HIGH SCHOOL

Heartbreak in hurdles — times two. Lawrence Central track regional features wild finishes.

Kyle Neddenriep
Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS -- The two hurdles finals Thursday night at the Lawrence Central track and field boys regional were as heartbreaking as they were thrilling.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Lawrence North senior James Vaden Jr., after running a personal record 14.48 seconds in the best time of prelims, was leading by a wide margin in the finals when he clipped his back foot on the second-to-last hurdle. He was unable to balance himself before running into the last hurdle and somersaulted into the finish line in eighth.

Meanwhile, Lawrence North teammate Danny Royster, a Ball State football recruit at outside linebacker, crossed the finish first at 15.22, tied with Mt. Vernon junior George Burhenn, one of the top football prospects in the state.

“It hurt to see him fall,” Royster said of Vaden Jr. “But I knew that we needed it. I know he was still cheering me on in spirit.”

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Lawrence North won the regional with 73 points, edging second-place Mt. Vernon’s 69.5. Ben Davis (54), Brebeuf Jesuit (43), Lawrence Central (40), Delta (40), North Central (34), Bishop Chatard (27), Cardinal Ritter (26.5) and Yorktown (23) rounded out the top 10.

The meet ended as threatening weather sent competitors, coaches and spectators scrambling for their vehicles.

Lawrence North coach Pat Mallory, who doubles as the football coach, was disappointed for Vaden Jr. Top three in each event advance to the state meet June 4 in Bloomington.

“He was fifth or sixth in the state with that 14.4 he ran in the prelims,” Mallory said. “He just clipped his trail leg toe enough for him to stumble into that hurdle. It’s a shame.

"I think we should take a look at how we go from the sectional to the regional. His top-10 in the state ought to mean something to get him into state. Here’s a sectional champion, and he falls. So by the rules now, one of the best kids in the hurdles doesn’t get to race next week. There are stories all around like that everywhere.”

There was similar heartbreak in the 300-meter hurdles. Delta senior Johnathan Chimbanda led going into the final hurdle, with Burhenn closing. Chimbanda tripped and fell as Burhenn finished first with a personal record 39.41. Vaden Jr. finished second in 40.73 and Cardinal Ritter’s Robert Jackson third in 40.95.

Mt. Vernon’s George Burhenn competes in the 110m hurdles during the IHSAA track and field regionals, Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis.

It was a strange night for Burhenn, who watched out of his peripheral vision as two competitors fell and opened the door for him to win, though he might have caught Chimbanda in the 300 hurdles anyway.

“(Vaden Jr.) is really good,” Burhenn said. “I’ve ran against him like four times this season, so we’ve kind of been buddies. It really sucks for him. He would have had it.”

Burhenn, a 6-5, 215-pound tight end, has seen his football recruitment explode. Since April 14, he has been offered by Air Force, Army, Ball State, Duke, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State, Nevada, Ohio, Purdue, Rutgers, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

He will take official visits to Purdue (June 10-12), Iowa State (June 17-19) and Iowa (June 24-26).

“It’s a good problem to have,” Burhenn said of his busy recruitment. “But it’s not so bad now that school is out.”

Burhenn, who caught 28 passes for 443 yards and five touchdowns as a junior, started running the hurdles in sixth grade. “No one else wanted to do it,” he said. “My dad’s friend’s son is Michael Tutsie, and he ran the hurdles (at Warren Central) so he helped me get prepared.”

Southport junior Nickens Lemba was again a star in the 400 meters, running 47.79 — fastest by an Indiana sprinter since 2019. He was pushed by Pike’s Troy Golden (48.70) and Tech’s Jaylen Grimes (49.0).

Ben Davis’ David Lara-Gonzalez  competes in discus during the IHSAA track and field regionals, Thursday, May 26, 2022, at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis.

Ben Davis senior David Lara-Gonzalez set a school record in the shot put with a regional-winning distance of 63 feet, ¼ inch. His teammate, Antoine Cooper Jr., won the discus at 169-5.

For Lawrence North, the regional championship came three days after 15-year-old freshman R’Mon Rowley died during track practice.

“It’s been tough,” Mallory said. “I think everybody has handled it about as well as they can. It’s about being there for the family and being there for the LN family.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

IHSAA BOYS TRACK LAWRENCE CENTRAL REGIONAL

The top three regional finishers from Lawrence Central

100 meters

1.     Jasiah Rogers, Park Tudor, 10.91

2.     Elijah Jackson, Lawrence Central, 11.00

3.     Israel Jackson, Lawrence North, 11.23

200 meters

1.     Kemari Robinson, Cardinal Ritter, 22.02

2.     Christian Woodson, North Central, 22.30

3.     Eli Givens, Speedway, 22.32

400 meters

1.     Nickens Lemba, Southport, 47.79

2.     Troy Golden, Pike, 48.70

3.     Jaylen Grimes, Tech, 49.00

800 meters

1.     Nate Killeen, North Central, 1:55.65

2.     Tristan Trevino, Mt. Vernon, 1:56.02

3.     Andrew Fewell, New Castle, 1:56.70

1600 meters

1.     Cameron Todd, Brebeuf Jesuit, 4:17.68

2.     Nick Ostendorf, Lawrence North 4:20.17

3.     Ezra Burrell, Brebeuf Jesuit, 4:20.79

3200 meters

1.     Krishna Thirunavukkarasu, Brebeuf Jesuit, 9:25.12

2.     Collin Stevens, Brebeuf Jesuit, 9:29.73

3.     Luke Harber, Yorktown, 9:32.67

110 hurdles

1.     Danny Royster III, Lawrence North, 15.22

2.     George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon, 15.22

3.     Tremayne Brown, Anderson, 15.29

300 hurdles

1.     George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon, 39.41

2.     James Vaden Jr., Lawrence North, 40.73

3.     Robert Jackson, Cardinal Ritter, 40.95

4x100 relay

1.     Lawrence Central (Ahmaad Duff, Jahmad Harmon, Elijah Jackson, Tyioun Clark), 42.27

2.     North Central, 42.27

3.     Park Tudor, 42.69

4x400 relay

1.     Delta, 3:23.11

2.     Ben Davis, 3:23.72

3.     Mt. Vernon, 3:24.05

4x800 relay

1.     Lawrence North (Andre Davis, Tristan Powell, Ethan Powell, Nick Ostendorf), 8:02.29

2.     Mt. Vernon, 8:06.95

3.     Bishop Chatard, 8:10.51

Shot put

1.     Luke Himes, Heritage Christian, 60-8

2.     Jaden Freeney, Lawrence North, 57-3.5

3.     Javion Jones, Decatur Central, 54-7.5

Discus

1.     Antoine Cooper Jr., Ben Davis, 169-5

2.     Luke Himes, Heritage Christian, 158-4

3.     Mason Moulton, Yorktown, 156-7

High jump

1.     Tremayne Brown, Anderson, 6-4

2.     Jaiden Dresselhause, Lawrence Central, 6-3

3.     Jay Hmurovich, Brebeuf Jesuit, 6-1

Pole vault

1.     Keagan LaBelle, Mt. Vernon, 15-0

2.     Kolton Nanko, Yorktown, 13-3

3.     Nate Joven, Bishop Chatard, 13-0

Long jump

1.     Abram Stitt, Delta, 23-4.5

2.     Omar Cooper, Lawrence North, 23-0

3.     George Gamble, Bishop Chatard, 22-7