By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

First-round summaries: BOYS | GIRLS

TOURNAMENT BRACKETS

WEST REGIONAL

Mountain View Mesa AZ 82, Union OK 50

Seniors Mitch Noble, Easton Hatch, Dionys Cesar, Kaleb Murdock and Connor Chaffee all stepped to the forefront for the Arizona Division 1 champions in a second-round victory over Union High of Tulsa. Noble, who won a state championship in the discus (171-5), also won the shot put in the hypothetical dual with Union, thanks to a season best of 56-3. Hatch, who finished third in the state in the pole vault at 15-6, won that event against Union’s Zurich Chicoine. Cesar and Murdock combined to win the two hurdling events and the Toros went 1-2 in both of them. Chaffee, third in the Arizona final (1:51.43), led a Toros’ sweep in the 800 meters. Mountain View Mesa also swept the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters. Union managed to win both the 4x100 relay (41.10) and the 4x400 relay (3:18.61) and Baylon Thompson won both the 100 and 200 meters. Thomas Gothard (48.01) led the 1-2-3 sweep for Union in the 400. DeAndre Gatlin edged Union’s Corey Forman to win the high jump with a clearance at 6-4. Following the example of Desert Vista a year ago, the Toros will give Arizona a representative in the regional semifinals.

Corner Canyon UT  76, Rosemount MN 56

Corner Canyon was too fast for Rosemount. The Utah Class 6A champions got big contributions from Aiden McDonald, who won the 100 and 200 meters, and Tate Kjar, who won the 400, against the Irish of Rosemount. Across the 100, 200, 400 and 800, plus three scored relays, Corner Canyon amassed a 45-6 advantage. There were a pair of great mid-distance races between Ryan Mulrooney of Rosemount and Connor Whatcott of Corner Canyon. Mulrooney won the 1,600 in 4:13.98 and Whatcott won the 800 in 1:53.46. There were also a pair of entertaining hurdles races. Rosemount’s Grantham Green and Maki Whalen bracketed Corner Canyon’s Spencer Kirkham, as all three went under 15 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Kirkham beat Green and Whalen in the 300 hurdles. The Minnesota Class AAA champions tried to close the gap with the field events and 9-0 results in the shot put, discus and pole vault, which cut into the Chargers’ lead. Minnesota’s track and field athlete of the year, Hayden Bills (66-8.75 shot put and 207-foot discus) led Rosemount’s elite throws group.

Rock Bridge MO 87, Lincoln OR 61

Distance running is a strength for Lincoln of Portland, but against the Rock Bridge combo of Ian Kemey and Andrew Hauser, there were limited chances to make an impact. The Cardinals’ Samy Anderson squeezed between Kemey (4:09.99) and Hauser (4:11.20) in the 1,600 meters and finished right behind them in the 3,200. Lincoln did pull out a sweep of the 800, with Anderson winning that in 1:55.79 and getting support from Eamon Whitten (1:57.51) and JahAllen Van (1:58.06). Rock Bridge’s Casey Hood and Drevyn Seamon went 1-2 in both the 100 and 200 meters. Lincoln got some of that back when Alexander Rhodes (47.65) and Nathan Davidson (49.02) went 1-2 in the 400. Julian Krozel won both hurdles races for Lincoln. Rock Bridge won the 4x100 and 4x800 and Lincoln took the 4x400. The Bruins piled up advantages in the field events, going 1-2 in both the shot put and discus. Tomisaac Johnson led another 1-2 finish for Rock Bridge in the pole vault, clearing 13-9.

Catholic (Baton Rouge) LA 79.5, Century ND 75.5

In the best matchup of the entire second round, the Louisiana state champions withstood a serious challenge from Century. The competition on the track was incredibly close, but the exception was the relays. Catholic won four contested relays for a 20-0 advantage that ultimately proved too much to overcome for the Patriots. Catholic was vulnerable in the 4x100, but edged the North Dakotans 42.64 to 42.70. Catholic’s standouts, Winston DeCuir and Louis Rudge, both made major impacts to help the Bears reach the regional semifinals. DeCuir won the 400 in 47.40 and the 800 in 1:52.42. Rudge won the 300 hurdles in 37.38 seconds after losing to Brooks Turner in the 110 hurdles. In a high-quality shot put, Jacob Burckhard (57-6.50) and Evan Schmit (54-7.50) both surpassed Catholic’s Joshua Johnson (54-1). Century swept the discus. Catholic struck back in the javelin, where Paul Catalanatto Jr. finally got to show what he can do: 201-9. Teammate William Howard threw 183-1 to give Catholic an 8-1 edge. In a dramatic long jump, Ryan Brynjolfson beat Catholic freshman Isaiah Stokes by a half inch, 22-11.50 to 22-11.

EAST REGIONAL

Hoover AL 105, Christian Brothers Academy NJ 45

Hoover breezed into the regional semifinals by steamrolling the New Jersey Non-Public A Group champion by 60 points. Can the Bucs make it to the national finals for a record fourth time? Once again, Hoover’s ability to perform at a high level across every event group proved too much for one of the best programs in the country. Start with Jay Avery, a combination jumper who got over the high jump bar at 6-10.25 this spring and also long jumps 23-11 and triple jumps 47-11. Pole vaulters Collin Pate (16-5) and Connor White (15-5), javelin thrower George Mann (198-8) and shot-discus thrower Bradley Shaw (55-4.50/153-5) make the Bucs dangerous in the field events. And against CBA, the field-event advantage was 48-15. The Colts’ distance group of Nicholas Sullivan, Conor Clifford, Joe Barrett and Alex Kemp hit Hoover by rolling up an 18-0 sweep in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Beyond that, CBA’s Matt Herman won the intermediate hurdles race, and the Colts won the 4x800 relay. Hoover held a 27-0 advantage in the 100, 200 and 400, cruising into the next round.

Niceville FL 82, St. John’s Jesuit OH 44

The Florida 4A champions demonstrated the kind of top-to-bottom depth that it takes to advance in the tournament. The Eagles scored in every event and ran up 9-0 sweeps in four events: the 800 meters, 1,600, 3,200 and high jump. Take away those four events, and this is a very tight matchup. Sophomore sprinter Caleb Kelly won the 100 (10.58) and 200 meters (21.08) for the Ohio Division 1 champions and Joseph Taylor (47.89) won the 400. The lack of firepower in the distance events tipped the scales to Niceville. Dawson Isbell won the 800 and 1,600, with teammate Gehrig Gesch right behind him. And William Jetton took the 3,200 meters, again with Gesch second. Van Carter won the pole vault (15-3) and 110-meter hurdles and also finished second in the long jump. Joseph Hanson of Niceville won a shot put matchup with A.J. Schuller, 56-7.50 to 54-3. In a high quality 4x400 relay, St. John’s Jesuit ran 3:13.94 to defeat Niceville (3:16.53). The Eagles will give Florida a regional semifinalist for the second year in a row.

Brownsburg IN 93, Cuthbertson NC 39

The Indiana state champions proved themselves to be a true contender in this year’s tournament with a dominant victory over the North Carolina 4A champions. Brownsburg either won or finished second in every event of its second-round matchup. Only in the 400 meters, where Reece Morgan (47.66) and Killian Fahy (47.81) went 1-2, did Cuthbertson do any real damage. Brownsburg got a sweep in the 3,200 meters, where Sherjeel Khan (9:13.63), Ian Baker (9:27.67) and Ean Packard (9:40.12) led the charge. The Bulldogs also swept in the shot put, where the three-headed monster of Bryce Patterson, Isaiah Smith and Drew Crockett all threw past 57 feet; and the high jump, where Scotty Tienda (6-8), Justin Petty (6-6) and Kaleb Westfall (6-2) went to work. The sprint races were exceptional, with Morgan running 10.33 to win the 100 over Dominic Calhoun (10.46), and also 20.92 in the 200 to beat Calhoun’s 21.30. Brownsburg’s ability to cover all bases, reminiscent of 2021 national champion Carmel High from Indiana, has the Bulldogs moving on.

Patriot VA 76.66, St. Xavier KY 64.33

The final second-round matchup offered a stark contrast. The Virginia 6A champions were stronger on the track, to the tune of a 58-29 margin. The Kentucky 3A champions dominated the field events, 35.33 to 18.66. Patriot will advance to the regional semifinals with a team that contains a few holes, but also has a lot of talent. Shadrach Nvodjo (10.76/21.52) won the 100 and 200 meters against St. Xavier and freshman Henry Birge won the 800 with 1:55.16. No event was more responsible for Patriot’s victory than the 3,200 meters, where Patrick Lowry (9:18.56) led a 1-2-3 sweep. St. Xavier tagged Patriot in the throwing events, where Ashton Jones (54-1.50/157-8) and Tyler Neal (50-5/144-5) were part of sweeps for the Pioneers. The decimals came out of the pole vault, where John Phelps of St. Xavier was the clear winner at 15-2, and then there was a three-way tie for second at 12-6. James Burnett won the long jump for St. Xavier, soaring 22-10.50 to beat Nvodjo (22-1). Christian Coleman of St. Xavier (14.29, 110 hurdles) and Wathen Montgomery of Patriot (38.62, 300 hurdles) traded wins.