Princeton’s Ian Morris, BV’s Landon Hulsing win discus state titles

CHARLESTON – Princeton senior Ian Morris left the past two IHSA boys track and field state meets unhappy.

Not Saturday.

Morris launched a personal record toss of 53.58 meters in the discus and ended his career atop the podium as the Class 2A state champion.

“It’s means a lot to me,” Morris said. “I’ve been down to state the past two years and I’ve come back disappointed in my performance. This year was different and the past two experiences have made this moment much sweeter.”

Morris’ state-winning throw came on his second attempt of the finals.

“The throw felt good, and it felt so good to hear them announce my mark after I threw,” Morris said. “I’m glad my hard work paid off.”

Morris placed just ahead of teammate Landen Hoffman. The freshman threw a 52.39 on his first attempt in preliminaries and it held up for a silver medal.

“I’m so excited to see Landen progress,” Morris said. “He is going to be one of the best throwers that Princeton has ever seen. I felt a little bad taking first from him, but I just reminded him that he will be the champion for the next three years, so I had to take this one from him.”

Morris credited Princeton’s coaching staff for the Tigers’ strong performance.

“My performance is really a testament to our coaches,” Morris said. “(Assistant) Coach (Curtis) Odell knows exactly how to work with us and is very knowledgeable. He has been a fantastic guy to have in my corner the past four years. Our practice environment is awesome and it has allowed all of our throwers to be great. I surprised myself today for sure. I knew I had it in me, and both Coach Odell and (head) Coach (Dave) Moore both knew it too. (Former head) Coach (Dan) Foes has also played a huge role in my throwing career as well. He even gave me the shoes that I have been throwing in for four years. They kept reminding me that I can do it and that was very encouraging.”

Morris wasn’t the area’s only discus state champion Saturday.

Bureau Valley senior Landon Hulsing claimed the 1A crown with a PR of 57.19 meters, which came on his first attempt in the finals.

“I was really nervous,” Hulsing said. “It’s unreal. My other personal was like six meters less. It was huge. I was super excited. When I threw it, I thought it was a decent throw. I didn’t even hear the mark because my family was freaking out. I got seventh last year, so I’m so happy. It’s unreal. I didn’t expect this but thrilled to win state.”

La Salle-Peru senior Richie Santiago also brought home hardware in the 2A discus with a fifth-place throw of 50.09 meters, which was his PR.

“It feels amazing,” Santiago said. “I’ve been waiting on that PR all season. I knew I could do it. It was just a matter of when.

“(The PR took) a lot of mental preparation. (Assistant coach Jose) Medina was a key part in that process. He helped me get through that mental barrier and truly believed in what I was capable of.”

Along with the two discus medals, Princeton senior Cade Odell moved up from eighth place to fourth place on his final throw in the shot put with season best 16.06.

“I am so excited for Ian,” Princeton assistant Curtis Odell said. “This is such an amazing way to end a very successful throwing career. It was such a privilege to coach Ian and Cade for four years. They’ve been so consistent and have put in the work to get better. They both have been great models to the young guys of the effort and patience it takes to be successful in shot put and discus.”

Putnam County junior Alex Rodriguez added to the area’s throwing dominance as he collected two medals in 1A.

Rodriguez placed seventh in the discus at 49.75 meters and ninth in the shot put at 15.81, which were both PRs.

“It felt pretty great to medal in two events,” Rodriguez said. “Honestly, my goal coming into the meet was to try and medal for discus only. But I surprised myself by throwing a monster PR in prelims (in the shot put). That throw got me into the finals and the ninth-place medal, which both were not planned on. If you told me I was going to medal in shot put going into it, I might’ve just laughed, but I came out and threw to the best of my abilities to get two medals.”

On the track, St. Bede senior Greyson Marincic finished his prep career by taking second in the 1A 110-meter hurdles with a PR of 14.79 seconds.

“I think I just wanted to end my senior season with a bang,” Marincic said. “The wind was definitely helping a bit.”

Marincic lowered his PR at the conference meet and again at the sectional, in the state prelims and the finals.

“It’s funny, he’d been in the 15s most of the year,” St. Bede coach Marty Makransky said. “As each race got more important, (his times) kept creeping down. ... It seemed as though he just got more aggressive and better every race.”

Fieldcrest junior Michael Beckett earned a medal with a ninth-place finish in the triple jump (13.05m), while Bureau Valley senior Justin Moon leapt a PR 12.93 meters but finished off the podium in 11th.

In the 3,200, Fieldcrest senior Caleb Krischel placed 17th in 10:15.76 and Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio sophomore Henry Nichols was 31st in 10:38.55.