Prep T&F: Bulldogs put in best effort at Class 2A State Finals

It was a runner-up finish and a season-best performance for the Harrisburg High School boys' track and field team at the IHSA Class 2A State Tournament over the weekend in Charleston on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

Kane Carrigan took second place in the discuss with a throw of 165-feet-6 Saturday to finish second.

Harrisburg head coach Zach Cox said that Carrigan had a goal coming into the tournament, one that didn't include a runner-up finish, but rather the top spot.

"He got close and it was a great accomplishment for him because he's only a junior," Cox said. "I expect him to come back hungry and with a vengeance next year."

A two and a half hour delay Saturday because of storms didn't provide much relief for some of the athletes, including Carrigan.

"He had a throw of about 180-feet in warmups," Cox said. "Two throws into the event, they called for the weather delay and by the time everyone regrouped, it just didn't work out in Kane's favor."

Carrigan's 177-feet throw from Sectionals at Troy-Triad still stands as the best throw in Class 2A this year.

Weather also effected the Harrisburg 4x400 meter relay team, but Cox called that delay a blessing in disguise.

"All of our relay teams were about a second from not making it to the finals," Cox said. "The 4x400 just ran out of their minds Saturday, it was not expected and I couldn't be more proud of them."

The team, consisting of Michael Victoria, Dustin Lane, Cody Rightnowar and Corbin Crim took fourth overall, but turned in a time that was third fastest in school history on record.

"The blessing was that we only had to run one race on Saturday," Cox said. "The 4x100 ran 43.23 on Friday, putting them around 13th place and the 4x200 finished at 1:30.31, which was 11th overall.

"That left just the 4x400 for Saturday, which the guys were pretty fresh for and left it all on the track."

Austin Lowry, who cleared 13-feet-6 to advance to Saturday's finals, didn't place in the high jump Saturday after failing to clear.

Tylor Marler ran a time of 15.3 in the 110 high hurdlers on Friday that failed to qualify him for Saturday's finals.