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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Rochester seniors Harrison Dunwoody and Mason Hisey both won Three Rivers Conference titles in a field event at Wabash May 8.
But the experiences they have in their events differ greatly.
Dunwoody just started long-jumping this year, and he soared 21-3 to win the title at Wabash. Given that he made the state finals in the 110 hurdles last year, it could be said that long jump is not even the event for which he is most well-known.
He also might have surprised himself.
“It feels amazing,” Dunwoody said. “That’s all I can say.”
As for Hisey, he has been associated the most with the throwing events, specifically the discus, and he won the TRC title in the discus with a toss of 147-2.
Now Dunwoody and Hisey will lead the Rochester pack into the Plymouth sectional tonight. Start time is 5:30 p.m.
Harrison Dunwoody
A jump of 21-3 at last year’s Plymouth sectional would have been good for second place. He said he did not know he had a jump of 21-3 in him.
“I’ve been peaking out at like the 20s,” Dunwoody said. “This is my first year. Actually, I’m not even going to say that. This is my first half-year long-jumping. I started like three weeks ago. So to come out at 20-3, I felt great. But then a kid jumped a 20-foot-7 (Tyler Haupert of Northfield). So I was like, ‘I’ve got to bump it up.’
“So I took like four steps back and got a good jump.”
Asked what the difference is between the flat speed needed to be good in the long jump – Dunwoody has also added the 100 meters to his program this year – and the speed needed to be good in the 110 hurdles, Dunwoody quipped that flat speed is “easier.”
“Less things in my way,” Dunwoody quipped. “A little worse at it though. … But I like it. I’ve always liked it.”
He said the long jump is “less stress” than the 100 meters.
“There are breaks in between,” Dunwoody said. “You get to talk. I think it’s more fun.”
Dunwoody will renew his rivalry in the 110 hurdles with Manchester’s Carson Heath as well. Heath was first and Dunwoody at the TRC, sectional and regional meets last year. Heath was 21st and Dunwoody 27th at state.
At this year’s TRC meet, Heath ran a sizzling personal best 14.63 while Dunwoody was second again at 14.84. Both are ranked in the top 25 in the state. Dunwoody’s personal best is 14.72.
“Ugh,” Dunwoody said. “You know that’s how it’s been. I feel fine. It was a good race. We both did well. We were like holding hands over the hurdles. Hitting each other a bunch. It was fun. … When you have a guy that you go out and basically run the same times every meet, you know what you’re getting into. Someone’s getting first. Someone’s getting second. So it’s just cool to see.”
Mason Hisey
Hisey successfully defended the TRC title he won last year, but he said there was no guarantee he would win again.
In a dual meet on April 14, Manchester’s Caden Young threw a 142-2 to beat him by a foot.
This time, Hisey upped his game by six feet, and Young had to settle for third at 138-11. Wabash’s Braxten Beeks was second with a throw of 142-9.
“It feels really good,” Hisey said. “I lost to the Manchester guy earlier in the season. So I was really wanting to get that one back for sure.”
His personal best is a 152-10 at last year’s sectional, where he finished second behind NorthWood’s Coleson Yoder. He threw a 152-5 and finished 10th at last year’s regional.
Hisey said he is "about the same” in terms of technique as compared to last year. He said the difference is more to do with his strength.
Hisey was a semistate qualifier in wrestling at 215 pounds in the winter. He said his weight is somewhere between 230 and 235 now for track.
“I’m still working on getting some of that strength back from wrestling,” Hisey said. “That’s been a bit of a struggle. Just getting back to as strong as I was because I had to lose a lot of weight for wrestling. … I feel a lot better now. And you can see every single meet we’ve had, my numbers have gone up. It’s been really good.”
Hisey was asked about his footwork.
“That’s about everything,” Hisey said. “That’s a lot of it. If you don’t got the right footwork, it’s probably going to go straight out of the sector or hit the poles or something.”
Hisey and Dunwoody are among the 20 seniors on the team.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Hisey said. “I love all the seniors. A lot of us are friends. You take Brady and Carter, who are just our managers. They were just doing this to hang out with us because they’re our friends. So it’s really nice. I feel like we’re all pretty close. We’ve all been doing this for a long time, so we love it.”
Top area athletes at Plymouth sectional
ROCHESTER: Harrison Dunwoody (100, 110 hurdles, long jump), Tyson Wachtmann (400), Grant Bailey (800, 1,600), Leandro Javier (3,200), Clarence Garrett (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump), Mason Hisey (discus), Grayson Miller (pole vault), Tanner Horn (pole vault)
TIPPECANOE VALLEY: Owen Omondi (100, 200), Christopher Marquez (800), Collin Hammons (800, 1,600), Mason Miller (1,600), Hudson Shepherd (long jump, high jump), Will Kelly (discus), Grady Moriarty (discus)
CASTON: Kaemen Lee (100, 400, long jump), Daulton Oaf (800), Kane Finke (1,600, 3,200), Malakai Clayton (1,600), Mack Mappin (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump), Daniel Rodas (110 hurdles), Gage Minniear (long jump), Nathanial Runkle (discus, shot put)
ARGOS: Emry Stackhouse (1,600, 3,200)
CULVER: Theron Carrington (200, long jump), Braylon Jackson (400), Carter Beem (300 hurdles), Kolten Howard (high jump)
NORTH MIAMI: Jacob Julian (100), Alex Towles (200, long jump, high jump), Michael Miser (800, 1,600), Tyler Tacheny (1,600, 3,200), Jayce Burns (300 hurdles), Kameron Whann (discus, shot put)
