'Get your point' mantra brings Crawfordsville girls track sectional repeat

LAFAYETTE — Twenty-nine years passed between Crawfordsville's first girls track and field sectional title and its second.

The Athenians weren't waiting that long for the third.

It took just 363 days.

Behind a "get your point" mantra, Crawfordsville repeated on Tuesday, May 19, at Lafayette Jeff, winning just two individual events in the process.

"Coach really values the people that can get that one extra point because it's so big in these competitions," said senior Caroline Mevelage, who upped her eighth-place performance in the 400 a year ago by clipping a runner at the line for second place.

Crawfordsville already saw the evidence two weeks ago, edging rival North Montgomery to win the Montgomery County meet by a point and a half. Through 12 events in Tuesday's sectional, a half point separated Crawfordsville, North Montgomery and McCutcheon in the team standings.

Every point matters, but in this instance, Crawfordsville coach Amanda Elizondo needed max points — and was banking on sophomore Alea Seward and senior Bea Swick to deliver them.

The duo delivered a 1-2 finish in the 200-meter dash, with Seward claiming the first individual sectional title for the Athenians.

"They both have a lot of confidence, and they went out there and competed," Elizondo said. "They knew the assignment and they got the job done."

For good measure, Seward anchored Crawfordsville's unbeaten 1,600 relay team. Seward, Melevage, Ally Johnson and Maesa Horton won the night's final event by nearly seven seconds, providing a 19-point gap between the Athenians and runner-up McCutcheon.

"We always just want to be there to help each other and get your point, every last person, even if its eighth place," Seward said. "We talk about it every day at practice. You strive hard to get your point. Even eighth place. One point can get you anywhere."

Elizondo and the Crawfordsville staff might be onto something with these trendy mottos. Now her squad is combining two mottos into one.

Last year, the Athenians ended a nearly three-decade sectional drought with "big bus mentality," meaning Crawfordsville hoped to travel to regional on a full-sized bus full of qualifiers.

On Tuesday, Crawfordsville got its points, or at least enough of them, and will indeed need a big bus to return to Lafayette Jeff on May 26.

All three relays and eight individuals placed in the top three on Tuesday to qualify.

"We talked all week about confidence and instilling the thought in their head that they can do this again," Elizondo said. "I think at the beginning of the year, maybe it was a little bit of a pipe dream that we could win sectional again, but they came out and got the job done."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.

Lafayette Jeff Sectional

Team standings: Crawfordsville 138, McCutcheon 119, North Montgomery 116.5, Lafayette Jeff 78, Seeger 46, North Vermillion 33, Central Catholic 27, Clinton Central 27, Attica 14, Frankfort 13, Fountain Central 4.5, Covington 2

Regional qualifiers

3,200 relay - 1. Lafayette Jeff (Noemi Munoz, Haley Blackburn, Abigail Wang, Hana Perez) 10:12.04; 2. McCutcheon (Camille Gaddis, Kenzie Williams, Addalynn Holle, Nami Inoue) 10:17,67; 3. Crawfordsville (Katherine Novak, Caroline Novak, Maesa Horton, Caroline Melevage) 10:32.39

Long jump - 1. Miriam Gilbert (McCutcheon) 16-0 3/4; 2. Sydney Elizondo (Crawfordsville) 16-0 3/4; 3. Kenzie Goff (Attica) 15-5

Discus - 1. Dylan Bryan (McCutcheon) 108-2; 2. Alayna Schroeter (Crawfordsville) 100-8; 3. Malia Pineda (McCutcheon) 97-8

Pole vault - 1. Elizabeth Curl (McCutcheon) 9-0, 2. Paige Yarger (North Montgomery) 8-0, 3. Ava Leader (North Montgomery) 8-0

High jump - 1. Olivia Heath (Central Catholic) 5-2, 2. Sydney Elizondo (Crawfordsville) 4-10, 3. Olivia Jett (Crawfordsville) 4-10

Shot put - 1. Alyssa Mantesta (North Montgomery) 34-4 1/2; 2. Abigail Cain (North Montgomery) 34-3 1/2; 3. Dylan Bryan (McCutcheon) 33-1

100 - 1. Ella McManomy (North Montgomery) 12.65; 2. Da'Niyah Johnson (Lafayette Jeff) 12.80; 3. Miriam Gilbert (McCutcheon) 13.03

100 hurdles - 1. Gracie Ratcliff (North Montgomery) 16.20; 2. Aubrey Lowe (Crawfordsville) 16.81; 3. Taylor Hudson (North Montgomery) 17.24

200 - 1. Alea Seward (Crawfordsville) 26.22; 2. Bea Swick (Crawfordsville) 26.96; 3. Miriam Gilbert (McCutcheon) 27.13

1,600 - 1. Maria French (Seeger) 5:31.71; 2. Noemi Munoz (Lafayette Jeff) 5:41.71; 3. Katherine Novak (Crawfordsville) 5:44.68

400 relay - 1. Lafayette Jeff (Keymani Jordan, Ariyonna Jones, Marriona Wise, Da'Niyah Johnson) 49.90; 2. Crawfordsville (Oliva Abney, Ally Strickland, Bea Swick, Alea Seward) 50.36; 3. McCutcheon (Presley Lawson, Peola Brock, Alexis Snodgrass, Miriam Gilbert) 51.26

400 - 1. Madison Cearlock (Clinton Central) 1:00.46; 2. Caroline Melevage (Crawfordsville) 1:02.79; 3. Sarah Switzer (Central Catholic) 1:02.94

300 hurdles - 1. Caleigh Purcell (Seeger) 47.18; 2. Gracie Ratcliff (North Montgomery) 48.81; 3. Sanyia Shinholster (McCutcheon) 50.11

800 - 1. Nami Inoue (McCutcheon) 2:23.93; 2. Riley Smith (North Vermillion) 2:30.42; 3. Maria French (Seeger) 2:32.18

3,200 - 1. Haley Blackburn (Lafayette Jeff) 12:10.72; 2. Katherine Novak (Crawfordsville) 12:28.12; 3. Katelyn Woolwine (North Montgomery) 12:46.09

1,600 relay - 1. Crawfordsville (Caroline Melevage, Ally Johnson, Maesa Horton, Alea Seward) 4:13.86; 2. North Montgomery (Mady Holt, Gracie Ratcliff, Makayla Holt, Ella McManomy) 4:20.43; 3. McCutcheon (Hadleigh Crockett, Sarah Hall, Sanyia Shinholster, Nami Inoue) 4:22.32)

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Crawfordsville girls track and field wins sectional