Mike Adams (red) wins the 55 dash at the IR Showcase back in February
The 2018 Indoor MIC Championships takes place tomorrow at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. For many of these athletes it will be there first indoor meet of the season, while others have a couple of races under their feet already. As always with a MIC meet, it is hard to predict what will happen, because the level of competition is always really good. Based on heat sheets, released last night, on the distance side of things, it does not appear that many of the top names are racing just yet. The sprints and field events look to be where we will see the biggest action of the day. Here's a little of what to watch for tomorrow..
Field Events
The field events will feature some top talents in the state, with a good portion of them just getting started for the season. In boys Pole Vault, a pair from Lawrence North look to steal the show, Nathan Stone, who recently cleared 16ft and Liam Griman. Griman is seeded at 13ft, while the rest of the competition is at 12' 6" or lower. Expect a height of 13' to be what it takes to win the event. In the girls vault, we'll see top Carmel talent, Kara Deady make an attempt at clearing 12ft for the first time. She placed 4th at the UK Invite, clearing 11' 6" and was the state runner-up last year. Following right on her heels will be Carolyn Bakx of Lawrence North, who won the Western Indiana Classic 3, when she cleared 11ft. Derin McCulley of Lawrence North look like the guy to beat over at high jump, coming in seeded at 6' 7". Johnny Adams of Ben Davis is seeded at 6' 4" and from there down the competition looks really tight. Same goes for the girls, Jai-Lyn Norwood of Lawrence Central comes in as the top seed, but everyone else is right behind and will put the pressure on to clear those heights. We'll see Norwood again in the long jump, where see is also the top seed, with Goines of Center Grove not far behind her. Those two should go 1-2 in the long jump. Boys long jump looks to be the best shot for Warren Central to rack in some good points, Price and McCauley are seeded 1 and 3 with Wright of Lawrence Central in between them. Over in the shot put ring, Ethan Alyea is the guy to watch, he placed 7th at state last year.
Running Events
Relays:
Starting off with the girls' relays, Carmel and Lawrence North will duke it out in the 4x800. Hopefully both are fielding some of their top athletes. In the 4x200, we should see Center Grove, Warren Central and Pike all square off in the fast heat and possibly drop a new IN #1 in there. North Central and Warren Central will hold in a very tight race in the 4x400. In the final girls' relay, the DMR, we'll once again see Lawrence North and Carmel fight it out in the 4000m race, with North having the edge with a seed time of 13:00.
On the boys side of the relays, North Central should run the show in the DMR to conclude the day. Center Grove and Carmel look to clash in the 4x400. It looks like it could come down to that final lean for the 4x200 between Ben Davis and North Central. North Central looks to run the show again in the 4x800 but could be challenged by Carmel.
3200
In a heavy sophomore girls 3200, Jamie Wells of Warren Central comes in as the favorite, with Lily McAndrews of Carmel right behind her. The boys race looks quite similar, but loaded with juniors this time. Calvin Bates of Carmel and Jonas Chimbanda of Pike, should race toe to toe with each other, battling all the way through the finish to take 1st place.
60m Dash
IN #3 Mike Adams of Ben Davis will be racing. Glenn and Hodge of WC and Pryor and Wright of LC look to help put on a show come the finals. In the girls 60, only 3 seniors are entered in a field of 16. Jailyn Ross of Pike and Kiyah Yeast of Center Grove will be the top talents in this event. It will still be a battle with everyone to make the finals and win a MIC title.
60m Hurdles
Goines of Center Grove, Batts and Talley of WC will be the three to watch in the girls hurdles, holding the top seed times in the 9.2-9.3 range. Haley Goines looks to be the best in the field of 14, but Batts will give her, her biggest challenge to win the finals. Indiana State commit, Daryl Black of Pike looks to dominate the boys hurdles holding the fastest seed time by a long shot. The fight for 2nd place could go to anyone in the field. Warbington and Curry of LC and Weni of Pike, seem to be the best bets to take a top place.
MileSplit will be on site with video and photo coverage of the days events.