Double take: Bloomington North's Hadley Lucas makes history at state

The superlatives start flying like one of the implements she hurls into the sky.

First girl from Bloomington North to win a state shot put title, just the second from Monroe County (Edgewood's Stacy Martin, 1999). Just the seventh sophomore in state history to win it.

She is the third Cougar to win a state discus title, following her coach, Sara Hamidovic (2000) and Rachel Deloney (2005, 2007-8).

First sophomore to ever sweep the throws at state and just the seventh overall.

"It was fun," North's Hadley Lucas said. "It was exciting. I liked the experience."

And yet the way Lucas pushes herself, she wanted even more. Her winning distances of 46-4¼ (shot) and 147-4 (discus) Friday in the IHSAA state track and field finals at IU's Robert C. Hough Complex, were not really close to her career bests.

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"It's amazing," Hamidovic said. "It feels kind of weird and bittersweet because she really didn't do well for her. She did what she needed to do to win both of them, but was pretty good margin off her best in both.

"But you show up to win and you win and that's what she did."

Still, she won shot by eight inches and discus by 11 feet, but she didn't beat herself. It's just something else to push her forward.

"I was expecting big things," Lucas said. "I kind of got mad after discus, though."

Still, beginning to end, no one beat her this season and she handled being the overwhelming favorite and the pressure that comes with that.

"it was different," Lucas said. "All season, I was kind pretty far ahead of everybody. This meet was a little bit different, but I liked it. It was fun. I like the competition."

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Lucas seemed to settle in well early, hitting 140-7 on his first discus to take the lead right away. Her second toss was the winner. Same in shot, where she went 44-11¾, then had the winner on her third attempt.

"That's what I always tell them," Hamidovic said. "Get a safe throw, get a fair mark but also let everybody know you're here."

And that she'll be back, still aiming for the state records.

"I was hoping for that, but there will be more meets," Lucas said. "Two more years."

North finishes fourth in the state

North tied its highest finish ever (1989, 1991) and for its most state points ever with 28. North Central, led by four-time gold medalist Ramiah Elliott (100, 200, 400, 1,600 relay), had 55 points. Noblesville (40), Zionsville (32) and North followed.

"We talked about that," Helmer said. "If we knew what we would get out of Hadley, could we piece together more points, how many could we get? Could we get in the top five?

"It's fun to be able to have that conversation coming into the state meet and we don't get that very often."

The Cougars were simply at or near their all-time bests, with seniors Kyla Kante, Ella Francis and sophomore Nola Somers Glenn all medaling and senior Bea Cakmak taking 12th with her third best 1,600 ever (5:12.06).

"They weren't nervous," Helmer said. "Take the pressure off yourself and see how many points you can score for your team?"

Three more medals

Somers Glenn broke the school record in the 800, taking fifth in 2:13.97, knocking out the 2:14.30 by Kate Raphael in 2013.

"I was shocked after I finished," Somers Glenn said. "I said, 'That felt pretty fast.' I looked at the board, 'Oh my gosh, that's a school record.' So that was exciting."

She opened in 1:04.05 and hung tight in a race won in state record time by Huntington North's Addison Wiley (2:06.26).

"I was very surprised," Somers Glenn said. "I just put myself into the race at the beginning and try to stick with it. It got hard, but I told myself I couldn't give up."

More: Bloomington North senior Ella Francis makes it back to state, one step at a time

Francis ended up eighth in the 300 hurdles, pushing through the last 50 to go a career best 45.27. Just .33 slower and there's no medal. But a much better ending than the crash that occurred in last year's finals.

"It means a lot," Francis said. "It was super exciting, running in that heat. I'm glad I was able to go out with a bang. I'm really glad I medaled because that was the goal for the whole season."

"It was mentally challenging, just having flashbacks to the last state meet. This one, I'm not letting that happen again."

Kante had a busy day with two hurdles races and legs for the 400 and 1,600 relays.

It was her first trip back to state since her freshman year and it was a satisfying ending, with the two best 100 hurdles races of her life, going 14.54 in prelims to take ninth by .03.

She had a 14.57 in the finals race, which was won in a meet record 13.92.

"I'm so happy about it," Kante said. "It's the only thing I could have hoped for this year, to make it to the finals and get some kind of medal."

All three came back for North's 1,600 relay, which had a 12th place finish in 4:00.61. The fourth member, junior Cora Deemer, joined Kante, Chloe Hendrix-Petry and Avery Njau on the 400 relay, which was 20th in 49.60. Both were top three all-time in school history.

Vaulted ceilings

Edgewood sophomore Ashley Abram came in with the simple goal of getting over the opening height in the pole vault.

"I was really excited," Abram said. "I definitely had a lot of nerves but I gave it my all."

The vaulting rookie met that on her third try, with the added pressure of starting at 9-6, the height she won regional with last week and the best she's ever gone.

"I still count it as a success," Abram said. "I'm so proud of myself because this is my first year and I wasn't expecting any of it. So to still tie my PR and school record makes me happy."

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Bittersweet finish for Myers

The mixed emotions could not have come any harder for South junior Lily Myers.

On on hand, she had the race of her life, the one she knew she'd have to have to have a chance to medal in the 3,200. She kept her nose in the top eight over the first half, crossing in 5:22.

As the last lap started, she was passed by two runners, pushing her back to 11th. She fought her way back into ninth, but coming down the stretch, Floyd Central's Jaydon Cirincione made a desperate lean.

It worked, finishing in 10:47.35, .02 ahead of a school record 10:47.37 for Myers, for the last podium spot, despite, according to South coach Jill Rensink, running the second fastest last 400 in the field.

"I know she's heartbroken," Rensink said. "I told her to go watch Ted Laslo and be a goldfish (short-term memory). Come back for cross country, take that little bit of anger you have right now and be ready to go.

"A year ago at state, she was in no-man's land, and 'Wow, this is such a big stage.' And this year, she's running right up there in the front. The level of confidence that has built up in her this year has been so much fun to watch."

South's 3,200 relay of Millie Williams, Emma Callahan, Kate Barada and Grace Stringer finished 20th in 10:00.91.

One last time for Tieman

Athletes at the state meet seldom ask for more time, since the goal is to use as little as possible.

More: Eastern Greene record holder Anna Tieman quick change artist on the track

Catching her breath after her first and only trip to the state finals was over, the senior would love to have a fifth year of eligibility before heading off to college at Indiana.

"It's definitely awesome to even be here," Tieman said. "It's really cool to have the opportunity, but it's really catching up with me that I didn't have enough years.

"But I'm glad I made it, even if it didn't end up quite like I wanted it to today. That's 200 did not go ideally, but it's OK."

Tieman was just a shade off her school record marks at regional, placing 17th at long jump (17-1½) and going 26.04 for 19th in the 200, which had a false start, forcing her to reset.

"That jump, I jumped a foot behind the board," Tieman said. "So it's just a bunch of things that if I had more time I could have fixed it. Just not enough years, you know?"

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

IHSAA GIRLS' STATE TRACK MEET

Top 20 team scores: 1. North Central 55; 2. Noblesville 40; 3. Zionsville 32; 4. Bloomington North 28; 5. Huntington North 27; 6. Hamilton Southeastern 26; 7. Carmel 24; T8. Park Tudor 23; Lake Central 23; Center Grove 23; 11. Cathedral 21½; 12. Valparaiso 21; 13. Fort Wayne Northrop 20; 14. Chesterton 19; T15. Delta 18; Ben Davis 18; 17. Kankakee Valley 17; T18. Columbus North 16; Floyd Central 16; T20. Brownsburg 15; Charlestown 15.

Individual results

100: 1. Ramiah Elliott, NCentral, 11.46; 2. Sophia Yovanovich, Zions, 11.82; 3. Camryn Dunn, Chestrtn, 11.91; 4. Angel Thomas, SB Adams, 11.91.

200: 1. Elliott, NCentral, 23.63; 2. Kacyra Simmons, Ben Davis, 24.31; 3. Alana Springer, Avon, 24.63; 4. Lyric Steele, Charstwn, 24.74. 19. Anna Tieman, EG, 26.04.

400: 1. Elliott, NCentral, 54.75; 2. Olivia Cebalo, Carmel, 56.08; 3. Dunn, Chestrtn, 56.64; 4. Simmons, BenDavis, 56.87.

800: 1. Addison Wiley, Huntgtn N, 2:06.26 (state record; old record, 2:06.62, Elizabeth Stanhope, Pike, 2019); 2. Gretchen Farley, Park Tudor, 2:09.89; 3. Kaylie Politza, Valpo, 2:10.69; 4. Emma Hellwege, Wheeler, 2:13.46; 5. Nola Somers Glenn, BNorth, 2:13.46.

1,600: 1. Wiley, Huntngtn N, 4:38.69 (state record; old record, 4:43.46, Waverly Neer, Culver, 2011); 2. Nicki Southerland, Delta, 4:43.9; 3. GFarley, Park Tudor, 4:50.35; 4. Jaydon Cirincione, Floyd C, 4:55.55. 12. Bea Cakmak, BNorth, 5:12.08.

3,200: 1. Southerland, Delta, 10:22.82; 2. Sophia Kennedy, Park Tudor, 10:25.02; 3. Wiley, Huntington N, 10:38.57; 4. Karina James, Lowell, 10:40.60. 10. Lily Myers, BSouth, 10:47.37.

100 hurdles: 1. Rachel Mehringer, Forest Park, 13.92 (state record; old recod, 13.93, Destiny Washington, Lake Central, 2018); 2. Taylor Jackson, Merrilville, 13.97; 3. Ally Elsbury, HSE, 14.26; 4. Reese Sanders, Cathedral, 14.26; 9. Kyla Kante, BNorth, 14.57.

300 hurdles: 1. Reese Sanders, Cathedral, 42.99; 2. KianaSiefert, Noblesville, 44.24; 3. Leah Handshoe, Leo, 44.64; 4. Ryann Parrish, Homestead, 44.73; 8. Ella Francis, BNorth, 45.27.

Shot put: 1. Hadley Lucas, BNorth, 46-4¼; 2. Shelby Wingler, CentGrove, 45-4½; 3. Niesha Anderson, FW Snider, 44-1; 4. Alexandra Sparks, FW Carroll, 42-9½.

Discus: 1. Lucas, BNorth, 147-4; 2. Sarah Schoonmaker, Lake C, 136-10; 3. Emma Yoder, Wawasee, 134-3; 4. Sydney Miller, New Pal, 134-1.

High jump: 1. Emily Nannenga, Kank Valley, 5-10; 2. Kya Crooke, Heritage Chr, 5-7; 3. Taylor Schoonveld, Kank Valley, 5-7; T4. Josie Page, Wood Mem, 5-7; Ellie Irwin, Greenwood, 5-7.

Long jump: 1. Alexia Smith, EvBosse, 18-9¾; 2. Courtney Jones, THSouth, 18-8½; 3. Morgan Patterson, FW Northrop, 18-7¾; 4. Siefert, Noblesville, 18-7½. 17. Tieman, EG, 17-1½.

Pole vault: 1. Mackenzie VanBibber, Plainfield, 12-3; 2. Kennedy Merrell, Zionsville, 12-3; 3. Gwen Schilling, Lake C, 12-0; T4. Kailee Swart, Cathedral, 11-9; Ganni Zeilenga, DeMotte Cov Christ, 11-9. T23. Ashley Abram, Edgewood, 9-6.

400 relay: 1. Zionsville, 47.23; 2. Brownsburg, 47.61; 3. Lake Central, 47.91; 4. North Central, 47.95. 20. Bloomington North (Cora Deemer, Chloe Hendrix-Petry, Avery Njau, Kante), 49.60.

1,600 relay: 1. North Central, 3:52.56; 2. Carmel, 3:53.39; 3. Bishop Chatard, 3:55.00; 4. Hamilton Southeastern, 3:57.28. 12. Bloomington North (Deemer, Kante, Francis, Somers Glenn), 4:00.61.

3,200 relay: 1. Valparaiso, 9:03.91; 2. Columbus North, 9:08.32; 3. Noblesville, 9:09.83; 4. Carmel, 9:14.59; 20. Bloomington South (Millie Williams, Emma Callahan, Grace Stringer, Kate Barada), 10:00.91.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Double take: Bloomington North's Hadley Lucas makes history at state