The Chesterton Track Teams, boys and girls, both sent athletes down to the State Fairgrounds for the Indoor Hoosier State Relay Meet. The Trojans that qualified for the meet throughout the indoor season, by achieving marks above the state indoor standard, performed exceedingly well. The competitors at the meet for the girls team were junior Kenedi Bradley in the 60m dash (7.82s 11th place), the 4x200m team of Bradley, senior Kaylee Dade, freshman Addison Pack, and senior Sydney Morris(1:46.71s 21st), the 4x800m team of senior Veronica Wilgocki, freshman Paige Clancy, freshman Hannah Haring, and freshman Taylor Kisic (10:07.00s 20th), senior Hailey Geiser in High Jump (5-00.00 14th), and senior Kaylee Dade in the long jump (15-10.25 22nd). The boys that traveled south were junior Nathan Vaughan in the 60m dash (7.11s 14th), senior Kieran Barnewall in the 60m hurdles (7.94s 4th), the 4x200m team of junior Cal Wisniewski, senior Aaron Resto, Barnewall, and Vaughan (1:29.46s 5th place and new school record), the 4x400m team (same runners as 4×200, but were disqualified for a lane violation), seniors Alexander Brandon (6-06.00 7th) and Nolan Johnston ( 6-04.00 10th) in high jump, and senior Joseph Sandrick in pole vault (14-06.00 6th).
The girls team has very solid sprinters, as they have had in years prior. The 4x100m team will have a shot at making it to state this season, and it will be compelling to see what the lineup is by Regionals. The girls team was able to set a new 4x200m record last year, and perhaps they will chase down that record this year. Hailey Geiser achieved a mark of 5ft 0” at indoor state, and her season will be especially riveting to watch. Last year in the outdoor season, she unfortunately missed state for high jump, her main event. However, she surprisingly made it in the long jump. Bradley is returning after another strong basketball season. She had a great 100m race last year at state, and hopefully can surpass that success this year. She personally says she wants to make it back to state and is looking at several spots on the Chesterton record board. The 4x800m team has many new faces, but won’t let that get in their way. Already the team has made big strides in the right direction.
“We were seeded last (27th) so we didn’t think we would make it, but some teams dropped out and we ended up getting 20th,” Wilgocki said.
Wilgocki set a personal goal to achieve a sub 2:20 time in the 800m and her coach believes she can achieve a sub 5:20 clocking in the 1600m. Valparaiso has been a very tough rival for the Trojans, but perhaps with the new additions of the freshman class and other appearances the Trojans can defeat their southern rival.
“I feel like we will be able to run with Valpo. There are freshmen who have come in, and we have (senior) Liz St. Marie back from her ACL injury, and she is a very good thrower” Bradley said
The boys team has a very solid lineup in the field events. Senior Owen Edlen threw the shot put last year in the rain at state (and somehow managed to get a new personal record). Edlen has a knack for getting new PRs near the end of the season. Edlen will also throw discus along with fellow senior Ryan Gray. Brandon and Johnston could be a Chesterton duo at state, if they both have a good day at the Valpo Regional. Last year, Brandon had a great day at the Regional, hitting a new PR, but didn’t execute the same at state. He was finally able to break his personal best during indoor, clearing six feet eight inches in the Portage indoor track, so he is already gearing up for a run at the Chesterton record (two inches higher). In long jump, Vaughan and junior Louis Raffin both have a chance of going down the state runway. Vaughan has the best chance, but Raffin could see big improvement. Raffin, who would scratch habitually in earlier seasons, has not scratched yet in 2025. In the last field event, Sandrick will vie for a spot in the meet which eluded him last year. Sandrick was hampered by a lower body injury and only vaulted once at regionals. Although he still battles with hip problems, he will hopefully be primed for the postseason. He is clearly getting back into the swing of things quite well since he achieved a jump of 14 feet 6 inches at indoor state.
In the running events, Barnewell looks to break the school records in the 110m and 300m hurdles, set by himself last year. He placed third at state in the 110m H and is looking at potentially placing even higher this year. Hopefully he will also place in the 300m H as well, unlike last year where he didn’t crack the top ten. Vaughan competes in shorter sprints as well, so there are many possibilities for his state run. The 4x400m relay has high expectations. All four runners from last year are returning (Raffin, Wisniewski, Vaughan, and Resto). Wisniewski says that they are looking at the CHS record this year, although they would need steady improvement throughout the season to achieve that. Challenging for sure, but definitely not out of the question for such a versatile and quick group.
