Kya Crooke has earned herself another personal record this season at the Lawrence Central Sectional, where she cleared 5-11, inching closer to the 6-foot mark. This jump moved her up to #9 all-time in the state of Indiana. This past week, she jumped 5-6 to win the Pike Regional by 3 inches. She also competed in and won the 100m dash and the long jump. Fort Wayne Carroll's Bailey Sinish (5-9) has the state's next best jump, having taken the HSR Large Title earlier this season. Kira Smith, a freshman from Warren Central, holds the top seed entering the meet with a mark of 5-8, having cleared 5-8.5 earlier in the year. This puts her just 2.5 inches shy of the current freshman state record, held by Norwell's Angie Bradburn.

The boys' high jump should feature an exciting competition between two of the state's top talents: Warsaw's Jordan Randall and Greenfield Central's Elliot Ryba. Both shared the HSR Large title earlier this year, clearing 6-10 after jumping 7 feet the week before. This outdoor season, both cleared 7 feet again, with Randall setting the outright Indiana sophomore class record at 7-0.5 at the Goshen Regional. He tied for the freshman class record last year at 6-9 at the 2023 IWU HSR Qualifier #3.

Long Jump

Warren Central has a remarkable long jump crew this year, with Jila Vaden and Laila Smith entering Indiana's top 6 jumps all-time for girls. They took the #3 and #6 positions with jumps of 20-4.25 and 20-0, respectively. Warren Central now accounts for half of the state's 6 long jumps to clear 20 feet. It will take a jump of 20-7 to break their school record held by Prommyse Hoosier and 21-0.25 for a new state all-time best. The duo of Vaden and Smith will be crucial for the Warriors' state title bid as they have top seeds in several other events, including the 100m, 100m hurdles, 200m, 300m hurdles, and both on the 4x400m relay.

Jila Vaden holding Warren Central's regional title trophy last week. Photo from @JilaVaden via X.

Elijah Coker had a massive jump of 24-2.5 at the Goshen Regional this past week, clearing the 24-foot mark for the first time in his career. He has gone undefeated this season in the event and ranks just outside the top 25 all-time for Indiana. Coker also qualified in the 200m from Regionals, winning with a 21.89. Additionally, he is a member of the state's 4x100m squad and a podium hopeful 4x400m team. Jaylen Ramsey has the state's next best seed time from Regionals, having jumped 23 feet even last week.

Elijah Coker won four events last week at Regionals. Photo from @ElijahCoker8 via X.

Pole Vault

The girls' pole vault competition will be close this year, with several marks near the top of the leaderboard. Amy Luttrell, Delaney Teachnor, and Ashlyn Schwab all hold the state's top mark with vaults of 12-6, tying them for 20th all-time in Indiana girls' history. Ann Elise Sloan, Amelia Smith, and Khloie Walker have also cleared 12 feet this season. Sloan and Teachnor had the best vaults to win their respective Regionals at 12-0, earning top seeds entering the state finals. Last year, Walker, Teachnor, and Luttrell placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively, and should be among the favorites for the title.

With Cody Johnston graduated and now at the University of Illinois, a new champion will emerge in the boys' pole vault this year. Peyton McQuinn is the only boy to clear the 16-foot mark this year, doing so at the Guerin Catholic Invitational. The top seed from Regionals entering the state finals is Lincoln Hulsey, who achieved a slight PR by a quarter inch to win the Goshen Regional with a 15-9.25. Other top contenders include this year's HSR Large School state champion Eli Griffin as well as Landon Dobbs, with both having outdoor season bests of 15-6. Griffin and Hulsey are the top returners from last year's finals, where they finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Shot Put

Hadley Lucas has been unstoppable this season and is expected to secure her third consecutive title in the shot put, currently holding the nation's best throw of 54-10.75 from Conference Indiana last month. Emarie Jackson is the only other girl with a throw over 50 feet this year, earning a PR with a 50-2.25 at Sectionals. Lariah Wooden and Gwen Howard also have throws of at least 47 feet from Regionals to round out the top four seeds. Hannah Alexander threw 47-1 earlier this season at the Hamilton County Championship. This looks to be one of the deepest fields at the state championships, with 5 of the top 18 girls in state history competing.

Discus

The girls' discus competition looks to be even more impressive than the shot put, with 3 of the 7 best discus throwers in Indiana history set to compete. Hadley Lucas' 175-0 effort from last week extends her all-time state lead and ties her for 3rd in the country. Hannah Alexander and Emarie Jackson are also among Indiana's best, with marks of 163-10 and 161-3, respectively, ranking them 5th and 7th all-time. Alexander defeated Lucas at last year's finals, and it will take a big performance for either her or Jackson to pull off an upset this year.

Michael Good and Seth Brosseau share the top seed entering the weekend, both throwing a season-best 178-3 at their regional meets. Despite owning the top seeds, there are nine athletes ahead of them based on season-best throws. Six of these athletes have thrown over 180 feet, including Brock Conrad (188-1.5), Joel Gates (183-9), Luke Himes (183-8), Josiah Bird (182-5), Zack Frieden (180-10), and Teddy Miller (180-6). Last year's state champion Seamus Malaski comes into the weekend with the ninth-best throw in the state but should not be counted out, as he achieved a massive throw at last year's finals, landing an almost 9-foot PR and state title. The same could be said for Fin Essley and Damien Shanklin, who have been flying under the radar this year.