High Jump
Interview with Kya Crooke after claiming silver medal in the high jump at Nike Indoor Nationals a couple weeks ago.
Ayden Eckstein has had a breakout year jumping to a height 6'7" at the IWU HSR Qualifier #2 to have the top mark entering this weekend. At last year's meet he would take the final scoring position in eighth with a jump of 5'10". Easton Foster looks to provide some competition as he was cleared 6'6" this season to have the second best mark in the field. At last year's finals it was Caden Collins who took home the victory clearing 6'6", this year his best currently resides at 6'4" to rank third heading into the finals.
The best high jumper in the state belongs to previously mentioned Kya Crooke with her 5'10.5" effort from Nike Indoor Nationals a couple weeks ago. Crooke will look to repeat as champion in the high jump as she also has HSR small leading marks in the long jump and 60m dash. Last year she won the high jump with a height of 5'4". Returning medalists from last year also include Lexi Hale and Waverly Woolever.
Long Jump
Chase Guthrie holds the top jump with a mark 22'7" coming from the Pike Red Devil Classic. He looks to be in great position to claim the title this year after placing 6th at the finals last year. He also has the #5 seed in the 60m dash with a mark of 7.10 this year. Coming in just under a foot behind Guthrie is Tyler Hege with his 21'10" effort from this season.
Kya Crooke also enters with the best mark in the long jump by over one and a half feet with her performance at the Midwest High Performance Series HSR Qualifier. Her leap of 18'8.5" ranks her third overall in the state behind the dominant duo from Warren Central. 4 other girls have hit 17 feet or further this year with Elle Knepp appearing to be the only other medalist to return from last year's meet.
Pole Vault
Ethan Smith and Lincoln Hulsey both share the top vault from this year at 15 feet. Both would hit this mark at last chance qualifiers this past weekend. Ethan's would come from the Northwestern Last Chance Field Event Qualifier with Lincoln's coming from the Bethel HSR Qualifier #2. The top returner from last year is Peyton McQuinn with him vaulting 14'6" at the finals. This year he has cleared 13 feet to qualify for state this weekend. Other returning medalists include Blake Longabaugh and Matthew Schaefer.
For the girls Ann Elise Sloan currently holds the top mark with a vault of 11'6" and will look to improve on her 6th place finish from the finals last year where she cleared 10 feet. Hannah Ludwig seems to also be progressing well as she has also cleared 11 feet this season with a vault of 11'3". Last year she took the last spot on the podium with a vault of 9'6". Emma Schiffli currently is #3 heading into the weekend and is the only other returning top 8 performance from last year's finals.
Shot Put
Photo by Nate Conkel. Luke Himes attempting a throw at the Indiana Runner Indoor Opener.
Luke Himes has had an incredible indoor season so far this year and is the top thrower in the state currently. His 67'5" effort from earlier this year ranks 4th nationally with his best HSR qualifying mark being 66'1". This mark is over 6 feet better than any other small school performance this year. He will have a shot this weekend (no pun intended) to break his HSR record of 63' 6.75" from 2022. Himes also recently competed at New Balance Nationals where he would finish 3rd in the nation in the event. Charlie Riddle and Dane Sebert are the closest marks to Himes with throws of 59'8" and 59'6" respectively. Riddle would place 5th at the finals last year with Mason Moulton, Nick Hofer, and Evan Lawrence all also returning from last year's podium.
For the girls there appears to be a rematch of last year's HSR finals. 2023 HSR small runner-up Emarie Jackson would launch a throw of 50'3.5" at the Bloomington North Invite #1 to take the state's top mark. She has also consistently thrown 46 feet or further in each of her three qualifiers this year. The second best effort belongs to last year's champion Gwen Howard with a toss of 44'11.75". Alahna Beinkemper also returns from last year's performance where she made the podium as a freshman.