Broken records, titles, results: What we learned from the SIAC girls track and field meet

EVANSVILLE — There is a new Southern Indiana Athletic Conference girls track and field champion after Wednesday's meet at Central High School.

Castle took home its first conference title since 2009, besting three-time defending winner Jasper, which finished runner-up. Meanwhile, North broke two meet records, one of which had stood for 26 years.

Here's how Castle became SIAC champs, what records North broke and more from the conference meet.

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Castle utilizes mix of youth and veterans to claim SIAC crown

The leadoff and third leg of the Knights' 4x800 relay, Anna Seibert and Heidi Giannini, are sophomores. Their second leg and anchor, Brooklyn Lutz and Isabel Land, are freshmen.

Castle knows it has a young team. Still, it's not phased by its youth. The Knights' 4x800 relay took home the SIAC title with a time of 10:08.08 in the first event of the evening. They broke away even more from Jasper toward the final lap to secure the victory.

"(It's) definitely great just having such a young team," Seibert said. "It was very motivating just knowing that we have even more potential."

Seibert, Lutz and Land also clinched individual titles of their own. But a veteran presence remains as seniors and former state qualifiers Amaya Royal and Gretchen Hurt clinched three overall titles. Juniors Elsie Krodel and Katy Beer also won for pole vault (10 feet, 6 inches) and long jump (16 feet, 8.75 inches), respectively.

"Hard work pays off in the end," Hurt said. "It's so fun working with this team. We've got to fine-tune the little things so that in the end, everything comes together. Hopefully, we see another sectional and regional title."

North breaks pair of SIAC girls meet records

The Huskies' 4x100 relay team hugged one anther tightly when the final result of their performance was announced.

They did something that hadn't been done since 1998: Set a new SIAC record. North dominated once again in the 4x100 with a time of 48.27 seconds, which was also a city record. And its anchor, sophomore De'Janay Layne, also broke an individual record.

Her 24.82-second finish in the 200-meter dash is the new fastest time at the SIAC meet. It was previously set in 2010 by Central's Nikita Owens.

North is on fire going into the postseason. The Huskies know they are capable of breaking school records. Talks of Layne winning a state title are also growing considering she bested a state placer in the 200 in Castle's Royal.

"I was kind of worried a little bit because I know I didn't get a good lane," Layne said. "Prelim wasn't that fast, but I just know I have to get out and stay in front. (North's Iana Tecson) and Amaya, they're both two good 200 runners."

Reitz's Cordelia Hoover clinches final conference title

The senior learned plenty from competing in Carmel on the Friday of the city meet.

She loved the elevated competition. But Hoover also knew her time there wasn't the best and that she still needed to put her best foot forward. She also saw runners from Carmel maintain composure in their races.

That's one of the main things the Southeastern Missouri State signee wants to do moving forward. She fell short in the 1,600 after leading for much of the race. But she bounced back in the 3,200 with a finish of 11.56.78 to clinch the final SIAC title in her high school career.

"Honestly, I just knew that I had to pace myself and stay focused," Hoover said. "Even though what happened in the (1,600) wasn't really what my goal was, I just knew in the (3,200), that's a race I'm so mentally strong at. I just knew I needed to settle in and just have my mind set on having a strong race."

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Mater Dei's Leah Heldman also impresses as a freshman

Heldman turned heads in her debut SIAC meet.

She was already a city champion in high jump earlier. Her height was slightly lower this time around at 5 feet, 1 inch, but she still got the job done and clinched the title.

"It was really exciting, especially being a freshman (and) knowing what's to come in the next four years," Heldman said of winning the title. "I was looking forward to today. And it was a relief to be able to climb that."

With each meet, Heldman's confidence grows. She credits Wildcats coach Roseann Wilson and her high jump coach for the position she's currently in now.

"It's really just time and patience," Heldman said. "Obviously, it's not going to be crazy off the start, but having that patience and knowing you can do it really helps."

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.

RESULTS FROM THE SIAC GIRLS TRACK MEET

Wednesday at Central Stadium

Team: Castle 151, Jasper 137, North 109, Memorial 52, Central 51, Mater Dei 40, Reitz 33, Bosse 22, Vincennes Lincoln 12, Harrison 7

Individual winners

100: Amaya Royal (Castle) 12.33

200: De'Janay Layne (North) 24.82*

400: Brooklyn Lutz (Castle) 58.76

800: Anna Seibert (Castle) 2:22.18

1,600: Isabel Land (Castle) 5:20.53

3,200: Cordelia Hoover (Reitz) 11:56.78

100 hurdles: Alishia Darrett (North) 15.74

300 hurdles: Alishia Darrett (North) 46.59

4x100 relay: North (Ja'Shonti Boyd, Vanessa Nankwenya, Iana Tecson, De'Janay Layne) 48.27*

4x400 relay: North (Ja'Shonti Boyd, Alishia Darrett, De'Janay Layne, Iana Tecson) 4:03.8

4x800 relay: Castle (Anna Seibert, Brooklyn Lutz, Heidi Giannini, Isabel Land) 10:08.08

High jump: Leah Heldman (Mater Dei) 5-01

Pole vault: Elsie Krodel (Castle) 10-06

Long jump: Katy Beer (Castle) 16-08.75

Shot put: Gretchen Hurt (Castle) 41-04.5

Discus: Gretchen Hurt (Castle) 122-08

*-new meet record

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA girls track: Southern Indiana Athletic Conference meet takeaways