MOVING VANN
Junior sprinter wins for Boone Grove at Hobart Little 5 Meet
Boone Grove junior Brae’ton Vann knew he was faster.
He noticed it during the indoor season as the gap between Vann and his opponents kept growing.
Now, the 2018 regional qualifier in the 200 meters wants to push the envelope on that speed even more.
“I’ve got the speed,” Vann said. “But I’ve always lacked stamina. I’ve been working in the weight room to build that up.”
His speed and stamina were on display during Saturday’s Little 5 Meet at Hobart as Vann won the 100 in 11.58 seconds and the 200 in 22.60.
He also helped Boone Grove place second in the 400 relay with a 45.41 and third in the 1,600 relay with a 3:37.40.
Vann also said his improved stamina will help him as a running back in football in the fall. He’s coming off a season where he rushed for 1,702 yards.
But his short-term focus remains on track, and Vann realizes there’s still room for growth.
“I’m doing good right now,” Vann said. “But it’s a long season.”
Boone Grove was the runnerup in the team standings in the Little 5 Meet, scoring 137 points. South Bend St. Joseph won with 158.
Hobart followed in third place, led by sophomore Riley Johnston’s victory in pole vault.
Johnston established a personal record with a mark of 15 feet, 3 inches, surpassing his previous PR of 15-0. He remains on pace for his target this season.
“My goal is to reach 16 feet as a sophomore,” he said. “And by junior year, 17.”
Johnston had help on the way in the form of new poles ordered by his father, Jim, who’s also his coach.
Like most pole vaulters, Johnston can be particular about which pole he uses in competition, so he hopes to find the right one among the new batch.
“It has to be the perfect one,” he said. “They’re bigger, which means they’re stiffer. You have to run faster and pull it down harder so that it throws you up higher.”
Valparaiso’s girls topped the team standings with 158 points, while Hobart followed in second with 125.5 and Kankakee Valley took third with 88.5.
The Kougars were led by an impressive debut from Taylor Schoonveld, who won the 400 in 1:00.96 and was runner-up in the high jump at 5-5 during the first large outdoor meet of her career.
“I was pretty nervous,” Schoonveld said. “I hadn’t run against a lot of those teams before.”
Schoonveld said those nerves remained with her throughout the meet, but her focus at practice was crucial to her success.
“I’ve been working on my endurance in the 400 and my form for the high jump,” she said. “That helped me a lot (Saturday).”