Unified Kats (116) vs Fishers Unified (112), Warren Central (105), McCutcheon (102), Bedford North Lawrence (91), Franklin Central Unified (78), Center Grove (76), Hamilton Southeastern Unified (69), Lawrence Central (68) The first ever Jim Brown Unified Track and Field Invitational was held last Friday night at Fishers High School. Clear skies offered perfect running conditions, and it would prove to be the most competitive meet of the season. Sectional regulations limited athletes to two events, making every sprint, jump, and throw even more crucial. The Kats, facing eight other teams, weren't just competing – they were fighting for every point. Let’s get into the Field Events Long Jump In the long jump pit, Tear'Ria Coatie matched her personal best with a solid jump of 7'9", placing 5th in her flight. Ellie Neuhauser also jumped well, landing at 10'08" for 6th place in her flight. On the runway, MJ McColl found his rhythm and soared to an impressive 16'10", grabbing 2nd place in his flight. Braedyn Booker added another strong performance for the Kats with a 7th place finish in long jump. Shot Put In the shot put, Dakota Hildman and Ethan Lee found their zone, both launching personal bests to secure solid finishes in their flights. Hildman's throw of 27'04.5" earned him 3rd place, while Lee wasn't far behind, landing 5th with a throw of 27'2.5". Over in the top-flight, the competition heated up. Andrew Barker, placing 2nd, unleashed a throw of 51'4", breaking both his personal best and the team record! Terrion Wilson continues to impress, adding a strong second-best throw of the season (38'7.25") to secure 5th place. After the field events, the Unified Kats were in a strong position, tied for 2nd place with 44 points alongside Lawrence Central. The leaders, Fishers and Warren Central, were tied with 49 points, putting the Kats just 5 points behind as the teams headed to the track. 100M Dash The Unified Kats hit the ground running in the track events! Ethan Lee set the tone, scoring big with a personal best time of 17.83. Macy Rakestraw, clocking in a personal best of 16.54 in her heat and secured a valuable 3rd place finish for the Kats. Karsen Huffman continued the momentum, dominating his heat with a winning time of 12.85, which also happened to be a personal best! Josh Smith added another personal best to the Kats' tally with a 6th-place finish in his race at 15.05. The Kats were now tied with Fishers at 73 for 2nd and 2 points away from Warren Central in 1st with 75. 400M Dash Mara Tackett started the Kats off with her season best of 1:19.31 as she picked of 3 runners on the home stretch to take 3rd place. Des McDonald and Andrew Guerre continued the strong showing, making their moves on the last turn. McDonald crossed the finish line in 2nd place with a time of 59.5 seconds, while Guerre placed 5th at 1:02.53. Justin Smith capped off a successful race for the Kats, battling for the lead and ultimately taking 1st place with a personal best time of 1:07.9! 4x100M Relay The Girls Relay team of Taylor Belzer, Gisella Herrera, Lakyn Williams, and Ellie Neuhauser put in a strong performance, clocking one of their fastest times this season at 1:15.39 and placed 7th. The meet then came down to the wire as the score remained tied at 106 points between Fishers Unified and the Unified Kats. In the Boys Relay, MJ McColl got the Kats off to a good start. Des McDonald kept them in contention during his leg, battling against McCutcheon and Franklin Central. Karsen Huffman then took the lead for the Kats and maintained it through the handoff to Andrew Barker. Barker held strong, crossing the finish line in 1st place to secure victory for the Unified Kats (final score: 116 points)! The win was even more impressive thanks to a new team record of 47.78 seconds set by the relay team. The Unified Kats looked great and are set to head to Sectionals next Saturday (5/18) and hope to secure a top 3 finish overall to compete at home in the Regional meet (5/25).