Published: May 17, 2008 01:10 am            

JEFF TRACK SECTIONAL: Jeff wins 36th sectional in a row

JEFFERSONVILLE — At first there was rain, then came the cold.

But no matter the weather, one thing at the Jeffersonville boys’ track sectional never changes.

The host Red Devils took the championship for the 36th consecutive time on Friday, outscoring second-place Silver Creek and the rest of the 11-team field at Blair Field on Friday.

The pole vault continued late into the evening, but the Devils were awarded the trophy anyway, scoring 125 1/2 points after 15 events to the Dragons’ 87.

The meet was finally completed after rainy weather forced its postponement on Thursday. On Friday, the skies remained clear, but a chilly night left both runners and spectators shivering.

That was the biggest drama, as Jeff claimed four individual championships, including two for senior Dan Coats, in the 800-and-1,600-meter runs.

“Dan stepped up tonight,” said Jeff coach Ryan Bixler. “He won events he wasn’t necessarily supposed to win.”

The surprise was in the 800, where Coats avenged a loss to Madison’s Stephan Blignaut in the Hoosier Hills Conference meet. He also outdueled Silver Creek’s Alex Jones — a sectional champion in the 3,200 — to win the 1,600.

Cornelius Broadway, who ran the top time in the preliminary heat of the 110-meter hurdles, ended up third in that race, which was won by Silver Creek’s Spencer Robinson. But he avenged the loss by beating Robinson for the title in the 300 hurdles.

Jeff was second in two of the three hurdles events and got another title from Toba Omotinugbon in the shot put.

It all went according to plan for the Devils and Bixler, who got exactly the sort of meet they were looking for.

“If you look at the seeds, we finished pretty much where we expected,” Bixler said. “We didn’t really sneak anybody in (to Thursday’s Bloomington North Regional), but no one really dropped out either. We’ve got a strong chance to go there and score a lot of points.”

As will the Dragons, who stayed competitive in nearly every event. Jack Eckert was second to Southwestern’s Courtney Miles in the 400, and later finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Cody Jackson was second in the high jump for Silver Creek.

“As a team, the kids competed and we had some great performances,” said Dragons coach Al Eckert. “Alex had a great night and he wanted to be a sectional champ awful bad. I think we all did about all we could do.”

A young team with its best times still in front of it, Eckert said that the plan over the next few years will be to make sure the Devils don’t get their 37th straight crown.

“Jeff does a great job and Ryan Bixler is a very good coach,” said Eckert. “It won’t be an easy task, but our goal every year is to win our conference and our sectional. The kids are starting to realize we have the team to do it.”

Charlestown was third in the team standings with 79 points at press time, getting a victory from Justin Baxtron in the 100-meter dash. Baxtron also came back to grab a second-place ribbon in the 200, and teamed up with Aaron May, Jeff Twigg and James Kendrick to beat Jeff and Madison in the 400 relay.

Madison, Jennings County, Southwestern and Henryville were next in the team standings.

The Hornets had to wait until the end to have their big highlight, when Brandon McGloshen, Ricky Boyd, Cody McCutcheon and Mat Smith teamed to win the 1600 relay. Henryville also got a big night from Chris Rios, who moved on to regional by finishing second in the 110-meter hurdles.

Austin was eight, followed by Scottsburg. Rock Creek Christian Academy and New Washington tied for 10th, each team scoring two points.



JEFFERSONVILLE SECTIONAL

(Top four in each event advanced to Thursday’s Bloomington North Regional)

100 — 1. Baxtron (CH) 11.62, 2. Martin (J), 3. Weber (M), 4. Napier (AU).

200 — 1. Miles (SW) 22.96, 2. Baxtron (CH), 3. Martin (J), 4. Selig (JC).

400 — 1. Miles (SW) 50.81, 2. Eckert (SC), 3. Selig (JC), 4. Cooper (CH).

800 — 1. D. Coats (J) 2:03.6, 2. Blignaut (M), 3. Rice (SC), 4. Feldhaus (J).

1,600 — 1. D. Coats (J) 4:30.52, 2. Jones (SC), 3. J. Coats (J), 4. Shelton (AU).

3,200 — 1. Jones (SC 9:59.39, 2. Johnson (AU), 3. Barker (JC), 4. J. Coats (J).

110 hurdles — 1. Robinson (SC) 16.10, 2. Rios (H), 3. Broadway (J), 4. Eckert (SC).

300 hurdles — 1. Broadway (J) 41.48, 2. Robinson (SC), 3. Twigg (CH), 4. Beiswanger (JC).

400 relay — 1. Charlestown 44.58, 2. Jeffersonville, 3. Madison, 4. Austin.

1600 relay — 1. Henryville 3:33.95, 2. Jeffersonville, 3. Charlestown, 4. Madison.

3200 relay — 1. Madison 8:32.74, 2. Silver Creek, 3. Austin, 4. Jennings County.

High jump — 1. Prichard (SCO) 6-03, 2. Jackson (SC), 3. Jackson (A), 4. Halverson (MA).

Long jump — 1. Miles (SW) 20-09, 2. Blignaut (MA), 3. McGloshen (H), 4. Selig (JC).

Shot put — 1. Omotinugbon (J) 48-04, 2. Caum (JC), 3. Caudill (CH), 4. Thrasher (CH).

Discus — 1. Scrogham (SW) 151-07, 2. Omotinugbon (J), 3. Thrasher (CH), 4. Fields (JC).

        

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