Four takeaways from boys track and field sectional championship

WEST LAFAYETTE — Harrison senior Finn Huber held another trophy in his hands in another dominant display on the track for the Raiders.

The closing act on the west side was memorable for a multitude of reasons.

The Cedarsville University-bound Huber and future Purdue walk-on Andres Negron-Carrero helped set two of the three new sectional records etched into history by the Raiders.

Negron-Carrero and Huber set the new 4 x 400 relay record with senior Jeffrey Williams and junior Brody Emerich in 3 minutes and 22.20 seconds, Negron-Carrero cracked the 30-year-old 400 meters record and Brayden Rund, Evan Lottes, James Ford and James Goines broke the 4 x 800 meter relay mark for Harrison as it captured the sectional championship.

Huber also set a Harrison record in the 100 meters clocked at 10.67 seconds, just .08 from tying the sectional meet record set by Matthew Johnson of Lafayette Jeff in 2014.

Harrison finished first with 177 points, Lafayette Jeff finished second with 97 points and West Lafayette placed third with 85 points.

"It was awesome and it feels great whenever you can break a record especially here at West Side," Huber said. "There's a little bit of beef coming down here from Salisbury. We love to put up good times and win and run everyone else down. It's just a lot of fun."

Winners and top three qualifiers will compete in the regional championships next Thursday at Lafayette Jeff.

Here are seven things learned from the sectional and a list of the top three regional placers from each event:

Negron-Carrero dedicates season to pup and discussing mental health

There's been a lot less fur on the uniform and clothes of the future Purdue walk-on Carrero-Negron.

He used to come home to the tail wags and licks of his dog, a described hound-mix named Lilly who crossed the rainbow walkway after being in Negron-Carrero's life for five years.

Negron-Carrero dedicated his 400-meter race to Lilly's memory after racing to a record-breaking 48.82 seconds, breaking the record previously held by Troy Larson of McCutcheon in 1994.

"She was my whole world," Negron-Carrero said. "She got me when I needed her and she was the sweetest girl in the world and she meant a lot to my whole family."

Negron-Carrero shared how he overcame mental health problems that were rooted in self-confidence as a middle schooler. Now Negron-Carrero wants to study and become a therapist.

"Therapy was life changing and it changed the whole way I think and how I perceive myself," Negron-Carrero said.

Papadogiannis becoming a known name in Lafayette area

The next generation of elite athletes have arrived in West Lafayette after a strong performance in shotput and discus by Harrison freshman Nikolaus Papadogiannis.

"I've just been listening to my coaches, listening to my dad and staying healthy," Papadogiannus said.

Papadogiannus won the sectional championships in both throwing events. He threw the discus in 147 feet and five inches, a distance four feet and one inch farther then second-place regional qualifier McCutcheon senior Jakob Van Pelt. The discus field consisted of eight seniors in the finals and none came close to matching Papadogiannus.

The command and skill carried over to shot put with Papadogiannus' arm showing zero fatigue. He threw the shotput 46 feet and seven inches — nine inches farther than second-place finisher Chris Rascon-Hernandez of Frankfort.

Papadogiannus' motivation comes from wanting to be as good of a thrower as his father Manny. His father competed as a track and field thrower while growing up in Long Island.

"I just want to be as good as he was," Papadogiannus said.

Hughes overcomes stress fractures

Running has taken a toll on the body of McCutcheon senior Matthew Hughes whose post-race routine includes downing water with a couple of pills of Ibuprofen.

Hughes said he's been racing with stress fractures in his shin. But the desire to compete has been stronger than the sharp pains that run down his legs with each stride.

"I can't really practice so I have to have a really strong mindset going into meets," Hughes said. "Got to be very confident in my abilities to push through."

Hughes with minimal practice won both the 110 hurdles in 15.22 seconds and 300 hurdles in 39.95 seconds.

"I took a 10-day break before I won City County and so I get to do that again this week," Hughes said.

4. Angeles chases down Miloudi to capture 1,600 title

Frankfort junior Christopher Angeles ran pace by pace with West Lafayette junior and event favorite Ryan Miloudi.

Miloudi typically builds a big lead that just becomes wider and wider until there's a gap that separates himself from the competition.

But Angeles was finally feeling healthy coming into Thursday's meet after a nagging calf injury slowed his performance for much of the season.

"It feels amazing because I was injured early on," Angeles said. "I got to show everyone who I truly am."

Miloudi tried creating a gap only for Angeles to keep his back and match him before making a push of his own.

Angeles caught Miloudi and sped past him to capture the 1,600 sectional title.

"I've been training in meets running the 100, 200 and 4 x 400 relay so I can get that top end kick," Angeles said. "And I feel like that helped me very much. I don't try to run anyone else's race. I just focused on running my own race."

IHSAA Boys Sectional Results and Regional qualifiers

4 x 800 meter relay:

1. Harrison - 7:56.55 - Brayden Rund, Evan Lottes, James Ford and Jaiden Goins.
2. Lafayette Jeff - 8:09.82 - Darien Olivo-Hernandez, Elias Rodriguez, Camden Bettag and Remy Farrell.
3. McCutcheon - 8:15.45 - Luke Persin, Andrew Weinman, Mason Lee and Connor Felty.

100 meters:

1. Finley Huber - Harrison - senior - 10.67.
2. Carter Knoy - Harrison - senior - 11.09.
3. DJ Young - Lafayette Jeff - senior - 11.10.

110 meter hurdles:

1. Matthew Hughes - McCutcheon - senior - 15.22.
2. Alex Saidian - Crawfordsville - junior - 15.53.
3. Jaden Park - West Lafayette - sophomore - 15.75.

200 meters:

1. Finley Huber - Harrison - senior - 22.23.
2. Jace Barnett - Harrison - junior - 22.68.
3. Owen Utterback - North Montgomery - senior - 22.96

1,600 meters:

1. Christopher Angeles - Frankfort - junior - 4:22.50.
2. Ryan Miloudi - West Lafayette - junior - 4:26.17.
3. Jack Chandler - West Lafayette - junior - 4:29.29.

4 x 100 meter relay:

1. Harrison - 42.16 - Carter Knoy, Jace Barnett, Bennett McRoberts and Finley Huber.
2. Lafayette Jeff - 42.98 - Brandon Addai, DJ Young, Lance Crowder and Antwoine Richmond.
3. West Lafayette - 43.55 - Jevan Subagia, Porter Mitrione, Brennan Wood and David Curl.

400 meters

1. Andres Negron-Carrero - Harrison - senior - 48.82.
2. Kris Kirtz - McCutcheon - senior - 49.90.
3. Daniel Schomer - West Lafayette - senior - 50.19.

300 meters:

1. Matthew Hughes - McCutcheon - senior - 39.95.
2. David Strong - Harrison - junior - 41.37.
3. Bryce Vanostran - West Lafayette - freshman - 41.85.

800 meters:

1. Jaiden Goins - Harrison - senior - 1:56.44.
2. James Ford - Harrison - senior - 1:58.22.
3. Darien Olivo-Fernandez - Lafayette Jeff - junior - 1:58.52.

3,200 meters:

1. Hayden Kemple - Clinton Prairie - junior - 9:37.56.
2. Ryan Miller - Crawfordsville - senior - 9:51.66.
3. Ryan Miloudi - West Lafayette - junior - 9:54.46.

4 x 400 relay:

1. Harrison - 3:22.20 - Finley Huber, Andres Negron-Carrero, Jeffrey Williams and Brody Emerich.
2. West Lafayette - 3:25.19 - Brennan Wood, Ben Fredette, Ian Strachan and Daniel Schomer.
3. McCutcheon - 3:29.15 - Matthew Hughes, Kaiden Konkle, Connor Felty and Kris Kirtz.

Long jump:

1. Jacob Schwartz - Harrison - sophomore - 22 feet and 1 inch.
2. Carter Knoy - Harrison - senior - 21 feet and 9 inches.
3. Owen Utterback - North Montgomery - senior - 21 feet and 8.25 inches.

High Jump:

1. Angelo Hausmanis - Lafayette Jeff- senior - 6 feet 1 inch.
2. Cayden Davis - Clinton Prairie - senior - 6 feet
3. Kasen Newton - Harrison - senior - 6 feet

Pole vault:

1. Noah Wykoff - McCutcheon - senior - 13 feet
2. Owen Hudspith - Frankfort - freshman - 12 feet 6 inches.
3. Ethan Hudspith - Frankfort - junior - 12 feet 6 inches.
4. Mason Killebrew - Lafayette Jeff - senior - 12 feet 6 inches.

Shotput :

1. Nikolaos Papadogiannus - Harrison - freshman - 46 feet 7 inches.
2. Chris Rascon-Hernandez - Frankfort - senior - 45 feet and 9.5 inches.
3. Isaac Soldati - Harrison - sophomore - 45 feet and 3.5 inches.

Discus:

1. Nikolaos Papadogiannus - Harrison - freshman - 147 feet and 5 inches.
2. Jakob Van Pelt - McCutcheon - senior - 143 feet and 4 inches.
3. David Curl - West Lafayette - junior - 136 feet and 9 inches.

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com , on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson .

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Four takeaways from boys track and field sectional championship