and we take full responsibility. We place greater importance on conference and postseason meets that draw the best competition as well as more accurate timing and measurements.

We try to put athletes in their best events, but we might adjust our lineup in order to recognize all of the best athletes.

Sprinters

Wade Jones (Tippecanoe Valley) (Athlete of the Year) – Jones won the 200 at the Bremen sectional in 22.36 seconds and then ran a 22.41 at the regional to finish third at state. Unfortunately, miserable weather in Bloomington led to a 23.16 at state and a 20th-place showing. He combines power out of the blocks with high-end speed on the straightaway. He also anchored Valley’s regional-qualifying 4 x 100 relay team.
Jackson Baker (Pioneer) – Baker, a senior, might have had more of reputation as a 800-meter runner prior to this year, but he showed off his speed this year, breaking 52 seconds and advancing to the regional in the 400. He also ran a leg on both sectional championship relays.
Ian Kitchell (Pioneer) – Kitchell also qualified for the regional in the 400, cutting his time from 54.20 at the conference meet to 52.33 at the sectional.

Distance runners

Leighton Dodt (Pioneer) – Dodt won the Star of Stars award at the Cass County Meet, and then he continued with his great season, taking third in the 800 and second in the 1,600 at the conference meet and then running a huge 4:35 at the sectional and advancing to regional in the 1,600. Like Baker, he also ran a leg on both victorious relays at the sectional.
Carson Meyer (Pioneer) – Meyer got his 3,200 time down to 10:25 in winning the conference, and he also won the 1,600 conference title. Then he ran a 10:14 in the 3,200 at the sectional to advance to the regional. He also ran the lead leg on the 4 x 800 relay.
Grant Bailey (Rochester) – The Plymouth sectional is a tough distance meet as there are usually tough competitors from Plymouth and Culver Academy, but Bailey held his own, finishing fifth in the 800 and third in the 1,600 and advancing to the regional in the latter event.

Hurdlers

Harrison Dunwoody (Rochester) – Dunwoody, a sophomore, was our only area hurdler to make the regional, taking third at the Plymouth sectional in the 110 hurdles. Dunwoody faced tough competition all season long, and that sharpened him for the end-of-the-season meets.
Reed Sommers (Caston) – Caston is loaded with fleet freshmen, and Sommers is one of the standouts, finishing third in the 110 hurdles and seventh in the 300 hurdles at conference. He then was sixth in the 110 hurdles at the sectional.
Brason Smith (Tippecanoe Valley) – Smith regularly scored points for Valley in the 300 hurdles and routinely broke 45 seconds.

Jumpers/pole vaulters

Trevor Walley (Rochester) – Walley, a junior, is the latest star Zebra pole vaulter, flying over the bar at 11-6 and finishing third to advance to the regional at Plymouth. He was also second in the TRC.
Austin Brooke (Pioneer) – Brooke had the most impressive high jump of the year when he cleared 6-0 and won the Cass County Meet. He also was third at the conference meet. Brooke was also one of the top hurdlers in the area.
Maddox Jewell (Rochester) – Jewell was the most consistently good long jumper in the area, going 19-1 ¼ at the sectional. He gets good top-end speed before flying off the board. He was fifth in the TRC in the long jump and seventh in the 100 meters.

Throwers

Mason Hisey (Rochester) – It usually takes some physical maturity and experience to get good in the throwing events, but Hisey made huge strides in his sophomore season. He threw the discus over 140 feet multiple times and added 30 feet to his personal best. His long levers give him an ideal physique for this event.
Charles Disinger (Winamac) – Disinger is also just a sophomore, but he won the Rensselaer sectional in the shot put with a throw of 47-6. He has added over nine feet to his personal best since his freshman season. We also think he has a 130-foot discus throw in him.
Max Keller (Winamac) – Keller was fourth in both discus and shot put at conference, but once he got to sectional, he was involved in a tight battle in the shot put that also involved his teammate Disinger. Disinger won, but Keller advanced by finishing third with a throw of 46-7.

Honorable mention