Brownsburg, Plainfield keeping Hendricks County at top of Indiana boys track

PLAINFIELD – Two of Indiana’s compelling track and field rivalries were featured Thursday night at the boys Plainfield Sectional. And both are to be continued.

For one, Brownsburg and Plainfield made it a Hendricks County duel for the team title, won by the Bulldogs 164 ½-115. They are ranked Nos. 2 and 5, respectively . . . and have firepower to finish 1-2 at the June 4 state meet.

“I think we’ve got a long way from now before that,” Brownsburg coach Casey Popenfoose said. “But I think we definitely have a shot.”

Triple champions and record breakers:Vote for boys track top sectional performers.

Boys track sectional results:Team scores, top-3 finishers

Hendricks County has had the champion or runner-up in three of the past four state meets: 2017, Avon, second; 2018, Avon, first; 2021, Brownsburg second. Brownsburg or Plainfield, or both, could make it 4-for-5.

The other rivalry is man-to-man, not team-to-team:

Double state champion John Colquitt of Brownsburg and Zionsville’s Knox Willis are 1-2 in the high hurdles, and have been since January. Colquitt is 6-0 in their 2022 finals, including a time of 14.19 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles that is Indiana’s fastest and a sectional record. Willis clocked 14.36, second in the sectional and in Indiana.

At indoor state, Colquitt set a state record of 7.85 in the 60 hurdles to edge Willis, whose 7.90 made the nation’s No. 2 junior. Willis said the two love racing each other, but . . .

“I need to beat Colquitt. It has to happen by the end of the season,” he said.

Elsewhere:Carmel edges HSE for sectional track title as Kole Mathison sets blistering pace in 1,600

They will meet in the Lafayette Jeff Regional and likely the state finals.

Colquitt won the 300 hurdles in 39.74, compared with his top state time of 38.37. Willis was surprisingly close at 39.86.

“When it’s actual competition time, it’s always nice to rise up and run with him,” said Colquitt, who has committed to Indiana University. “He has probably one of the best starts, if not the best, of all the hurdlers. And, in my opinion, he has the best form in all of Indiana.”

Lightning suspended the finals for 75 minutes, but sparks remained — from two duos, triple winners Colquitt and Haiden Diemer-McKinney of Brownsburg and Plainfield's Nayyir Newash-Campbell and Connor Maple.

Before the delay, Colquitt long jumped 21 feet, 2 ¾ inches for the first of three firsts.

Diemer-McKinney ran a 1:56 split for a 3,200 relay team that set a sectional record, took the 800 in 1:56.72 and ran a come-from-behind anchor in 48.0 to secure victory in the 1,600 relay.

“I’m really good friends with a lot of the Plainfield guys,” he said. “We encourage each other, work hard together. In the end, no matter who wins, we’re just trying to have fun.”

Newash-Campbell, a junior, set a sectional record of 48.19 in the 400 meters — which would have been a state leader if Southport junior Nickens Lemba hadn’t clocked 47.99 in another sectional. Newash-Campbell and Maple were 1-2 in the 200 in 22.26 and 22.41, respectively.

“I was getting into my blocks, and I was trying to catch my breath from the 400,” Newash-Campbell said.

Maple, second to Avon’s Marcus Townsend at 100 meters, filled in on the 1,600 relay after Newash-Campbell developed a leg cramp. The Quakers were third, advancing to regional.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Plainfield Sectional boys results

Team scores: 1. Brownsburg, 164.5; 2. Plainfield, 115; 3. Zionsville, 108; 4. Avon, 81; 5. Mooresville, 68.5; 6. Danville, 40.5; 7. Southmont, 17.5; 8. Tri-West, 11; 9. Cascade, 9; 10. Traders Point Christian, 5; 11. Monrovia, 4.

100 dash: 1. Marcus Townsend, Avon (10.96); 2. Connor Maple, Plainfield (11.02); 3. Noah Jakresky, Avon (11.12).

200 dash: 1. Nayyir Newash-Campbell, Plainfield (22.26); 2. Connor Maple, Plainfield (22.41); 3. Dominic Calhoun, Brownsburg (22.76).

400 dash: 1. Nayyir Newash-Campbell, Plainfield (48.19), sectional record; old record 48.84 Bryce Kirtz, Brownsburg, 2018; 2. Trent Jones, Southmont (50.15); 3. Samuel Goodin, Tri-West (50.32).

800 run: 1. Haiden Diemer-McKinney, Brownsburg (1:56.72); 2. Decatur Dell, Zionsville (1:57.93); 3. Griffin O'Neill, Avon (1:58.26).

1,600 run: 1. Nathan Burns, Mooresville (4:24.91); 2. Emerson Nehring, Plainfield (4:25.62); 3. Matthew Helton, Zionsville (4:26.05).

3,200 run: 1. Nathan Burns, Mooresville (9:34.32); 2. Sam Spees, Zionsville (9:39.46); 3. Will Nobbe, Zionsville (9:39.93).

110 hurdles: 1. John Colquitt, Brownsburg (14.19), sectional record old record 14.41, Jalen Peterson, Avon, 2019; 2. Knox Willis, Zionsville (14.36); 3. Harrison Hrbek, Plainfield (14.79).

300 hurdles: 1. John Colquitt, Brownsburg (39.74); 2. Knox Willis, Zionsville (39.86); 3. Harrison Hrbek, Plainfield (39.96).

4x100 relay: 1. Zionsville, 41.82; 2. Plainfield, 42.07; 3. Brownsburg, 42.19.

4x400 relay: 1. Brownsburg, 3:22.74; 2. Zionsville, 3:22.81; 3. Plainfield, 3:24.81.

4x800 relay: 1. Brownsburg, 7:54.24, sectional record; old record 8:04.95, Avon, 2017; 2. Zionsville, 8:03.53; 3. Mooresville, 8:07.00.

High jump: 1. Bode Gilkerson, Plainfield (6-6); 2. Scotty Tienda, Brownsburg (6-2); 3. Frederick Hawthorne, Brownsburg (6-0).

Long jump: 1. John Colquitt, Brownsburg (21-2.75); 2. Alex Eyasu, Brownsburg (21-2.5); 3. Cameron Mullens, Zionsville (21-0).

Discus: 1. Shon Tupuola, Brownsburg (167-0); 2. Mason Thompson, Avon (159-8); 3. Fin Essley, Zionsville (153-6).

Shot put: 1. Bryce Patterson, Brownsburg (52-7); 2. Evan Lawrence, Danville (50-0); 3. Shon Tupuola, Brownsburg (49-7).

Pole vault: 1. Ronnie Moore, Plainfield (13-0); 2. Owen Myers, Cascade (12-6); 3. Christopher Korthuis, Mooresville (12-6).