Athletes to watch for 2024 outdoor season
We covered the girls’ track athletes to watch this season. Now it is the boys’ turn. A look at the top boys teams and 20 athletes to watch going into the 2024 outdoor season:
Boys to watch
Martin Barco, Martinsville, Sr. – The University of Washington commit won the 1,600 meters last year at the state meet (4:07.45) and took third in the 800 (1:52.70). His IHSAA-best times are 50.30 seconds in the 400, 1:52.42 in the 800, 4:07.45 in the 1,600 and 8:57.68 in the 3,200.
Dominic Calhoun, Brownsburg, Sr. – The Ohio State commit came on strong as a junior to win state in the 200 meters (21.30) and take second in the 100 (10.57). He also anchored the Bulldogs’ state champion 4x100-meter relay team (40.70 seconds for a state record). Calhoun kept the momentum going by winning the 60 meters (6.74 seconds) at the indoor Nike Hoosier State Relays large school division last month.
Caden Click, Noblesville, Sr. – Click took fourth at last year’s state meet in the 1,600-meter run (4:10.04) in a tight race. He ran on Noblesville second place distance medley relay team (10:17.36) at last month’s state indoor meet.
Will Conway, Floyd Central, Sr. – Conway finished fourth in the 3,200meter run each of the past two years at the state meet, running a 9:05.96 time in last year’s meet. The Tennessee commit’s best time last season was 8:57.22 at the regional. Conway took second last fall at the state cross-country meet (15:03.3) and broke the state record in the 3,200 meters (8:41.18) at the Arcadia Invitational (Calif.) earlier this month.
Fin Essley, Zionsville, Sr. – The Maryland commit, an all-conference football player, took second in discus (178-2) last year at the state meet. Essley also competes in the shot put. He figures to be in the mix as one of the top contenders this season for the state championship in the discus.
Michael Griffith, Hamilton Southeastern,
Sr. – Griffith took first place last month in the long jump (23-7 1⁄2) at the Nike Hoosier State Relays large school meet. He was fifth last year in the long jump (22-7 1⁄2) at the state meet. Griffith also won the 400 meters (49.53 seconds) at the sectional meet last season.
Luke Himes, Heritage Christian, sr. – The Notre Dame recruit put up the second-best number in the nation last year in the shot put (67-10) and won a state championship (65-1 1⁄2). Himes also took fifth place in the discus (173-10). He won the Nike Hoosier State Relays Finals in shot put (66-8) last month.
Jaidyn Johnson, Bloomington North, sr. – The Louisville commit ran 6.75 seconds in the 60-meter run at the indoor Nike Hoosier State Relays to finish just behind Brownsburg’s Calhoun (6.74) for second place in the large school division. Johnson’s personal bests are 10.76 seconds in the 100 and 21.82 seconds in the 200.
Matthew Kim, Fishers, sr. – The Indiana commit took fourth last year in the 800-meter run at the state meet (1:52.71) and anchored the team’s 4x800-meter relay team that finished fourth at state. Kim has IHSAA best marks of 51.84 seconds in the 400 meters, 1:52.65 in the 800 meters and 4:21.31 in the 1,600 meters.
Seamus Malaski, Crown Point, sr. – The Purdue commit won the discus state championship last season (187-8) to outdistance the competition by nearly 10 feet. Malaski, an all-state football player, is also the school record-holder in the shot put (60-7). He took eighth in the shot put last year at the state meet.
Cameron Mullins, Zionsville, sr. – The Indiana commit is one of the most versatile runners in the state, setting personal bests in the regional last year in the 400 meters (47.71 seconds) and 200 meters (21.65 seconds). At the state meet, he was fifth in the 400 (the top four were seniors last spring) and seventh in the 200. Mullins, also a football player, ran on the Eagles’ third place 4x200-meter relay team at the indoor Nike Hoosier State Relays large school division last month.
John Peters, Merrillville, jr. – Peters, who has four Division I offers in football, is one of the top hurdlers in the state. He posted a time of 7.92 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles at the state indoor meet last month to finish second behind Tyler Tarter of Fishers. He already set a new personal record in the 110 hurdles (14.57 seconds) this spring, improving on the time he posted to finish 10th at last year’s state meet.
Tony Provenzano, Carmel, sr. – Provenzano took second in the 3,200-meter run (8:54.94) at the state meet as a junior, just behind Carmel teammate Kole Mathison. He took fourth last fall in the state cross country meet after finishing second as a junior.
Sam Quagliaroli, Fishers, jr. – Quagliaroli took home a first-place finish in the 3,200-meter run at the Nike Hoosier State Relays large school division (9:08.74) last month. He was sixth in last year’s state meet in the 3,200 and ran on his team’s fourth place 4x800-meter relay team. Quagliaroli’s best times are 2:01.29 in the 800, 4:16.04 in the 1,600 and 9:06.12 in the 3,200.
Jordan Randall, Warsaw, soph. – Randall had an excellent freshman season, winning the regional with a high jump of 6-9. Last month at the Nike Hoosier State Relays large school division, Randall tied Greenfield-Central’s Elliot Ryba for the title with a jump of 6-10. Randall jumped 7-foot during the indoor season to grab a share of the state lead with a No. 4 ranking in the nation.
Elliot Ryba, Greenfield-Central, sr. – The Purdue recruit took second in the high jump (6-8) at last year’s state meet. Ryba posted a personal best with a high jump of 6-10 earlier in the season. He tied for the high jump championship in March at the Nike Hoosier State Relays large school division with a jump of 6-10. Ryba had a 7-foot high jump in indoor to share the No. 4 ranking in the nation.
Tyler Tarter, Fishers, sr. – Tarter finished second in the state in the 110-meter hurdles as a junior (14.37 seconds) after finishing second in the state as a sophomore in the 300 hurdles. Tarter had the state-best time in the 300 hurdles (37.49 seconds) going into the state meet but was unable to compete in the finals due to injury. Tarter won the 60-meter hurdles (7.81 seconds) at the state indoor meet last month.
Cameron Todd, Brebeuf Jesuit, sr. –
Todd, the state cross country champion last fall, set a 23-year school record in the 3,200-meter run with an 8:46.55 to finish 19th in the country at the Arcadia Invitational in California last week. At the state meet last year, Todd finished second in the 1,600 meters (4:08.76) and fifth in the 3,200 (9:05.99).
Caleb Winders, Bloomington North, soph. – It was a phenomenal freshman season for Winders, who took second in the 800-meter run (1:52.68) and competed on his team’s state championship winning 4x800-meter relay team (7:37.24). Winders won the distance medley relay at the Nike Hoosier State Relays indoor meet last month (10:14.21) and led the Cougars’ winning 4x800-meter relay team (7:43.08).
Matthew Wray, Whiteland, sr. –
Wray, an Indiana State commit, took third in last year’s 200-meter run at the state meet behind Brownsburg’s Calhoun and Evansville Reitz’s Xavier Thomas with a school record of 21.49 seconds.
IHSAA boys track and field state rankings
(as of April 10)
1 Bloomington North
2 Fishers
3 North Central
4 Zionsville
5 Hamilton Southeastern
6 Franklin Central
7 Merrillville
8 Lawrence North
9 Homestead
10 Center Grove
11 Noblesville
12 Floyd Central
13 Westfield
14 Brownsburg
15 Bishop Chatard
16 Ben Davis
17 Avon
18 Bloomington South
19 Columbus North
20 Carmel
Last year’s IHSAA boys track state meet scoring:
Brownsburg 55
Carmel 50
Plainfield 48 (tie)
Fishers (31)
Bloomington North 31 (tie)
Mt. Vernon 28
Zionsville 28
Center Grove 24
Lawrence Central 22
Warren Central 21
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649 .