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Pioneer girls win Cass County meet behind Montgomery, Moolenaar
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
LOGANSPORT — Violet Montgomery and Aspen Moolenaar won two events each, and Michelle Harding edged out teammate Blair Grigsby to win the long jump as the Pioneer girls track team won the Cass County Meet at Logansport High School Saturday.
Pioneer also pulled out the 4 x 100 relay with Rachel Harding anchoring a team that also included Keirsten Nies, Michelle Harding and Moolenaar.
Pioneer scored 89 points, Logansport had 76, Lewis Cass had 59, and Caston had 19. Lewis Cass sophomore sprinter Aftin Griffin won the Star of Stars award for the second straight year after winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters and anchoring the winning 4 x 400 relay.
In the boys meet, Pioneer junior Leighton Dodt won the Star of Stars award and helped the Panthers to a second-place finish after winning the 800 and 1,600 and running a leg on the victorious 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relays.
Lewis Cass won with 82.5 points, Pioneer had 71, Logansport had 57.5, and Caston had 27.
Pioneer’s Ian Kitchell won the open 400 in 52.05 seconds, edging out teammate Jackson Baker, and he also ran a sizzling last leg of the 4 x 400 relay to overtake Lewis Cass and win in 3:36.04.
Baker and Meyer joined Dodt and Kitchell on the 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 relays.
Other Pioneer winners included Carson Meyer, who won what turned out to be a match race against Lewis Cass’ Kale Skiles to take the 3,200; Austin Brooke, who won a jump-off from Lewis Cass’ Julian Levine and cleared 6-0 for the first time in the high jump; Rylahn Toloza, who flew 20-1 ¾ in the long jump before suffering an apparent knee injury; and Liam Rouch, who won the shot put with a throw of 38-10.
The other local winner was Caston freshman Landen Rigney, who won the 100 meters in 12.41 seconds.
The meet was contested in warm but overcast conditions with a strong headwind.
“This headwind is strong,” Dodt said. “You’ve just got to put your head down or use somebody to draft. I’ll do hill repeats. I’ll run in the wind. You’ve just got to train for conditions that are unexpected.”
Girls
Montgomery won the 1,600 in 6:00.52 and the 3,200 in 12:52.90, and she also took second in the 800, running a 2:45.58 and finishing behind Audrey Graham of Logansport.
Coach Teresa Montgomery said that Violet is an example of an athlete who has had few chances to run due to inclement weather all spring.
“We’ve lost a lot of 3,200 training,” coach Montgomery said. “Because even when we did run last week (at Eastern), it was just a relays, and there were no 3,200s for that. So this might be her first time all season that she’s got to run a 3,200, so that does take a toll. … Today we came in, and what I really wanted from the kids is just to compete. Like, I don’t really care what your times are. We are racing against other people.”
Moolenaar, a regional qualifier last year as a freshman in the 100 hurdles, was only fifth in that event Saturday but had more success in the 300 hurdles. Her winning time of 51.10 seconds would have been bettered by only one runner at last year’s Kokomo sectional.
Her pole vault was three feet higher than any of her competitors.
Michelle Harding, the reigning sectional champion in the long jump, won with a leap of 16-3 ¾. Grigsby soared 16-2 and took second.
Caston had no individual champions, but junior Kaitie Hutsell did take second in the 100 behind Griffin after running a 13.76 and losing by just 0.03 seconds. Hutsell was also third in the 200 in 28.97 seconds.
Breana Amezquita was second in the discus and fourth in the shot put. Camila Hernandez-Rios was third in the 400.
Boys
Dodt, a state qualifier last fall in cross-country, has emerged as a track star as well. In his first individual race of the day, he ran a 4:42.01 to hold off teammate Meyer by 1.73 seconds in the 1,600. Then he ran the 800 in 2:07.94 to beat the Lewis Cass freshman duo of Ben Jay and Jayden Ramer.
Dodt described the 800 as “painful” but said “you just got to push through that.”
“There’s no terrain, it’s all speed, it’s just circles,” Dodt said when asked to compare cross-country training to track training. “Just go-go-go-go-go and never let up and race these people around you.”
Kitchell has made rapid improvement, according to coach Montgomery. He has trimmed about two seconds off his 400 time since last year.
“I would describe his performance as classic Ian Kitchell,” Pioneer coach Teresa Montgomery said. “He puts 100 percent out all the time. He’s a fantastic teammate. The progress he’s made this year is astounding. And then he went ahead and clicked on hero mode and finished that four by four.”
Toloza won the long jump with a leap of 20-1 ¾, beating the field by over a foot. But he also left the meet on crutches and with an ice pack on his knee. This was his first meet of the season after recovering from an ankle injury.
Montgomery also praised Brooke, who excels in track despite also performing in the school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” and planning the prom, of which he was voted king later Saturday night.
“Up until now, Austin’s PR (personal record) was 5-10, and he has been trying to get that all season,” coach Montgomery said. “We did indoor meets. We’ve done everything. … He was basically in charge of and starred in our school musical and in charge of putting on our prom today, so we have been beginning practices as late as we can, and for him to come out and just have that amazing performance, what a fantastic pinnacle to his last couple weeks. … I can’t wait to see him hold it and keep on going after that. It’s very exciting.”
As for Rigney, he was the only freshman from any school to win an event on the track when he won the 100 in 12.41 seconds. Rigney was also fourth in the long jump.
Senior teammate Chase Angot was second in the 200, and Reed Sommers was third in the 110 hurdles.
CASS COUNTY MEET GIRLS RESULTS: PIONEER 89, Logansport 76, Lewis Cass 59, CASTON 19
Scoring on 6-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and 6-4-2 basis for relays
Winners plus all Pioneer and Caston results
100 m
1. Griffin (LC) – 13.73 seconds, 2. Kaitie Hutsell (CAS) – 13.76, 4. Rachel Harding (PIO) – 14.03, 5. Chloe Chan (PIO) – 14.06
200 m
1. Griffin (LC) – 27.21 seconds, 3. Kaitie Hutsell (CAS) – 28.97, 4. Chloe Chan (PIO) – 29.19, 5. Michelle Harding (PIO) – 29.25, 8. Camila Hernandez-Rios (CAS) – 29.95
400 m
1. Griffin (LC) – 1:01.42, 2. Chloe Chan (PIO) – 1:05.71, 3. Camila Hernandez-Rios (CAS) – 1:07.64, 4. Blair Grigsby (PIO) – 1:08.44
800 m
1. Graham (LOG) – 2:41.09, 2. Violet Montgomery (PIO) – 2:45.58, 4. Keirsten Nies (PIO) – 2:54.93, 7. Maddie Sprow (CAS) – 3:27.90, 8. Tessa Baldwin (CAS) – 3:29.71
1,600 m
1. Violet Montgomery (PIO) – 6:00.52, 2. Kylie Jamerson (PIO) – 6:26.25, 5. Jaded Aguilar (CAS) – 6:45.18, 6. Maddie Sprow (CAS) – 7:38.68
3,200 m
1. Violet Montgomery (PIO) – 12:52.90, 3. Kylie Jamerson (PIO) – 14:42.01
100 m hurdles
1. Porter (LOG) – 17.94 seconds, 4. Blair Grigsby (PIO) – 19.76, 5. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 21.88
300 m hurdles
1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 51.10 seconds, 5. Avery Haselby (PIO) – 59.88
4 x 100 m relay
1. Pioneer (Kiersten Nies, Michelle Harding, Aspen Moolenaar, Rachel Harding) – 52.49 seconds
4 x 400 m relay
1. Lewis Cass – 4:19.92, 2. Pioneer (Chloe Chan, Michelle Harding, Blair Grigsby, Rachel Harding) – 4:25.77, 4. Caston (Jaded Aguilar, Camila Hernandez-Rios, Kaitie Hutsell, Tessa Baldwin) – 5:21.09
4 x 800 m relay
1. Logansport – 11:13.44, 2. Pioneer (Keirsten Nies, Alaina Callaway, Ellie Hines, Violet Montgomery) – 11:29.01
Long jump
1. Michelle Harding (PIO) – 16-3 ¾, 2. Blair Grigsby (PIO) – 16-2, 7. Emmeline Zabel (CAS) – 10-5
High jump
1. Curry (LOG) – 4-10, 3. Rachel Harding (PIO) – 4-10, 4. Keirsten Nies (PIO) – 4-8
Discus
1. Sipe (LC) – 98-2, 2. Breana Amezquita (CAS) – 85-6, 4. Jada Martz (CAS) – 74-4, 6. Chelsea Clark (PIO) – 67-6, 7. Kendalyn Farrer (PIO) – 62-2
Shot put
1. Sipe (LC) – 29-7, 3. Brooklyn Dillman (PIO) – 28-6 ¾, 4. Breana Amezquita (CAS) – 27-8 ¾, 5. Chelsea Clark (PIO) – 24-9, 6. Jada Martz (CAS) – 24-1
Pole vault
1. Aspen Moolenaar (PIO) – 9-0, 3. Avery Haselby (PIO) – 5-6
CASS COUNTY MEET BOYS RESULTS: Lewis Cass 82.5, PIONEER 71, Logansport 57.5, CASTON 27
Scoring on 6-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and 6-4-2 basis for relays
Winners plus all Pioneer and Caston results
100 m
1. Landen Rigney (CAS) – 12.41 seconds, 5. Jabez Yarber (CAS) – 13.03, 6. Rylahn Toloza (PIO) – 13.24, 8. Kaleb Boller (PIO) – 13.50
200 m
1. Young (LC) – 24.62 seconds, 2, Chase Angot (CAS) – 24.96, 6. Ian Kitchell (PIO) – 27.55, 7. Jabez Yarber (CAS) – 27.80
400 m
1. Ian Kitchell (PIO) – 52.05 seconds, 2. Jackson Baker (PIO) – 52.58, 7. Myles Sherrick (CAS) – 57.37
800 m
1. Leighton Dodt (PIO) – 2:07.94, 5. Jackson Baker (PIO) – 2:18.46, 7. Josiah Helt (CAS) – 2:29.92, 8. Gage Minniear (CAS) – 2:33.16
1,600 m
1. Leighton Dodt (PIO) – 4:42.01, 2. Carson Meyer (PIO) – 4:43.74, 5. Kane Finke (CAS) – 5:13.05, 8. Zach Rogers (CAS) – 5:34.02
3,200 m
1. Carson Meyer (PIO) – 10:24.41, 4. Dane Bowditch (PIO) – 10:51.53, 6. Kane Finke (CAS) – 11:47.00
110 m hurdles
1. Wallace (LC) – 17.44 seconds, 3. Reed Sommers (CAS) – 18.07, 4. Austin Brooke (PIO) – 19.17, 7. Hunter Bartling (PIO) – 22.53
300 m hurdles
1. Copeland (LC) – 44.46 seconds, 3. Austin Brooke (PIO) – 46.09, 5. Reed Sommers (CAS) – 47.67, 6. Boaz Yarber (CAS) – 53.57, 7. Hunter Bartling (PIO) – 1:00.53
4 x 100 m relay
1. Lewis Cass – (no time listed), 2. Caston (Reed Sommers, Landen Rigney, Chase Angot, Jabez Yarber) – (no time listed), 4. Pioneer (Kleb Boller, Jon Alma, Shiloh Rine, Rylahn Toloza) – (no time listed)
4 x 400 m relay
1. Pioneer (Jackson Baker, Carson Meyer, Leighton Dodt, Ian Kitchell) – 3:36.04, 4. Caston (Myles Sherrick, Lane Hook, Landen Rigney, Reed Sommers) – 3:56.41
4 x 800 m relay
1. Pioneer (Carson Meyer, Ian Kitchell, Jackson Baker, Leighton Dodt) – 8:44.04, 4. Caston (Dylan Stensland, Jan Aguilar-Mendez, Braden Rush, Andrew Runkle) – 11:33.81
Long jump
1. Rylahn Toloza (PIO) – 20-1 ¾, 4. Landen Rigney (CAS) – 17-8 ¾,, 7. Kaleb Boller (PIO) – 16-9, 8. Gage Minniear (CAS) – 16-3 ¼
High jump
1. Austin Brooke (PIO) – 6-0, 4. Lane Hook (CAS) – 5-0, 5. Kane Finke (CAS) – 5-0
Discus
1. Clem (LOG) – 113-0, 4. Nathanial Runkle (CAS) – 99-1, 6. Mikaden Tolosa (PIO) – 94-3, 7. Colton Baker (PIO) – 84-8, 8. Lane Halterman (CAS) – 84-3
Shot put
1. Liam Rouch (PIO) – 38-10, 5. Mikaden Tolosa (PIO) – 35-8 ¾, 7. Nathaniel Runkle (CAS) – 34-2 ½, 8. Brody Brewer (CAS) – 30-6
Pole vault
1. Wicker (LOG) – 9-6
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