by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

BLOOMINGTON – By literally a few millimeters, Hamilton Southeastern’s Noah
Malone became a state champion on Friday.

The junior won the 200 dash by a margin of two-thousandths of a second – .002 – at
the IHSAA boys track and field state championships at Indiana University. The 200
dash was easily the race of the night and among the highlights of Hamilton County
athletes.

Malone helped the Royals to a fourthplace finish as a team, their best result since
winning state in 2013. Meanwhile, Fishers also landed in the top 10 and claimed a state
title in the 4×800 relay. Carmel, Westfield and Noblesville all had medalist performances as well.

Coming into the 200, Malone had already put together a nice list of accomplishments at state. He was the runner-up in the 100 dash and part of HSE’s fourth-place
4×100 relay, joining freshman Stephen Sydnor, sophomore Gage Pratt and junior
Caleb Durden in that race.

Malone’s biggest competitor was his friend and fellow junior, Jahn Riley of Pike.
Riley was working on his third medal of the night, already placing seventh in the 100
dash and winning the 400 dash. The two were side-by-side throughout the entire 200
dash, including right at the end.

It took a few seconds to figure out the winner, but it would be Malone. Both times
flashed on the scoreboard as 21.31 seconds, which were rounded up from the precise
times. Malone finished the race in 21.307 seconds, Riley finished in 21.309.

“I actually thought Jahn won,” said Malone. “I thought he won. But when the
screen came up as a tie, it was just insane.  Right now I’m just speechless, but it was a
good day overall. It was a good day. And props to Jahn. He brought me to that time.”

Pratt also earned a medal in the 200 dash, finishing in ninth place. Senior Jacob
Wiggers finished ninth in the 3200 run, giving the Royals a fifth medal. That was
also enough for Southeastern to clinch a three-way tie for fourth place; the Royals
joined Brownsburg and Cathedral in scoring 26 points.

“We’re real proud of the way our guys competed,” said Royals coach Brian Akialis.
“Obviously very excited when we’ve got a guy like Noah first in the 200, second place
in the 1 and then our 4×1 running their best time all year right when it matters most,
finishing fourth today.”

The Tigers finished the meet with 23 points, placing them eighth as a team.
Fishers began the running events with a win, as senior Ethan Meyer, senior Hunter Christy, junior Drew Smith and sophomore Jaylen Castillo finished first in the 4×800 relay. It
marks the second year in a row that the Tigers have won a state event.

Meyer then took sixth in the 1600 run.  Competing at state was a sneak preview for
him, as he has committed to run cross country and track at IU next fall.

“It’s definitely changed my life,” said Meyer as he reflected on his high school
career. “The experience I’ve had is something I’d never trade for anything else.”

Fishers also had solid days from its throwers. Junior Hayden Tobias took fifth
in the shot put, while junior Wyatt Puff finished eighth in both the shot put and the
discus.

Carmel finished in 16th place as a team with 16 points. Junior Logan Sandlin had
the best finish of the Greyhounds by taking fourth in the pole vault. He also competed
in the 300 hurdles, finishing 11th. Not bad for his first appearance at state.

“It’s definitely different than a normal track meet,” said Sandlin. “There are a lot
more people and it’s a lot more pressure. There are just a lot of different factors that
aren’t the same as a normal track meet.”

Senior Jakob Pearson finished fifth in the 110 hurdles, while the 4×400 relay team
of sophomore Owen Schafer, senior Drew Thornton, sophomore Colton Parker and
junior Eli Konow took seventh. Parker was also eighth in the 300 hurdles.

Noblesville finished the meet with two ninth-place medals. Sophomore Andrew
Anderson got his medal first after a top nine finish in the 800 run.

“It was a really fast start and a really tough race,” said Anderson. “I saw a couple
people get tripped up right in front of me. I had a good showing, it was really fun and I
got a lot of great guys here to support me.”

The Millers’ 4×400 relay team of juniors Shomari Rogers-Walton, Shawn Kinslow
and DeVontez Cox, and senior Mitchell Conard took ninth in that event.
Westfield earned an eighth-place finish in the 4×800 relay. That team consisted of
junior Mahamat Djour, senior Max Gutwein, senior Noah Douthit and junior David
Manella.

Guerin Catholic had two competitors at state. Senior Quinn Gallagher placed 11th
in the 3200 run, while senior Billy Freudenthal was 14th in the 300 hurdles.

North Central edged out Pike by one point to win the team state championship.
The Panthers scored 42 points to the Red Devils’ 41. Warren Central placed third with
27 points, giving the Metropolitan Conference a sweep of the top three teams.

The Hoosier Crossroads Conference also did well, with four teams in the top 10.
Southeastern and Brownsburg were part of the tie for fourth place, Fishers finished
eighth and HCC newcomer Franklin Central took ninth, with Mental Attitude Award
winner Malachi Quarles scoring all 20 of the Flashes’ points on wins in the 110 and 300
hurdles.