My View/Your View: MIC Offers Many Track and Field State Contenders

You don’t have to look very far to find the best Indiana high school track and field performers.

Just focus on Central Indiana, specifically the Indianapolis area.

Earlier this season, Carmel boys track coach Will Ellery was quick to point out that “Central (Indiana) has been an exciting pool of athletes to watch (this season).’’

And he should know. The first-year head coach has had a front-row seat to some of the best team and individual performances imaginable this season.

In addition to facing strong opponents in Ben Davis, Warren Central and North Central, Ellery said the talent pool is also deep in Hamilton County, pointing to Noblesville and Fishers, the latter of which is led by defending state champion Drew Shields in the 1,600 and 800.

Shields, in fact, appears to be in prime form for the Indiana high school track and field sectionals on Thursday. The girls sectionals get the green light on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin-bound senior, who came back from a nagging injury, won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs in last Friday night’s Hoosier Crossroads Conference meet. His time of 4:13.73 in the 1,600 broke the conference meet record.

Actually, some of the most excitement in the state has come from the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, where Ellery’s Greyhounds are members.

And don’t be surprised if our next boys state champion comes from the MIC.

Make that the girls state champion, too, with three-time reigning champion Warren Central still strutting and kicking its heels in a big way this season, along with reigning MIC and Marion County champ North Central, the state runner-up in 2008, and MIC runner-up Carmel.

Ben Davis – led by sprint sensation Matt Terrell – is the defending boys champion, as well as the 2009 MIC champion, followed by Warren Central and Carmel, which is strong in the distance events and recently dominated the Hamilton County meet.

Terrell, an Ohio State recruit who’s also the defending 200 champion, won the 100 and 200 and ran a leg on the victorious 400 relay in last Thursday’s Marion County meet.

He’s currently the state’s fastest sprinter. His personal best of 10.57 seconds in the 100 in the County meet is also the state’s best time this year.

Oh, by the way, Warren Central, ranked No. 1 in the state the last time I saw the list a week ago, lost to Ben Davis in the boys Marion County meet. So don’t be surprised if they continue to wage a battle in the boys state meet on June 5 in Bloomington. The girls state meet is June 6, also in Bloomington.

Those boys powers cannot meet again until the state meet. Ben Davis is in the sectional at Southport; Warren Central is a sectional host. The Giants would move on to the North Central Regional, while the Warriors would compete in the Connersville Regional.

The MIC, the state’s most prolific conference, has been oh-so-dominant in just about every sport for the past few years, and that includes Carmel in girls swimming, and Carmel and Center Grove, the past two state football titlists, as well as all of the track and field success.

Keep in mind that MIC teams have won three straight boys state track titles, as well as seven of the past nine. The girls, led by Warren Central, have captured six of the past 12 championships.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.