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HIGH SCHOOL

Carmel, HSE, Ben Davis, Avon head group of local boys teams vying for state track title

Paul Shepherd
Star correspondent

The track and field season ends with today's boys state finals at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh complex.

The meet begins at 3 p.m. with the field events, running preliminaries and the 3,200-meter relay final. Opening ceremonies commence at 6:10 p.m., with the rest of the running finals to follow. Admission is $10.

With 16 events and a plethora of top-notch local teams and individuals, what should area fans watch for? Here's a guide.

Contending teams

"There are some really, really good teams out there," said Ben Davis coach Mike Davidson.

Fifth-ranked Lafayette Jeff is the only team outside the Indy-metro area that is ranked in the state's top seven.

Top-ranked Carmel has shown it has the depth to contend. The Greyhounds won the Lafayette Jeff regional last week without a single first-place individual or relay finish. Third-ranked Ben Davis dominated the North Central regional. Avon has the No. 4 team in the state. Sixth-ranked Warren Central easily won the Connersville Regional, with No. 7 Center Grove placing third.

"It's a great track year," Davidson said. "It should be fun."

Returning champions

Decatur Central senior Lukayus McNeil looks to repeat in the shot put, where he's seeded second. Southport senior Clayton Bowie will try for back-to-back titles in the 3,200, where he's also seeded second. Both won regional titles in qualifying for state.

Hamilton Southeastern won the team title last year. The Royals enter this year's meet ranked second in the state.

Event contenders

HSE's Jacob Wright and Center Grove's Justin Veteto are the top-ranked contenders in the 110 and 300 hurdles.

Carmel's Josh Ebikwo is the second seed in the 200 and Lawrence North's Joe Murphy is seeded second in the 1,600. Shelbyville senior Daniel Kuhn is the top-ranked 800 runner.

HSE's Austin Hogan is ranked second in the discus. Avon's David Schall is ranked third in discus and is seeded first in the shot put. His teammate, Angelo Allen, is ranked third in the event. Warren Central's Jarrell Dennis is seeded second in the high jump. Ben Davis senior Moussa Conde is ranked second in the shot put, one of four events in which he's competing.

Brebeuf junior LeVante Bellamy is seeded eighth in the 100, where he finished fourth last year, but ran slower in last week's regional while dealing with a hamstring injury. He still won the event. "I'll be ready for state," he said.

HSE has the fastest seed time in the 3,200 relay and Brownsburg is ranked first in the 1,600 relay. Plainfield's 400 relay team is seeded second.

Championship bloodlines

When he competes against the other 28 participants in the high jump, Pike's Ramon Minor will have the distinction of being the only freshman in the field. Minor won the North Central regional with a jump of 6-feet, 6 inches, which has him seeded third in the event.

"(Making state) was one of my goals coming into this year," said Minor, who started jumping as an eighth grader. "I didn't know I would actually make it, but I set it."

Minor could have history on his side. His grandfather, Davage Minor, won the high jump title in 1940 for Gary Froebel. The winning height nearly 75 years ago? 6-1.

Special addition

The Indiana High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics Indiana created a "Champions Together" partnership in which they have coordinated the state's first "unified" track and field state championship. Teams, composed equally of students with and without intellectual disabilities, will compete for the unified title before the start of the boys state finals.

The meet will begin at 1 p.m. and will consist of five events: the 100, 400, 400 relay, shot put and long jump. The event follows sectional competition held at Terre Haute North and Warsaw, where the top five teams advanced. Noblesville and Plainfield are among the schools that qualified.