Drought over: Lafayette Jeff boys track and field reigns supreme at IHSAA sectionals

LAFAYETTE Lafayette Jeff sophomore sprinter Bryce Vanostran first started track in the eighth grade and found himself on the wrong end of losses he felt should be wins.

He felt he lacked the acceleration and power needed to achieve the things he wanted on the track, which he believed would translate to the football field as a wide receiver."I felt like I was one of slowest kids on the team," Vanostran said.That hunger to strive and get better not only propelled Vanostran forward, but it also helped his team end a dozen-year drought on Thursday, May 22 in the IHSAA Boys Track and Field sectional championships at John B.

Scheumann Stadium.Vanostran sped his way through to first place finishes in the 100 meters, 200 meters and ran the second leg of the 4x100 relay team that won first place and helped Lafayette Jeff capture the IHSAA sectional title.Lafayette Jeff scored 166 points, McCutcheon placed second with 112 points and North Montgomery finished third with 69 points."In the offseason I started working and becoming more dedicated and that's when everything started to click," Vanostran said.Vanostran ran the 100 meters in 11.08 seconds, edging out McCutcheon senior Shamar Ray by one hundredth of a second.

He sprinted the 200 meters in 23.16 seconds, and with junior Tarvaris Fernandez, senior Kayden Timberlake and junior Paul Walgamuth, finished the 4 x100-meter relay in 43.16 seconds.More: Beating the storm: Harrison girls track and field shred two records, win sectionalsLafayette Jeff took first in 11 total events, including a sweep of the discus and shot put.

Senior DaeQuan Viverette won discus with a throw of 157 feet and five inches and senior Isaiah Buchanan won shot put with a toss of 48 feet and two inches."It's been a long time coming," Viverette said.

"At Jeff, we've always had great athletes, and I feel like we're only going to get better in the future."Lafayette Jeff coach Shawn Johnson took note of athletes like Viverette and Vanostran, taking their skills as football players and maximizing the strengths from their separate abilities.More: Friends cross over at Harrison Unified Track and Field meet"It feels great that our kids are being rewarded for their hard work," Johnson said.

"We ask a lot out of them.

They are multi-sport athletes and getting pulled in different directions by different coaches.

It's unique the way we set up practice, especially for our sprinters.

We do track practice and plan in rest for them to try to take care of them and keep them healthy.

I'm really proud of our guys."McCutcheon junior Kamarion Ayres continued his dominance in the hurdle events.

Ayres won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.80 seconds and 300-meter hurdles in 40.41 seconds.Here are three other storylines from the IHSAA Boys Track and Field Championships at Lafayette Jeff, plus the final results and top three IHSAA regional qualifiers from each event.Kemple humbled by rivalry with FrankfortClinton Prairie senior Hayden Kemple and Frankfort senior Christopher Angeles train and race in the same town.Separated by just 8.3 miles, Angeles and Kemple have had their fair share of wins and losses against each other.The defending sectional champion Kemple paced himself smoothly through all eight laps to win the longest distance race at the IHSAA sectional championships in 9:18.72.Kemple will run for IU Indy in college."It's great competition," Kemple said.

"Because I know if I don't work hard, he'll beat me."The two were neck and neck with each other for seven laps before a final push by Kemple created separation and allowed him to capture the 3,200-meter title, building momentum towards the IHSAA regional final at Lafayette Jeff next Thursday, May 29."I accomplished my goal this week," Kemple said.

"My goal for next week is to lay back, survive and advance so I can go all out and get a state medal." Lafayette Jeff boys wins the IHSAA boys track and field sectional championship.The Bronchos first title since 2013.

pic.twitter.com/dboAlRb9QK Ethan Hanson (@EthanAHanson) May 23, 2025Pride of Millville and Purdue coaching legacy shows out in high jumpAdjusting to life in Lafayette, Indiana, was challenging at first for now-senior Raffael Craig.Craig moved with his father, Raffael Sr, a longtime coach in New Jersey and had grown up in Millville, the same town that's produced sports greats like Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout."There's a reason why God put me here," Craig said.

The younger Craig slowly but surely fit in, made friends and on Thursday jumped 6 feet to capture the IHSAA high jump crown.He overcame an early drizzle and cold conditions to hit his mark.

He'll push for his personal record of 6 feet 2 inches next week."Once I got over that first one, I knew I had it," Craig said.Remy Farrell of Lafayette Jeff eases across the finish line to capture the IHSAA sectional 1600 meters title in 4:37.092.

Spencer Dunn - Clinton Central 4:40.513.

Nathan Odle - Seeger 4:43.71 pic.twitter.com/IRXICKwvVg Ethan Hanson (@EthanAHanson) May 23, 2025Football and soccer players convert to trackSophomore Remy Farrell once dreamed of being an elite football player.

At 6-foot-2 and naturally quick feet, Farrell had the makeup to excel at both wide receiver and cornerback.But then track found him, as it did with senior Darien Olivio-Hernandez.

"It's all individual and you make it as big as you want it to be," Farrell said.

"Through trial and error, I found something that I love."Farrell won the 1600 meters title in 4:37.09, while Olivio-Hernandez captured the 800 meters in 2:01.35.Olivio-Hernandez was a soccer player but was discovered by Lafayette Jeff coach Daniel Fontes.

Fontes asked him to run the 800 meters and from there, track became his passion."I went from being a 400 meters guy to 800 guy," Olivio-Hernandez said.

"I gave it a try and I just fell in love with the sport." IHSAA Lafayette Jeff boys track sectional results regional advancers4 x 800 meter relay: Lafayette Jeff - Gage Dailey, Remy Farrell, Geovane Perez, Darien Olivo-Hernandez - 8:07.55.McCutcheon - Andrew Weinman, Nathan Wood, Mason Lee, Connor Felty - 8:09.05.Crawfordsville - Jantzen Thayer, Cole Capper, Josh Innskeep, Max Brumett - 8:52.98.100 meters: Bryce Vanostran - Lafayette Jeff - 11.08 seconds.Shamar Ray - McCutcheon - 11.09 seconds.Noah Smith - Central Catholic - 11.83 seconds.110 meter hurdles: Kamarion Ayres - McCutcheon - 14.80 seconds.Alec Saidian - Crawfordsville - 15.17 seconds.Braiden Jarboe - Clinton Prairie - 16.26 seconds.200 meters: Bryce Vanostran - Lafayette Jeff - 22.54 seconds.Camden Claycomb - North Montgomery - 23.01 seconds.Huntyr Miles - Crawfordsville - 23.49 seconds.1600 meters: Remy Martin - Lafayette Jeff - 4:37.09 Spencer Dunn - Clinton Central - 4:40.51Nathan Odle - Seeger - 4:43.71 4 x 100 meter relay: Lafayette Jeff - Tarvaris Fernandez, Bryce Vanostran, Kayden Timberlake, Paul Walgamuth - 43.31 secondsMcCutcheon - Aiden Earley, Shamar Ray, Keegun Rice, Elijah Curry - 44.06 seconds.North Montgomery - Dakota Glasson, Camden Claycomb, Clayton Brown, Jayden Thompson - 44.45 seconds.400 meters:Landon Dispennett - Seeger - 51.54 seconds.Theo Eggold - Lafayette Jeff - 52.78 secondsKaiden Konkle, McCutcheon - 52.95 seconds.300 meter hurdles:Ayres, Kamarion - McCutcheon - 40.41 seconds.

AJ Delgatto - Central Catholic - 42.34 seconds.Finn McLain - Central Catholic - 43.04 seconds.800 meters: Darien Olivo-Hernandez - Lafayette Jeff - 2:01.35.

Andrew Weinman - McCutcheon - 2:03.53.

Brayden Clawson - Clinton Prairie - 2:05.11.3200 meters: Hayden Kemple - Clinton Prairie - 9:18.72.Christopher Angeles - Frankfort - 9:30.70.

Spencer Dunn - Clinton Central - 10:07.18.4 x 400 meter relay:North Montgomery - Kale Mitchell, Jayden Thompson, Clayton Brown, Camden Claycomb -3:33.57.Lafayette Jeff - Logan Phillips, Kayden Timberlake, Theo Eggold, Darien Olivo-Hernandez - 3:35.03.McCutcheon - Kaiden Konkle, Andrew Weinman, Connor Felty, Kamarion Ayres - 3:38.27.Long jump:Tarvaris Fernandez - Lafayette Jeff - 20 feet 8 inches.Jaymar Johnson - McCutcheon - 19 feet and 6.5 inches.Conner Rios - Clinton Prairie - 19 feet and 5 inches.High Jump: Raffael Craig - Lafayette Jefferson - 6 feet.Wyatt Motz - Crawfordsville - 5 feet 10 inches.Omar Williams - Lafaeytte Jeff - 5 feet 8 inches.Discus: DaeQuan Viverette - Lafayette Jefferson - 157 feet and 5 inches.Isaiah Max - Seeger - 147 feet and 5 inches.Colin Tyo - North Montgomery - 139 feet and 2 inches.Shotput: Isaiah Buchanan - Lafayette Jefferson -48 feet 2 inches.Taylor Gage - North Montgomery - 46 feet 10 inches.Wyatt Million - Crawfordsville - 43 feet.Pole vault: Owen Hudspith - Frankfort - 14 feet.Jonathan Walgamuth - Lafayette Jeff - 12 feet 6 inches.Paul Walgamuth - Lafayette Jeff - 11 feet, 11 inches.

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette.

He can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: IHSAA boys and field sectional title captured by Lafayette Jeff.

This article has been shared from the original article on yahoo, here is the link to the original article.