By Brian Hedger, Merrillville Gary Post-Tribune staff writer
5/29/2008
Last year, they headed for Bloomington with a handful of athletes looking to place at the Girls Track and Field State Finals.
This year?
The Lake Central Indians need a bigger bus.
They've qualified all three relays, seven individual events and 20 athletes total for Friday's meet, which starts at 2 p.m. CDT at Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex.
The Indians haven't lost as a team all season, and that team-first attitude is also making the four-hour trip.
"We're going down to measure ourselves against everybody else in the state," LC head coach Ron Frederick said. "We're approaching this the same way we approached sectionals and regionals. We just want to do the best we can and see what happens."
And if what happens turns out to be a memorable team finish, then this team will have met its ultimate goal. Frederick said the Indians haven't placed higher than 30th overall as a team, but this year the bar is set a lot higher.
"If everything plays out the way (the seed places) are, we should end up with about 25 points," Frederick said. "That would probably put us around fifth overall, and that's our goal -- a Top 5 finish. When we told the girls the other day that we've never finished higher than 30th, I think some of them thought we might be setting the goal too high. But it's possible."
One of the biggest reasons is because the Indians stayed healthy.
Last spring, the Indians had two girls -- junior sprinter Jessica Morgan and senior high jumper Savannah Hauter -- go down with injuries before they could qualify for state. And they got hurt weeks after junior pole vaulter Gianna Mirabelli's season ended with a broken back that she doesn't know how she injured.
All three qualified this season, and all feel lucky just to be getting on the bus as competitors.
"Last year I tore my hamstring right before sectionals, so I didn't even get a chance," said Hauter, who finished third in high jump at the Chesterton Regional. "It makes this year that much better. Right now, I just want to be all-state. I'm ranked 14th, but if I can hit 5-5, I'll score. And overall, I just want us to be Top 5. This is the year to do it."
Morgan, who qualified as a leg of LC's 400 relay, agreed.
"I think we can finish Top 5," said Morgan, who injured her back last spring long jumping. "It's been a fun season, because all the girls are committed and have good attitudes. We're ready to go down there and hopefully finish Top 5."
Mirabelli, who's close friends with Morgan, is also ready to compete on the state's biggest stage.
She and fellow vaulter Ericka Markiewicz could score some big points toward the team effort, but for Mirabelli this trip is special just in the fact she's going.
"I'm just really excited to be getting the chance to compete," Mirabelli said. "It's nice that as a team we've all worked together and everybody had a fair shot at qualifying for state. Last year, I was injured. So, I knew I had to work hard to get there this year."
Now, she's on her way. And her team is going along -- some to compete and the rest to cheer. They're going as a team, just the way they've gone everywhere this spring. And if they do reach their goal of a Top 5 finish?
"That would be a really big accomplishment, just knowing that we could do something like that," said sophomore Megan Plenus, who runs on the qualified 3,200 meter and 1,600 meter relays. "I think it would push me and my teammates even harder in practice next year to do even better."
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