GUISE GOES UNDER 9:26 TO BREAK SCHOOL RECORD AND WIN REGIONAL

MARION— Records are made to be broken, but the Bellmont boys’ 3200-meter run record had held on for 22 years before Deion Guise shattered it Thursday at the Marion Track and Field Regional at Indiana Wesleyan University with a time of 9:25.95.

His time cut over six seconds from Kyle Heimann’s 1998 mark of 9:32.

Guise also earned a regional title in the process, taking the lead late in the second lap of the race and dominating the field to beat runnerup Drew Sillaway of East Noble by over seven seconds.

“That was not in the plan at all,” Guise said of his assertive move at the 700-meter mark. “I was planning on staying with the pack, but when we came through the first lap in around 68 to 70, I felt really good and decided to just take it and build as much of a gap as I could.”

He stretched the lead to as much as 60 meters late in the race before Sillaman closed the gap slightly in the last 400 meters.

Guise was surprised to find himself alone so early. “There were some fast guys in the race,” he said. “I thought someone would go with me, but no one did.”

It didn’t take long for him to realize he had a shot at the record. “I felt confident at the 800 mark that I could get it,” he said. “I felt good and knew I could handle the pace.” The time was 20 seconds better than his season best and 11 seconds faster than his career best, a 9:37 in last year’s state meet.

Four other Adams County athletes scored in the meet. Hunter Kongar of South Adams placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in 40.25. Adams Central’s Trenton Hoffman took fifth in the discus with a toss of 152-5, and teammate Corbin Hirschy nabbed sixth in the shot put with a 49-5 effort. Bellmont senior Jamison Rumple, in his first year of throwing, placed eighth in the shot put at 47-11.5.

Junior Ian Webb of Bellmont placed tenth in the 1600 meters, beating his seeding by four places and slicing four seconds from his career best with a 4:37.53. “My whole season built up to this,” Webb said. “I was ready to go. I felt zoned in at the end of my warmup, ready to go as soon as I hit the starting line.”

Carroll easily won the team competition with 99 points to the 61.5 of runner-up Churubusco.