By Jeff Brown jbrown@shelbynews.com
A top four sectional finish used to guarantee a spot in the regional track and field meet — and a step closer to the state championship meet on the campus of Indiana University. That guarantee is gone in 2015, but with a caveat.The top three finishers automatically advance to regional competition while the next best four finishers from the four sectionals that feed into a particular regional, also continuing on.So several athletes will leave sectional competition Tuesday with no idea if they are a regional qualifier or not. That puts more emphasis on securing a top-three finish to remove the doubt.
"If you don't get into the top three then it is wait-and-see who the next four best are," said Shelbyville girls track and field coach Dan Theobald. "Losing that one extra spot makes a big difference. There will be a lot of tight races."\On Tuesday, a total of 14 teams compete at J.M. McKeand Stadium in the Shelbyville Sectional. That field includes Morristown and Triton Central along with the host Golden Bears.\Southwestern and Waldron travel to Franklin for sectional competition.
All Shelby County athletes are vying for berths in the Shelbyville Regional on May 26. And based on the heat sheets, Shelby County should advance several athletes out of the sectional.Shelbyville's sophomore pole vaulter Erin Diemer is seeded No. 1 with a clearance of 11 feet. A state finalist in 2014, she is finally looking comfortable again after suffering a broken leg during soccer season."She is hitting her stride," said Theobald. "She has performed really well the last two meets."
Morristown senior Haley Hart also is the top seed in the shot put — an event she has won at Shelbyville the last two seasons. Yet to surpass 40 feet this season, she has been slowly fine-tuning her form, with a best throw of 39-1.5 coming at last week's conference meet, to be ready for the postseason. Shelbyville sophomore Danielle Lubbe is seeded second in the 1,600 meters and fourth in the 3,200 leaving Theobald with a dilemma. Does he scratch her from one event to better her result in the other?"I feel like her (3,200) has been her stronger race this year," he said. "But she is seeded second in the 1,600 because I think the field is a little weaker this year."
Shelbyville's record-setting 3,200 relay team is seeded a comfortable third. Cora Reinhart, Alexa Davis, Gladys Chavez and Blayre Scott have a 26-second advantage on the fourth seed. The quartet are the first in SHS history to run the event in under 10 minutes and they set a new Hoosier Heritage Conference record just last week when they lowered their own school record again to 9:54.45.
"I still can't help but think they can run 9:45," said Theobald when asked if there was more time to gain.Franklin Central is the top seed at 9:45. Warren Central is second at 9:53.9.After those four events, it will take strong performances to move on from a sectional that includes top-ranked Warren Central as well as competitive programs from Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central and Roncalli.Also looking to advance are Triton Central's Sarah Miller in the 100, Dawn Tilley in the 1,600 and Natalie Stephenson in the long jump and Shelbyville's Davis in the 400, Chavez and Scott in the 800, Alexis Tackett in the long jump, Meghan Baker and Betsy Suarez Ramos in both the shot put and discus and Kennedy Weaver in the pole vault.
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