In what should be another wild state meet, Noblesville, North Central girls have the edge
Two girls — Ramiah Elliott and Addy Wiley — could be responsible for seven wins out of 16 events in Friday’s IHSAA girls state track and field meet at Bloomington.
That doesn’t secure a team championship for North Central or Huntington North. Even in such an individual sport, it takes a team.
Noblesville has such a team. The Millers qualified for state in 12 events. Yet Noblesville is no lock, either.
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Indeed, the standings could be as wild as last year, when seven teams went into the closing 1,600-meter relay with a mathematical chance. Cathedral edged Warren Central 39-38 for the team title, followed by Zionsville with 33 points, North Central and Lawrence Central with 32 each.
Based on regional marks, these would be the top 10 team scores:
Noblesville 45 ½, North Central 45, Zionsville 39 ½, Carmel 38, Hamilton Southeastern 30, Huntington North 27, Fort Wayne Northrop 26, Cathedral 25, Center Grove 24, Fishers 23.
Noblesville could climb to 50 points, but so could North Central. Cathedral’s 39 was the lowest winning score in 27 years.
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Noblesville, which is No. 1 in post-regional rankings, has never won the state championship in this sport. No. 2 North Central last won in 2019, when Elliott was a freshman. Carmel is ranked No. 3, HSE No. 4 and Zionsville No. 5.
Elliott is going for an unprecedented sprint quadruple: 100, 200 and 400 meters, plus 1,600 relay.
Wiley, a Huntington North senior who became the first girl to win an 800/1,600 double, is going for a third distance victory in the 3,200. Moreover, she qualified in the 1,600 relay, which immediately follows the 3,200.
State meet returns to Indiana University for the first time since 2019. The pandemic canceled the meet in 2020, and Ben Davis High School was the site in 2021.
Six events to watch
400 meters: By this race, Elliott should be coming off her first 100-meter title. (She has twice won the 200 and 400.) Harrison’s Jaylie Lohmeyer (55.52), Carmel freshman Olivia Cebalo (55.61) and Mooresville’s Alysha Bradford (56.17) won’t allow Elliott to coast.
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3,200 meters: Distance triples are rare in any state, especially in a single class. Wiley could already be a double winner but will have fewer than 25 minutes after the 800. Two rivals did not enter the 3,200 at sectionals — Bishop Chatard junior Lily Cridge, who set a state meet record last year, and Homestead sophomore Addison Knoblauch, who beat Wiley in setting a state indoor record. Delta sophomore Nicki Southerland had the top regional time, 10:23.96. As with Wiley, she is in the 1,600. She ran a 4:45.03 mile Saturday at Huntsville, Ala. Park Tudor junior Sophia Kennedy and former cross-country state champ Karina James of Lowell were third and fourth in the 3,200 in 2021.
100-meter hurdles: Forest Park junior Rachel Mehringer is defending champion and owns the best time, 14.06. Fastest in regionals was Northrop’s Morgan Patterson, 14.36. This race will influence team standings. Cathedral’s Reese Sanders and Noblesville’s Kiana Siefert were 13th and 18th from regionals but could score much higher. Sanders was third at state last year, and Siefert clocked 14.49 behind HSE’s Ally Elsbury (14.27) in a sectional. Fourteen girls have broken 15 seconds.
1,600-meter relay: Team title inevitably comes down to this. Carmel, North Central, Zionsville, Cathedral, HSE and Noblesville were 1-2-3-5-6-7 out of regionals. Elliott, anchoring for North Central, would be sprinting a sixth race in less than four hours.
Long jump: Defending champion Michelle Nazarov and sprinter Sophia Yovanovich were first and sixth, respectively, out of regionals, putting Zionsville in the team hunt. Siefert (Noblesville) and Elsbury (HSE) aim for team points.
Discus: Bloomington North sophomore Hadley Lucas and Center Grove junior Shelby Wingler are a solid 1-2. Behind them, Carmel (Taylor Reagor), Noblesville (Hannah Alexander), HSE (Rosiebella Fiabema) and North Central (Tracey Gooch) all have potential scorers.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
IHSAA girls state track meet
Where: Haugh Track & Field Complex, Indiana University, Bloomington.
When: Friday, 3 p.m., field events; 4:15, 4x800-meter relay; 5, trials; 6:15, finals.
Admission: Digital through GoFan.co, $12.
Webstream: IHSAAtv.org, pay-for-view, $10.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2022 IHSAA girls track and field state finals preview: Events to watch
