The high school 300 hurdles national record fell the other week at the hands of Andrew Jones of Texas's Klein Collins - he ran 34.72 at his area meet on Apr 17, taking down Vance Nilsson's 34.83 from 2024. The second-fastest 300H in the country this spring is 35.64, belonging to Rylan Hainje of Franklin Central.
Hainje won Indiana state in the 300H last June in 35.82, then competed at New Balance Nationals Outdoor and finished third in the 110H at 13.52. He then went to the USATF Junior Olympics in July and finished fourth in the 110H (13.61) and second in the 400H (51.61). This winter his 60H of 7.58 was second in Indiana and third nationally, and moving into the spring he has run 35.64 in the 300H - currently sitting first in Indiana, second nationally - and 13.29 in the 110H, also first in Indiana and fourth nationally.
Jett Snell has spent four years running the same events as Hainje. At the Kenny Randle Invite on Apr 25 - the same meet where Hainje ran 13.29 in the 110H and 36.93 in the 300H - Snell ran 40.01, 28th in Indiana. The number tells part of the story, the other part is what the number used to be: 45.30 as a freshman in 2023, 42.40 as a sophomore, 40.73 last spring.
Dennis Mitchell is a junior who already knows what the IHSAA State meet feels like - he was in the 200 prelims last spring at 22.24 before being cut. This outdoor season he has run 10.65 in the 100 at the Kenny Randle Invite, 13th in Indiana, and 21.84 in the 200, 19th in the state. He was running 11.55 and 23.61 at the Indiana State Middle School Championships in 2023.
More on the sprints side, Akua Sackey ran 12.09 in the 100 and 25.01 in the 200 at the Kenny Randle Invite on Apr 25 - eighth and seventh in Indiana respectively. She is a freshman and last spring, competing in eighth grade, she impressively reached the IHSAA Girls Regional in the 100.
Samantha Jones is 38th in Indiana in the pole vault at 10-0. Braden Carman is 39th in the 400 at 50.23. Kervenson Clerger is 41st at 50.29. Andrew Wright is 49th in the 3200 at 9:33.41. Dylan Keck is 33rd in the 200 at 22.10. Isaiah Holmes is 55th in the long jump at 21-7. The program's depth across events is real even if Hainje is the one making national headlines.
Let's see what happens next.