Columbus North’s Carys Glyn-Jones (17) races to the finish line in the 800 meters race at Saturday’s Girls State Track and Field State Finals at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
INDIANAPOLIS — Columbus North’s Carys Glyn-Jones and Emerson Chambers came from different starting points, but both came away with medals, and several other North, Columbus East and Hauser athletes bettered their seeds at Saturday’s Girls Track and Field State Finals
Glyn-Jones made a run at a win in the 800 meters, staying just behind Bloomington South’s Ellie Barada for two-thirds of the race. Glyn-Jones, who ran a 1-minute, 3.23-second first lap, was still in second coming down the final straightaway, but fell to fifth in 2:12.43.
“I think it was a lot of competition in the field today, and we were all very close,” Glyn-Jones said. “I was really happy that I went out hard and just pushed and did my best. I’m very happy I finished my last race with that time. It would have been amazing to have stuck in that second place, but just the fact that I was able to hold on for as long as I did.”
Barada won in 2:07.30. Glyn-Jones, who is headed to Butler, came in seeded fourth and was about a second off the school record she set at last year’s state meet, when she finished sixth.
“She battled through some things earlier in the year, and she just kept plugging away and working hard, and her talent came out at the end,” North coach Rick Sluder said. “She ran a great 2:12 and improved from last year by one spot. She ran fantastic.”
Chambers, a sophomore, came in seeded 12th in the 100 hurdles for her first state meet, meaning she needed to move up three spots to reach the finals and assure herself of a medal. She did that by qualifying ninth in the prelims with a 14.73, then moved up another spot to eighth in the finals at 14.87.
“Knowing my seed was 12th, just making the finals was rewarding, knowing that I did better than I thought I could do,” Chambers said. “It was very satisfying. I feel very good that I got to come up here and compete.”
“We knew she had a shot to make finals,” Sluder added. “She was a little bit on the outside, but she ran a fantastic prelim and got in there and beat somebody else in the finals and scored points.”
Freshman Sydni Schiefer made her state debut with a 17th-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 38 feet, 7 1/2 inches.
“It was a really good experience to come up here as a freshman, so I know what to expect in hopefully the next years,” Schiefer said. “I could just get the feel for what it’s going to be like and the atmosphere. It’s a great place to be.”
“Sydni Schiefer threw within about a foot of her season-best,” Sluder added. “She threw really well tonight.”
Senior Sierra Newell made the most of her first state appearance. Seeded last out of 27 competitors in the pole vault, she made 9-0 and 9-6 on her first attempts before bowing out at 10-0.
“I’m pretty happy with how I did,” Newell said. “I really wanted to try and PR and get 10-0, and I was really close on my last attempt. But overall, I’m happy with my performance because earlier this week, something in practice clicked. I didn’t have a lot of time to practice that new form that clicked in practice, but coming out here at the state meet and doing the best I can, I thought I did pretty good. Just getting here is awesome.”
“She just couldn’t quite get over that 10-0, but Sierra looked great tonight,” Sluder added. “It was a great way to go out for her as part of that 4×100 and the pole vault.”
Freshman Emma Haston came in seeded tied for ninth in the high jump at 5-4, but missed all three of her attempts at the starting height of 5-2.
“They started the high jump at 5-2, and that can be really intimidating,” Sluder said. “She’ll be back here next year ready to go.”
The Bull Dogs also had all three of their relay teams competing Saturday. Seniors Macy Eaton and Kyleigh Wolf, junior Hazel Sasse and Glyn-Jones finished 19th in the 4×800 in 9:43.30.
Sophomore Avery Johnson, junior Lily Miller, Newell and Chambers took 24th in the 4×100 relay in 49.89. Junior Natalie Rohm, sophomores Reece Peeples and Lexi Denny and freshman Grace Bethuram were 22nd in the 4×400 relay in a season-best 4:05.12.
“The 4×800 was just a tiny bit off, but it’s tough in a meet like this,” Sluder said. “The 4×100 was just off their school record. The 4×400 ran their best time of the year tonight with two alternates.”
Meanwhile, East senior Carsyn Schlehuser and Hauser freshman Addyson Russell had an adventure in the 200 prelims in their first state appearances.
Russell ran in the second of three heats, but the timing system did not go off with the starting gun, and official times could not be recorded. That took about 15 minutes to sort out, delaying the start of Schlehuser’s third heat. The girls in the second heat were given a chance to rerun the prelim about another 15 minutes later, and Russell finished 24th overall in 27.11.
”I glad I got the experience and a chance to run against faster runners from all over Indiana,” said Russell, the first-ever girls state track qualifier from Hauser. “Even if it didn’t go exactly as I thought it would, it’s good experience.”
Schlehuser ran a personal-best 26.36 in her heat to finish 21st overall. She had finished 26th in the prelims of the 100 in 12.82.
“I think I was just really stressed out in the 1o0, but I feel amazing, and I’m so happy about my performance in the 200,” Schlehuser said. “Since I was in Lane 9, I just wanted to get out as fast as I could. I just can’t believe I went that fast. It’s amazing.”
The Olympians’ other state qualifier, Kai Scott, finished 26th in the 300 hurdles in 49.72.
With their seven points, North tied for 37th in the team standings. Carmel won with 54 points to 46 for runner-up Hamilton Southeastern and 34 for third-place Bloomington South.
