Redemption, records and results: What we learned from the Central boys track sectional

EVANSVILLE — The postseason excitement continued with the IHSAA boys track and field sectional Thursday evening at Central High School.

While North had a bad start after dropping the baton in the 4x100 relay, it bounced back in time to win its third consecutive sectional. Plus, another sectional record was broken.

Let's take a look at how one particular Husky found redemption and more from the Central sectional.

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North's Darian Walker bounces back in hurdles

The sophomore was upset with himself after he was disqualified in the 110 at the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference meet.

He beat himself up for making a false start and considered giving up on the sport. But his coaches and teammates encouraged him to keep on going.

"They told me to just forget the past, it's a new race and to try not to get into my head too much," Walker said. "That's probably one of my biggest problems. But my dad has also helped me recover from that."

While Walker placed second in the 110 on Thursday night, his result in the 300 was even better. Just two weeks after being disqualified, he now stands as a sectional champion. His season continues as a regional qualifier in two events.

"I needed a win for tonight," Walker said. "I got what I wanted."

Castle's 4x800 relay team breaks sectional record

Jackson Kramer feels great about this relay unit. The senior runs on the third leg of a team that qualified for state last season and remains experienced as all but one runner returned — the second leg, Nathan Whitacre, is only a freshman.

The Knights accomplished something special at Central Stadium. They broke the 8-year-old sectional record in their event with a time of 8:04.89, which is almost two seconds faster than Memorial's previous record.

For Jackson, a Warrick County team besting a city team for the record felt sweet.

"At first, I was a little nervous (and) scared," he said. "But when I finished, I felt like I did my part. I gave (the baton) to Deacon Sawyer, he's a quickie. He finished strong and we got the sectional record. To set a record and have your name on a board for a long time and you get to look at that, it feels really good. I'm glad I accomplished something today."

Memorial wins three overall sectional titles

For a good portion of the 1,600-meter run, Andrew Foster had Reitz's Carter Zieren and North's Kyle Sterchi right on his heels.

Foster, a freshman, then gained an edge toward the final lap as he raced to the finish line to became a sectional champion in his postseason debut.

"It was a lot of work," Foster said. "North and Reitz were kind of pushing me. A lot of strong runners."

Memorial is sending athletes to next week's regional in six more events. Senior William Hirsch and junior Joseph Heeke are going for the 3,200-meter run and 300-meter hurdles, respectively. And all of the relay runners have advanced: The 4x400 team won the sectional title while its anchor, senior Dasmon Johnson, became an individual champion in the 100.

Harrison's Jay Summitt, Central's Devin Stewart clinch jumping titles

Summitt admitted it wasn't his day in the long jump.

He improved in the event but added it was the worst jump he had all season. The junior isn't going to regionals in the long jump, but he can still call himself a sectional champion in the high jump.

"It's a huge victory, but in reality, it's just one step further," Summitt said. "We've got to get to regionals and then get to state."

Meanwhile, Stewart was excited to win the long jump title in his home stadium. He bested a state qualifier in the event in Boonville's Marques Ballard. Stewart, a sophomore, also looks forward to competing in the regional with his older brother Darrion, a senior who qualified in discus.

"Last year, I didn't do very well (in long jump)," Stewart said. "I was jumping 19 (feet), now I'm jumping 21. It means quite a bit progressing in that."

RESULTS FROM THE CENTRAL BOYS SECTIONAL TRACK MEET

Thursday at Central Stadium

Team: North 131.1, Memorial 84, Castle 80.5, Boonville 70, Reitz 68, Harrison 51.5, Mater Dei 48, Central 23.5, Mount Vernon 21, North Posey 20

Individual winners

100: Dasmon Johnson (Memorial) 11.03

200: De'Amontey Layne (North) 22.19

400: Cainen Northington (North) 48.34

800: Dane Kramer (Castle) 2:01.59

1,600: Andrew Foster (Memorial) 4:24.61

3,200: Jackson Nolan (Reitz) 9:18.11

110 high hurdles: Jordan Paul (Boonville) 15.18

300 hurdles: Darian Walker (North) 40.81

4x100 relay: Castle (Austin Pritchard, Antonio Harris, Gavin Leach, Max McCool) 42.49

4x400 relay: Memorial (Luke Dockery, Carson Anslinger, Sam Nichols, Dasmon Johnson) 3:26.95

4x800 relay: Castle (Dane Kramer, Nathan Whitacre, Jackson Kramer, Deacon Sawyer) 8:04.89*

High jump: Jay Summitt (Harrison) 6-02

Pole vault: AJ Lothamer (Castle) 13-0

Long jump: Devin Stewart (Central) 21-06.5

Shot put: Ben Brasher (North) 51-0

Discus: Cole Cundiff (Boonville) 143-04

*-new meet record

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA track and field: What we learned from the Central sectional