“I was able to run with some of Fairmont’s greats back (as a freshman),” said Blaumeiser, who along with former teammates James Molnar, Andrew Samir and Brandon Brown missed qualifying for state in the 3,200 relay by two places and 3.71 seconds. “We were really close to making it. I gained a lot of knowledge through them and just my teammates pushing me every day.”
On Saturday that was Wooten. Blaumeiser won the 800 in 2 minutes, 1.09 seconds. Wooten followed in 2:03.06. In the 1,600, Blaumeiser finished first in 4:37.36 and Wooten in 4:37.97.
“I went into it thinking stick with Ben, stay behind him or stay beside him,” Wooten said following the 800 run. “Just do what I could around the 300 mark. We were all cutting in and I had to make some moves there. From there the whole race was stick with that pace and feel pain.
“The 800 is the hardest race, in my opinion, by far. You just have to go out there for two laps and basically almost sprint. It really hurts the legs a lot. But seeing those results feels great in the end.”
Blaumeiser considers the 800 his best event. He built up his endurance through longer races – he finished 73rd at the Division I regional cross country championships in October, with Wooten finishing 0.8 seconds behind – and has improved his finishes with sprinter’s speed.
“The confidence the coaches have in us, the confidence we have coming in … we knew we could do something pretty good today. I think it turned out pretty well,” Blaumeiser said. “Just go out and compete. Don’t need to worry about times right now. I’m feeling good.”
Springfield won the boys meet with 114 points to top runner-up Northmont (96) and Fairmont (95).
Centerville won the girls title with 93 points to edge Princeton’s 89 and Northmont’s 75.
In other highlights:
Northmont senior Alexis Boykin won both the girls shot put (41-feet, 1-3/4 inches) and discus (109-4).
The Thunderbolts also won individual titles with senior James McKinney in the 100 dash (11.59), senior Charles Lewis in the boys 200 (23.08), sophomore Mariah Leopold in the girls high jump (4-9) and sophomore Abby Drosdak the 5,000 run (18:21.36).
Chaminade Julienne junior Jadyn Haywood won the girls 200 dash (26.62) and finished second in the 100 (13.22).
Tippecanoe junior Grayson Ring set a meet record in the high jump with his winning effort of 6-2.
Milton-Union junior Carter Tinnerman won the boys pole vault at 12-0 and Centerville senior Ellie Spiewak the girls pole vault at 8-6.
Centerville senior Emma Bucher won the 1,600 run (5:09.3) and finished second in the 800 (2:22.27).
Oakwood sophomore Bella Horne won the 300 hurdles (52.15).
About the Author