By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – With an actual first name of Stone, verified by his birth certificate and graduation diploma, Bedford North Lawrence’s star thrower was destined to chuck around a rock.
Tripp Stahl, a double sectional champion and state qualifier, will seek to solidify his place among the program greats when he joins teammates Luke Morris and Paige Voigtschild in the IHSAA state track championships in Indianapolis. One of the walls inside BNL Fieldhouse is dedicated to pictures of All-State honorees. Stahl spent four years walking past that collage, dreaming of earning his place among those legends.
Stahl, already on his way to the University of Indianapolis, is just a stone’s throw from that goal.
On Saturday afternoon, Stahl will compete in the shot put and discus events in the boys state finals, while Morris will chase the school record when he takes off in the 300 meter low hurdles. On Friday, Voigstchild will seek to make the most of her wild-card entry into the 800 race during the girls meet.
The top nine (from the state field of 30) earn All-State status and a place on the finals podium. Stahl is definitely a contender for a medal, seeded 10th in the shot out after a mammoth throw of 56-10.75 during the regional. That also put him within striking distance of the school record held by Jeremiah Zollman (59-10.75, set when he finished second in the 2010 state meet). That’s quite a distance to hurl a 12-pound chunk of rock.
”The goal is absolutely getting on the podium,” Stahl said. “That would be awesome, getting All-State honors and getting a plaque on the wall.
“It’s really the preparation, dialing in the technique, which I’ve been working on for months. Now it’s hitting the fine details and making something big happen. I’m expecting a lot of pressure, but I’ve always thrived with pressure. Hopefully it will be good for me.“
Stahl came through under fire in the regional. Going into the final round of six throws, he was in second place until two competitors passed him, putting him in serious jeopardy of missing the state finals (with the top three advancing). He launched his best throw in that last attempt to reclaim second place. It’s also the only time he’s been bested in a meet this season.
”That was a big throw,” Stahl said. “I was sitting in second place, got moved down to fourth, and worked back into second with a pretty solid toss. I think I would have had more PRs with competition like that. That was the biggest meet of my life.”
Stahl is also seeded 22nd in the discus at 159-6. He will not conserve energy to focus on one event over the other.
“I’m going to go for it, see what I can do,” he said. “I can do something big. If I get it, I get it.”
Morris is seeded 28th in the hurdles after clocking 40.50 in the regional. His focus is on Zane Thompson’s school record of 39.27, set in the state finals in 2022 when Thompson finished sixth.
“I really want to set that record,” said Morris, who will play football for Roosevelt University. “That’s been a goal since last year, since I knew I could compete like that. It’s my last race, so I will give it my all.
“I get in my own head a lot before a race. If I just get out of my head, I will be good. Whatever happens, happens. There’s nothing to lose.”
”I really think Tripp has a legitimate shot to get on the podium,” BNL coach Brett Deckard said. “And I know Luke wants to get under 40 seconds. That would put him right on the record.”
Voigtschild went through her entire range of emotions in only 24 hours. She finished fourth, by only .40 seconds during a fast-paced race, in the regional. That’s the worst of finishes, to be so close yet so far from the automatic state berth.
But she was given new life. Last year, the IHSAA limited the state field to 27 entrants in each event. With eight regionals feeding into the finals, that left only three wild-card spots (with the fastest times from non-qualifiers in the regionals). This year, the state field was expanded to 30. Voigtschild earned one of the six spots, and she’s seeded 16th with her time of 2:15.59 (a school record).
“As soon as I finished (in the regional), I was upset because I knew I didn’t get the automatic spot,” Voigtschild said. “But that night I knew there was a chance. I didn’t want to leave it until the last possible chance during my senior year. I wanted to do it this year, to have the experience for next year.“
After a season of running multiple events (up to four) during most of the meets, Voigtschild will be able to concentrate on only one. That seems like a walk in the park.
“My legs feel fresh, which is such a good feeling,” she said. “I can focus on one race, and see the best time I can do. I want to see how high I can place. You never know how people will run at state.”
Both meets will be conducted at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
