Jun. 7—Lewis Cass thrower Averi Parker and Northwestern long jumper Joan Easter had podium finishes in the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals on Saturday at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.
Parker capped her King career with state runner-up finishes in both discus and shot put. Easter capped her Tiger career with an eighth-place finish in long jump.
Entering the meet, Parker held the No. 2 seed in discus, and she finished No. 2 with a throw of 135 feet, 6 inches. Elkhart’s Mia Pulianas took the title with a throw of 144-5.
Parker held the No. 10 seed in shot put with a seed mark of 41-4. The Hillsdale College recruit far exceeded that by taking second place with a put of 43-9 3/4. Shenandoah’s Erika Hill repeated as state champ with an effort of 45-4 1/4.
The Tigers’ Easter took eighth in long jump with a leap of 17-11 3/4.
“That eighth-place medal shows proof of all her hard work and numerous long hours she has spent training for this podium moment at the state meet,” Northwestern coach Amanda Hueston said. “I know [jumps] coach Chris Rockey feels proud to have coached such a talented young lady. I feel honored to have spent so much time learning the skill of long jump from such an amazing athlete and person.”
Five other area athletes competed in the meet.
Taylor senior Makayla Pfefferkorn was 16th in long jump (17-5 3/4) and 25th in the 100-meter hurdles (:16.69). Cass sophomore Liberty Scott was 18th in the 300 hurdles (:47.09). Kokomo junior Julynne Spidell was 20th in the 3,200 run (11:40.16). Western sophomore Chase Hayes had a late fall in the 400 dash and finished 26th (1:05.36). Northwestern senior Catie Smith did not place in pole vault.
The 3,200 run was fast. Bishop Chatard sophomore Lily Cridge (10:03.16) and Edgewood senior Annalyssa Crain (10:09.51) finished 1-2 with both beating the previous state record of 10:11.20.
BASEBALL
NW IN REGIONAL
Northwestern played in the Class 3A Griffith Regional where the Tigers beat the host Panthers 3-1 in the semifinal round before falling to No. 1-ranked Hanover Central 18-1 in five innings in the championship.
In the semifinal round, the Tigers held a 2-0 lead after the first inning and pitchers Cole Wise and Koen Berry made the lead stand. Wise pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowed four hits and one run, struck out eight and walked six. He earned the win. Berry worked the final 1 1/3 innings for the save. He allowed one hit and no runs and struck out one.
The Tigers had seven hits. Isaac Guffey went 2 for 2, Austin Robinson went 2 for 3, Wise was 1 for 1 with an RBI and Tate Mullens also drove in a run.
“I think Cole Wise’s performance reflected the whole game. I don’t think Cole necessarily was at his best, but he battled and competed and got big strikeouts when we needed it. That’s what leaders do,” Northwestern coach Ryan Ward said.
“We made some plays behind him. They scored one run in the fifth and [right fielder] Cole Cardwell nails a runner down at home plate for the third out. That would have been their second run, which would have tied the game at that point. But we got that out and then we manufactured one run in the bottom of the inning and I think that killed all of their momentum.”
In the championship, top-ranked Hanover Central overwhelmed Northwestern, using a pair of seven-run innings to win going away.
“Obviously, they’re the No. 1 team for a reason. They’re a very good team,” Ward said. “We weren’t very sharp that game and I think the score indicates kind of a mixture of the two things. Even if we play our best game against them there, we’d need some breaks to be able to beat them.”
Hanover Central held Northwestern to one hit. Wise had the hit and Lincoln Cardwell scored the Tigers’ lone run.
The Tigers, with a young lineup, finished 14-14. They had won seven straight games before falling in the regional final.
“It’s a very successful season for us to be able to get to the regional championship,” Ward said. “Being able to have that winning streak and to get a sectional title means a lot to our kids, team, parents and community. It was a total team effort to get to that point.”
Ward praised seniors Guffey and Jeremy Bell for their leadership and play.
“I’m definitely proud of those two for passing the torch,” he said. “We’re excited about the program and the direction that it’s headed. We’ll be back.”