All track, no field at Saint Joseph girls sectional Tuesday as weather alters schedule
This story will be updated when field events are completed
SOUTH BEND — It was a fairly standard track and field meet at Saint Joseph High School Tuesday night.
Except for not having any of the “field” parts. And also, a shocking finish in the 4X400-meter relay race.
Mother Nature split the girls sectional meet into two days, with the steady rain throughout Tuesday forcing all the field events to Wednesday evening. The 12 schools competing were still able to get the running events in, though, which featured dramatics in the final race of the night.
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It looked like South Bend Adams’ Agnes Hasler was going to cruise to victory in the final stages when, all of a sudden, Hasler fell to the ground, her body seemingly giving up on her with 10 meters to go. This allowed Penn’s Sofia Ugwoke to run by and take first place. Saint Joseph crossed second, while Hasler recovered in time to finish third.
One problem: an Adams coach came onto the track to help Hasler up, which is a disqualification. This allowed Mishawaka’s 4X4 team to finish third, automatically advancing them to next week’s Kokomo regional.
Sorry for poor photo quality, but nice @IHSAA1 sportsmanship moment here from @KingsmenTrack's Sofia Ugwoke to @JAEaglesSports Agnes Hasler after Hasler had fallen in the last 15 meters of the 4X4. Ugwoke immediately went to Hasler to check on her after she finished. pic.twitter.com/g39WmQ8h7V
— Austin Hough (@AustinRHough) May 15, 2024
“I felt so bad for her because (Hasler) was pushing the whole time,” Ugwoke said. “It’s just sad to see someone try so hard and that happening.”
As soon as Hasler crossed the line, Ugwoke was there to check on the Adams’ runner.
“It’s a team sport, even though she’s not on my team,” Ugwoke said. “I just wanted to make sure she was OK. That’s part of being a track runner.”
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Only 11 of the 16 total events have been completed, but Penn has a comfortable lead in the team standings. They’re at 95 points, with Mishawaka at 69 and Saint Joseph 68. Other Kingsmen winners Tuesday came from senior Mary Eubank in both the 1,600- and- 3,200-meter runs and the 4X800-meter relay. Penn advanced runners to regionals in seven of the 11 events.
“We have a really strong team in all attributes,” Ugwoke said. “The field events, the distance team and sprints, too. It really is a team effort; it’s not just one person.”
John Glenn freshman Goodsell continues ascent
If last week’s NIC meet was the start of a coming-out party for Lydia Goodsell, the sectional was a continuation of it.
The John Glenn freshman won the two sprint races Tuesday, claiming the 100-meter dash title in 12.59 seconds and 200-meter dash crown in 25.69 seconds. She won both of those events, plus the long jump at last week’s conference meet.
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“I definitely didn’t run my best times, but I still feel really good about it,” Goodsell said. “It felt pretty laid back because I didn’t have to go do (long jump Tuesday).”
Goodsell plays two sports for Glenn in the fall: cross country and soccer. That means switching up a lot of her training during the winter to go from longer-distance running to the short sprints she competes in on the track. The longest race she typically competes in is the 400-meter dash, but she did not run that Tuesday.
“I think when I started out, I was a little disappointed,” said Goodsell of the track season. “But, I’ve felt better around the halfway point of the season.”
Along with Goodsell and Penn’s Eubank, one other individual won two events in Washington sophomore Adrianna Swanson, who swept the hurdle races with relative ease. Swanson is coming off a sixth-place finish at the state finals in the 100-meter hurdles as a freshman last year.
2024 GIRLS TRACK SECTIONAL AT SAINT JOSEPH – Results
Note: running events only took place Tuesday. Field events were postponed to Wednesday due to the inclement weather. This story will be updated once those results become official.
Top three in each event listed, making them qualifiers for next Tuesday’s Kokomo regional.
100-meter dash: Lydia Goodsell, Glenn, 12.59; Terryah Leonard, Washington, 12.72; Tinayja Summers, Mishawaka, 12.73.
200-meter dash: Lydia Goodsell, Glenn, 25.69; Tinayja Summers, Mishawaka, 26.26; Samara Ford, Riley, 26.54.
400-meter dash: Terryah Leonard, Washington, 1:00.91; Macey Gableman, Penn, 1:01.50; Michelle Carter, Saint Joseph, 1:02.24.
800-meter run: Audrey Lee, Trinity, 2:25.20; Lauren Frick, Saint Joseph, 2:25.38; Tori Buraczewski, Mishawaka, 2:26.57.
1,600-meter run: Mary Eubank, Penn, 5:12.26; Koryn Flock, Mishawaka, 5:23.05; Arianna Balinnang, Penn, 5:25.80.
3,200-meter run: Mary Eubank, Penn, 11:31.20; Ellie Stabnik, Penn, 11:51.55; Izzy Frabutt, Saint Joseph, 12:09.36.
100-meter hurdles: Adrianna Swanson, Washington, 14.90; Lilly Deeds, Mishawaka, 16.39; Verriyah Williams, Adams, 16.41.
300-meter hurdles: Adrianna Swanson, Washington, 47.54; Ava Tormey, Trinity, 47.90; Ella Bailey, Penn, 48.54.
4X100-meter relay: Riley (Ford, Burton, Wittrock and Johnson), 50.19; Penn (Malone, Driscoll, Turk and Ugwoke), 50.23; Washington (Ivory, Swanson, Wilson and Leonard), 50.41.
4X400-meter relay: Penn (Gableman, Driscoll, Bailey and Ugwoke), 4:11.84; Saint Joseph (Prokop, Carter, Groth and Frick), 4:16.17; Mishawaka (Thomas, Buraczewski, Waelbroeck and VanNevel), 4:19.73.
4X800-meter relay: Penn (Balinnang, Morgan, Mbianda and Nash), 9:52.55; Adams (Bulaoro, Shepherd, Soens and Hasler), 9:53.49; Saint Joseph (Trenerry, Lutz, Ritschard and Frick), 10:08.84.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: All track, no field at Saint Joseph girls sectional Tuesday as weather alters schedule
