In a very dramatic Ridge and Valley Conference Championship Track Meet, the North Crawford boys track team was victorious by the narrowest of margins, defeating archrival Kickapoo-LaFarge by just one point in the final race of the evening, the 4x400-meter relay. The Trojans won with 171 points followed by Kickapoo-LaFarge 170, Ithaca 99, DeSoto 80, Wauzeka Steuben 17 and Seneca 2.
Trailing by just two points after 16 events out of 18, the Trojan distance runners were called upon to narrow the gap. They were led by senior Ethan Ingle, who had two prior wins in the 1600-meter run and 800-meter runs with times of 4:41.09 and 2:11.46 respectively. Ingle took command of the 3200-meter race early and went on to win in a very impressive time of 10:37.88 making him a three-time conference champion.
What made this event especially critical is that Kickapoo-LaFarge had three distance runners in the race and North Crawford needed good races out of Ingle, Brady Allbaugh and Jacob Bransky. Second and third place went to Kickapoo-LaFarge runners and fourth place went to Allbaugh in a time of 11:58.68. Fifth place was up for grabs as Kickapoo held pretty good position going into the final lap, but sophomore Jacob Bransky (who was running injured) showed a great competitive side and ran down the Kickapoo runner who led by 30 meters going into the last lap and out kicked him to secure a fifth place finish in a time of 12:04.59 and setting up the 4x400-meter relay for the win.
Heading into the final event of the evening, the Trojans found themselves trailing by one point, 161 to 162. Pumped up and knowing what was on the line, the North Crawford boys were on a mission. Freshman Dallas Hershberger led off for the Trojans and was in the lead, handing the baton off to foreign exchange student Ludvig Ekholm, who ran a great leg but was trailing by eight meters, when he handed off to junior Casey Spencer. Spencer ran his best 400 of the year by closing in on Kickapoo-LaFarge, but still trailed by four meters when he handed off to foreign exchange student Danniel Coronado. Coronado put his whole heart into the race and found himself side by side with the Kickapoo-LaFarge runner for the final 100 meters of the race. Dani found another gear and secured the conference championship by defeating the Panthers in a great time of 3:47.46, a season best time by more than 11 seconds for the 4x400-meter relay team.
Though all the focus was on the final event, the North Crawford boys had many good things happen to set themselves up for the victory. It started in the pole vault where senior captain Sever Kvigne won the event in a career best jump of 11’00” (a foot higher than his previous best), defeating Kickapoo-LaFarge jumper Danniel Sheppard who also jumped 11’00”, but Kvigne had fewer misses and secured the win. Teammate Dallas Hershberger also stepped up by clearing a career high 10’00” for third place followed by Corey Spencer in fourth place with a jump of 9’6” giving the Trojans 20 points.
Also looking strong for the Trojan team was junior Branden Baumeister, who was literally running from place to place trying to complete his field events, while also attempting to qualify for the sprint event finals. Baumeister won the 100-meter dash in a time of 11:81 followed by the 200-meter dash in 24:05. He also jumped a season tying best jump in the high jump to secure fourth place with a leap of 5’8”. Surprisingly however, Trojan coach Mike Allbaugh tried Baumeister in a new event, the shot put. Knowing his strength and length, coach Allbaugh felt he was a good candidate for the event. Branden surprised the rest of the field by throwing an incredible 40’8” to lock up second place and again, putting the Trojans in position for the championship.
Other results from the meet were:
400-meters-Danniel Coronado-third-55.12 (CB)
-Brady Allbaugh-seventh–57.56
-Dallas Hershberger-eighth-57.94
800-meters-Dallas Hersberger-fourth-2:31.15
1600-meters-Brady All-baugh-5:07.23
110-meters HH-Cody Hershberger-fourth-20.33
-Sever Kvigne-fifth-20.5
-Jeremy File-sixth-21.00
300-meters IH-Ludvig Ekholm-fourth-47.30
-Cody Hershberger-sixth-47.40
4x100-meter relay-Corey Spencer, Casey Spencer, File, Kai Varnes-Epstein-second-49.28
4x200-meter relay-Corey Spencer, Casey Spencer, Varnes-Epstein, C. Hershberger-second-1:44.58
4x800-meter relay-Michael Volden, Kvigne, Ekholm, Dylan Ghormley-second-10:24.10
High Jump – Brady Allbaugh-fifth-5’4”
Long Jump-Corey Spencer-fourth-17’6.50”
Discus-T.J Brudos-third-109’6”
Shot Put – Jeremy File-fifth-35’5.5”
“I knew it was going to be close but not this close,” coach Mike Allbaugh said when it was over. “Losing Bransky to an injury was tough and he stepped up when the team needed him. I can’t even begin to explain the exhilaration and excitement going into the final race. Coronado really came through for the team. That’s a lot to expect for someone so new to the sport. There were so many things that set up the team for a victory that will go down as one of the most dramatic and exciting meets in North Crawford history. I’m very proud to be part of that!”
