Boys track and field: Two Princeton throwers, BV’s Elijah House medal at state

A pair of Princeton throwers earned state medals Saturday at the IHSA State Track and Field Meet on Saturday in Charleston.

Junior Payne Miller recorded a throw of 16.47 meters in the Class 2A shot put to place fifth. Teammate Cade Odell competed in the finals but didn’t medal, finishing 12 with a personal record throw of 14.88 meters.

“We’d all really kind of worried about making it to the second day,” Miller said. “We’d brought four throwers here and we were all doing really well, we were all really happy and we were just worried about making it to the second day. I feel like I allowed that pressure to eat away a little too much [in prelims], so I got here today and just kind of settled down and realized I’ve got one chance, and this is it, so there’s nothing left to worry about.”

Miller’s 16.47-meter toss came on his second attempt Saturday, which helped him move up from ninth after the preliminaries.

“I’ve heard that it’s a little difficult, especially in big meets like this, to move up,” Miller said. “You get into that position [in prelims] and you’re kind of stuck there. But I didn’t worry about that, I just went out there and competed. It wasn’t exactly the best throw – I know I have a lot further in me – but it was a throw that I was happy with, and I’m proud to be in the position that I am.”

In the discus, junior Bennett Williams placed sixth with a toss of 48.89 meters.

“I was hoping to throw a little better, but had a rough meet, especially during the finals,” Williams said. “I had a couple good throws, but just couldn’t stay in the ring. I’m excited to get back at it and work through it in the summer, try to fix some of those things and get ready for next year.

“Obviously, it helps cushion the blow that I’m here and I medaled. A lot of guys would’ve liked to do that. But at the same time, it also shows there’s five more spots for me to improve, five more spots for me to get to first, and that’s where I’ve got to work to get. But overall, I’m happy I can place and get a medal. Bringing home two medals and having three people in the finals from our school, it’s a big deal.

In Class 1A, Bureau Valley senior Elijah House capped his high school career by placing eighth in the 800 meters in 1:57.92.

“I definitely was hoping to do a little better. The race didn’t go how I planned, but it never really does,” House said. “The plan was to get in about second or third, hang on until the last 200, and then kick on them. I ended up being probably ninth – it was kind of hard to tell, we were bunched up. It was hard to tell how the race was going to go since right off the bat, we had a kid hit the rail and fall. On the 300, I stepped weird – I don’t know if I got hit or someone came in – I stepped off to the side and I landed on my leg wrong. Eighth place is eighth place, though, and I just wanted to medal and have a good race.

“The 800 meters is a guts race, so love it or hate it, it means a lot to win a medal.”