Indians race to first-place finish in first home meet
The Indians Track & Field team held its first home meet of the season Tuesday evening, with Murphysboro, Sesser-Valier, Christopher and Chester, dominating the field 222 team points to finish well ahead of second-place Murphysboro (166.5 points). <br />The Indians took first in eight different events, all individual.<br />In the field, Devin Jones, the reigning class 2A champion in discus throw, took first place with ease, throwing a mark of 170-07, well ahead of second place (Ethan Cook of Murphysboro with 130-06). <br />Haley Gassel took first in the pole vault with a jump of 10-06, a foot ahead of second place (Vince Shields of Murphysboro). <br />Caleb Vogel took first place in triple jump with a distance of 41 feet, while Zayne Fornear finished third at 37-10. Vogel also took first in the high jump with a height of 6-02, finishing ahead of Dane Horton of Wayne City who had a jump of 5-08. <br />On the track, Nick King got things started with a first-place finish with a time of 2:11.58, just a fraction ahead of Blake Niesporek who finished in 2:11.59. <br />Sam Zettler took first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.72 seconds, finishing just ahead of Du Quoin teammate Westly Milam who finished in 23.98. Zettler and MIlam also finished second and third, respectively, in the 100-meter dash. <br />Michael Worthing finished first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.52 seconds. <br />Kyle Robinson rounded out the first-place finishes for Du Quoin, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 15.93 seconds, edging out teammate Shamar Adams who finished in 16.35. <br />Adams edged out Robinson in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing second with a time of 44.76 seconds, while Robinson finished third with a time of 44.76. <br />Other notable individual finishers were Jordan Kirkpatrick who finished second in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:21.78 and second in the 3200 meter run with a time of 11:32.85. <br />In relays, Du Quoin finished second in the 4x100-meter relay with a team consisting of Dasani Edward, Milam, Harly Gassel and Zettler; and second in the 4x200-meter relay with a team consisting of Robinson, Milam, Gassel and Zettler; and the 4x800-meter relay team consisting of John Alongi, King, Caleb Davis and Carson Davis. <br />The Indians will resume action Thursday with a freshman/sophomore meet at Chester, followed by another home meet Monday with Murphysboro, both scheduled to start at 4 p.m.