Wildkats race through IHSAA competition, finishing fifth at state

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The IHSAA Unified Track and Field Sectional was held at Kokomo High School on May 23, and the Wildkats raced to a strong finish and an eventual berth at the state finals on June 6. Kokomo was joined by the Western Panthers’ unified team at the sectional, where several Panther athletes registered great performances.

The unified meet is a competition designed to match students with and without developmental disabilities on a co-ed team, where unified partners compete together in six different events, flighted by ability.

In this year’s competition, which consists of a sectional, a regional, and the state finals, the Wildkats put together a run to remember, placing fifth at the state finals after finding success at the earlier meets.

At the sectional, the Wildkats finished first in the girls’ 4x100M relay, featuring Kalyn Williams, Clarie Rowe, Brooklyn Smith, and Macy Rakestraw. The foursome advanced to the regionals on May 30, where they placed second in the second section of the race.

The Kokomo boys’ team in the 4x100 Yard Relay finished third, which was good enough to advance to the regionals. There, the quartet of Austin Jewell, Hutch Munsey, Leo Serra, and Joshua Smith put in an effort good for second place in the second section of the race.

By virtue of Kokomo’s team advancement to the regionals, Williams was able to compete in the mixed 100M dash, where she placed first in the first section.

Romell Atwood of Kokomo prevailed in the fourth section of the mixed 100M dash at the sectional.

Devpreet Singh of Western finished second in the first section of the mixed 400M dash, while Ethan Lytle and Aaron Cruz of Kokomo finished 1-2 in the second section of the event. Joseph Randolph of Kokomo won the third section of the 400M dash, followed closely by Slevin Buttermore of Western. Carter McClain of Kokomo finished second in the fourth section of the event.

Cruz found added success at the regionals, finishing second in the third section on the event. McClain matched that achievement with a second-place finish in the fifth section of the race. McClain went on to finish third at the state finals in the event.

In the mixed long jump, Western’s Elijah Johnson finished second in the first flight of the event, and Isabella Sargent of Kokomo finished second in the second flight. Ellie Neuhauser of Kokomo finished second in the fourth flight of the mixed long jump.

Cruz and Neuhauser finished 1-2 in the fourth flight of the event at the regional. Addison Cline of Kokomo found success with a second-place finish in the mixed long jump at the regional. Austin Jewell of Kokomo was the top thrower in the fourth flight of the mixed shot put.

When all of the results were tallied, Kokomo finished second as a team at the sectional, trailing champion Lafayette Jefferson by just three points. Western finished sixth in the 10-school competition. At the regional, Kokomo finished third. That finish was good enough for the team to advance to the state finals on June 6, where the Wildkats finished fifth.

See additional photos from the Unified Track and Field Sectional, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page.