Brownsburg 4×100 Lowers Indiana All-Time 4×100 Best To 40.70
Story and Photos by David Woods for DyeStat
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – You know the joke about you had one job? Sometimes that is seriously the best way to do it.
Excluding a few April races, senior Caleb Heldman had one job for Brownsburg: run in the 4×100-meter relay. Same four sprinters, same order, same thing. Of course, it helps that Brownsburg has five sprinters who had met the state qualifying standard of 10.99 seconds.
A time of 40.70 in the 4×100 relay highlighted the quantity of quality by Brownsburg in capturing its first Indiana state championship in boys track and field. An estimated crowd of 3,600 Friday night packed the stands at Indiana University.
The Bulldogs scored 55 points to hold off Carmel, whose late surge netted 50 points. Defending state champion Plainfield was third with 48. Bloomington North – the only top 10 team outside the Indianapolis area – tied Fishers for fourth with 31.
The 119th edition of the meet featured three records, a 1:50.24 relay carry by freshman half-miler Caleb Winders, and victories by three national stars in the field: shot putter Luke Himes, pole vaulter Cody Johnston and high jumper Bode Gilkerson. Kole Mathison could not pull off a daunting triple, but he repeated in the 3,200 meters (in 8:53.18) in the final chapter of one of the greatest careers by a distance runner in this state.
Back to Brownsburg, whose championship was especially meaningful to coach Casey Popenfoose. And not because Brownsburg had finished second in 2021 and 2022.
Popenfoose’s father, Joel Popenfoose, a coach and pastor, died March 16. He was 64. Popenfoose grew up in Hinckley, Ill.
“Even though I played football and the reason I came to Brownsburg is for football, I love track because of my dad,” said Popenfoose, a defensive coordinator in football. “He would have been here, and he would have really enjoyed this.”
It has been a long climb for Brownsburg, which was last in its conference in Popenfoose’s first season. He remembers taking a 4×100 relay team to the state meet, and soon going home. These Bulldogs qualified for state in 14 of 16 events and scored in 10. They should be contenders in DyeStat’s annual dual meet tournament, won by Carmel in 2021.
Brownsburg could not have won without two points here, two points there. Or 10 points in the 200 meters from junior Dominic Calhoun, who was the last qualifier out of prelims and first in…
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