FORTVILLE — One one-hundredth of a second was all that separated Parker Jones from his second win at the Mt. Vernon track sectional Thursday, May 18.
The next time he took to the track, he was determined to prevent a repeat.
After a runner-up finish in the 1,600-meter run, Jones broke away from a tight group and posted a convincing win in the 800 as the senior qualified four times for regional, leading a large contingent of Arabians to North Central High School this week.
Pendleton Heights placed third in the team scores, behind Lawrence North and Anderson.
Jones opened the night running the anchor leg of the 4×800 relay team — along with Milan Jones, Wren Parker and Luke Upton — that cruised to a championship, outdistancing the Lawrence North team by just under six seconds.
The senior appeared to be on his way to a second win when he heard footsteps as he approached the finish line of the 1,600.
“I thought it was my teammate, Luke Upton, coming up on me,” Parker said.
Instead, it was Kyle Harris of Lawrence North with Upton just a second and a half behind Jones. Harris nosed ahead at the finish line, edging the Arabian senior by .01 seconds.
Pendleton Heights coach Ryan Potter said Jones would not have been bothered by losing out to Upton but had no time to react as Harris pushed ahead.
“The two of them have been racing like that for a while,” Potter said of Jones and Upton. “At this point, you don’t race time as much as you race bodies. He would have been fine losing to his teammate, it doesn’t matter. When he saw Kyle, he tried to surge, but you don’t have enough time in the last three meters.”
In the 800, Jones was running with a group of four, including Harris, but quickly pulled away to a 40-meter lead as he headed down the backstretch.
“That (being edged in the 1,600) made me a little mad,” Jones said. “It added a little fire to me. And we went out so slow, and I have a better kick at the end.”
Jones finished the 800 in 1:58.64, almost three seconds in front with Harris coming home in third.
Although the victories by Jones were the only wins on the night for the Arabians, there were plenty of top-three finishes to automatically advance and others who will receive call-backs to run at regional.
Upton came the closest, losing out to Michael Taylor of APA in the 3,200 by just over a second.
“He ran that exactly how we planned,” Potter said. “Looking at the times, I knew Luke was going to win it or be right with him. He tangled with Taylor, who had fresh legs and ran a good race. I think Luke is in such a good position now going into regional.”
Sophomore Eli Pancol, in his first year running track, had a big night for Pendleton Heights, qualifying third in both the high jump and the long jump and was on the 4X400 meter relay team — along with Thomas Quiroga, Seth Leicht and Parker Jones — that placed fourth but will advance.
“For a kid who is still trying to figure out the sport, so young and so green, and still doing this,” Potter said.
Others to advance include Dawson Farrer in the discus throw, Payton Huth in the pole vault, and Brody Hogan in the 300 hurdles.
Nate Spencer in the high jump, Milan Jones in the 400 and Ethan Schitter in the pole vault are among those waiting for final statewide results to see if they will advance.