The Wabash thinclads took six first-place finishes on the way to the team title at the annual Wabash Relays, held Saturday afternoon at Huntsman Track.
The Little Giants started with a first in the 4 X 100 relay, outtouching DuPage by 7/10ths of a second. Wabash won the race in 43.2. The sprint medley team was the next to capture the blue ribbon, winning the race by over six seconds with a time of 3:34.8. The 4 X 200 relay team also took first place with a winning time of 1:30.1. The distance medley team added a second place finish (11:28.8).
The field events at the Wabash Relays are scored as a combined, two-person relay. The team of Keegan McLaughlin (Cloverdale, IN/South Putnam) and Joe Martin (Mishawaka, IN/Marian) took first place in the javelin throw. The combo threw for a distance of 77.77 meters. McLaughlin had the third-best individual throw (38.91 meters), while Martin was fourth-best (38.86).
Mike Russell (Terre Haute, IN/Terre Haute North) and Josh Jones (North Richland Hills, TX/Nolan Catholic) won the high jump relay with a combined height of 12 feet, two inches. Russell was second (6-02) individually, while Jones took third (6-00). The pair also took second in the long jump relay with a distance of 42 feet, four inches. Russell was second overall with a leap of 21 feet, 7.75 inches.
Keith Clayton (Colorado Springs, CO/Fountain Valley School) won one of the individual races, the 400-meter hurdles. He crossed the finish line first in 57.1 seconds, just outtouching Danville Area Community College’s Travis Vice by 2/10ths of a second.
Jon Reidy (Crawfordsville, IN/Culver Military Academy) and Eric Morris (Ft. Wayne, IN/Ft. Wayne Snider) were second in the hammer throw relay (72.06 meters). Morris had the third-best throw of the day with his toss of 37.21 meters. Ethan Paul (Evansville, IN/Reitz Memorial), Dennis Frazee (Griffith, IN/Calumet), and Zach Eichel (Columbus, IN/Columbus North) finished second, third, and fourth respectively in the 5000-meter run. Paul was second with a time of 16:16.0, followed by Frazee (16.18.8), and Eichel (16:21.4).
While no team score is kept at the meet, the team title is given to the school with the highest amount of top finishers. Five schools competed at the event in addition to the Little Giants --- DACC, Taylor, DuPage, Franklin, and Vincennes.