BLOOMINGTON — Maddy Fields went into Saturday’s Girls Track and Field State Finals tied for the No. 20 seed in the pole vault, but that didn’t stop her from chasing a medal.
The Brown County senior equaled her personal-best with a vault of 11 feet to finish in a tie for eighth. The top nine score and earn medals.
“I saw on the seed list that 11-0 was around ninth place, and I thought, ‘Well, I know I can get 11, but can I get it clean (without any misses)?’” Fields said. “I kind of had an idea that maybe that would happen. I’m really happy that’s how it ended up.”
Fields made the opening height of 10-0 on her first try. Then, she made 10-6 and 11-0 on her first tries, as well, before missing her three allotted attempts at 11-3.
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Fields, who will pole vault for Indiana State, was making her first appearance in the state meet.
“It was a little intimidating at first, but I think it’s really cool and a good opportunity,” Fields said.
Two other area athletes just missed earning spots on the awards podium. Jennings County sophomore Kayla Truesdell was ninth going into the finals of the discus, but ended up 10th with a throw of 125-7.
Truesdell went on to finish 16th in the shot put at 39-4 ¾.
“I could have done better,” Truesdell said of her two events. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted to.”
Trinity Lutheran senior Hailley Peters also finished 10th after clearing 5-4 in the high jump. She was tied for the No. 14 seed coming in.
Peters, who is considering walking on to the track team at Ball State, cleared the opening height of 5-0 on her first try. She made 5-2 on her second attempt, 5-3 on her first try and 5-4 on her second attempt before missing three times at 5-5.
“My 5-4 jump felt really good,” Peters said. “My 5-5 jump, that last one, felt good, too, but I just hit it with my ankles. I’ve been working hard for all four years for this, and it makes me happy.”
Bartholomew County’s lone state qualifier had a little bit of an adventure in the 3,200 meters. Columbus North freshman Olivia Morlok fell at the cut-in point and was spiked.
Morlok, who finished 16th in 11 minutes 23.83 seconds, was sporting a bloody finger after the race.
“I didn’t even realize I was bleeding until the second lap,” Morlok said.
But Morlok stayed at the back of the lead pack through the first 1,600 meters. She was 12th at the halfway point after a 5:26 opening 1,600.
Morlok then ran three consecutive 90-second laps before finishing with an 88 final 400.
“I wish I could have hung on a little longer, but it was a good race,” Morlok said. “I obviously would have liked to get my best time, but it’s an experience, and I’m glad that I came out here and did what I could. I’d like to come back next year and be more competitive and hopefully bring a team with me.”
