All three Montgomery County track and field team converged on Crawfordsville on Thursday night to compete in the Athenian Relays. Crawfordsville, North Montgomery, Southmont, Fountain Central, North Putnam, Tri-County, and Lebanon made up the seven teams competing.
Trent Jones took home a win in the 100 meter dash for Southmont meanwhile the Mounties also placed first for in the boys 4x400. Head coach Desson Hannum thought his team collectively had a very successful evening.
“We tried some different things out with our lineup tonight and we had some kids step up in a big way,” he said. “Meets like this and the Charger Relays allow us to compete against some schools we don’t often see. At this point in the season, you want your kids to start to peak as the season winds down and I think it was overall a good night. Tonight, was Trent’s first night running the 100 all year and he’s obviously a great athlete and ran a great time.”
The Athenians, Mounties, and Chargers will all meet up again next week with the county title on the line. Hannum knows that the level of competition will just continue to get higher and higher as the season nears the end.
“Now is the point in the season where you’re starting to figure out where kids are starting to fit in place,” he said. “As they start getting comfortable where they fit in, you can get more specific with their training and that’s where we’re getting to at this point.”
The Athenians had first place finishes in the boys 4x100 relay, boys distance medley relay and boys 100 meter hurdle. Coach Sean Gerold echoed Hannum’s comments of the level of competition and the ability for this to prepare his team for what lies ahead.
“It was fun tonight,” Gerold said. “With this not being a scoring meet it allowed us to put kids at different events and see how they do. It also allows them to see how much they trust each other because in events such as relays, handoffs are a crucial part of that. As coaches that’s what we learn off of is how different kids react when they’re put in different situations.”
Along with the track events, the Athenians also found success in the field events. Nate Schroeter set a personal best in the shotput.
“Getting wins is always fun,” Gerold added. “Nate was frustrated with his throw in the discus and came out and threw three feet further than he ever has. We’re getting to that point in a lot of events where we are close to peaking.”
North Montgomery also found success in many areas at the Athenian Relays. They took home first place in the girls 4x200 relay, 1600 meter boys run, boys pole vault, and also placed high in many other events. Coach Josh Thompson has preached improvement all season long with his team and he felt they did just that on Thursday.
“We saw improvement in a lot of areas tonight,” he said. “A lot of our upperclassmen have stepped up all season long and they continued to do that. It’s easy to forget that they lost last season so the improvement that every single one of them has made has been good to see.”
