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The boys state championship crown came down to the last race of the evening, with the North Central Panthers finishing third and right behind second-place Pike in the 1600 meter relay which was just enough to earn a one-point advantage in the final team standings.

North Central finished .72 of a second behind Pike in the event picking up just enough points for a 42-41 victory on Friday night. It was North Central's fourth state title in the sport and first since 1992. The one-point margin was also the closest finish between the top two teams since Gary West Side and Fort Wayne Snider tied for the 1974 crown. Taylor Marshall is the North Central coach.

The championship chase began early on with senior Ethan Alyea earning state champion honors in the discus with a throw of 183-11. Alyea also placed fourth in the shot put giving North Central an early edge in the team standings. From there, it took the complete team to take home the title. Seniors Oneel Occenat and Jon Deem-Loureiro alongside juniors Howard Hendricks and Alex Frey placed second in the 4x800 relay. Rodney Burns, Emanuell Rome, Arman Greene, and Damian Clay placed sixth in the 4x100 relay. Damien Clay also placed seventh in the 400 meter dash. Finally, Alex Clay, in the 3200 meter run, finished sixth all earning the Panthers valuable points on the podium.

An impressive 13 different schools were represented as state champions at this year’s state finals. Senior Cole Hocker of Indianapolis Cathedral wrapped up an impressive career after taking the title in both the 1600 meter run and the 800 meter run. Hocker previously won the state title in the cross county meet last fall. Malachi Quarles, senior from Franklin Central, took home the state championship in both hurdle events by winning both the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdle races. Quarles also received the Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award at the end of the evening.

116th Annual IHSAA Boys Track & Field State Finals
Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex, Bloomington
May 31, 2019

Top 10 Teams
1.    North Central: 42
2.    Pike: 41
3.    Warren Central: 27
T4.  Indianapolis Cathedral: 26
T4.  Brownsburg: 26
T4.  Hamilton Southeastern: 26
7.    Portage: 25
8.    Fishers: 23
9.    Franklin Central: 20
10.  Bloomington South: 19

State Champions
3200 Relay: Fishers (Ethan Meyer 12; Hunter Christy 12; Drew Smith 11; Jaylen Castillo 10), 7:47.16
100 Meters: Jordan Hodge, 12, Warren Central, 10.60
110 Hurdles: Malachi Quarles, 12, Franklin Central, 13.91
200 Meters: Noah Malone, 11, Hamilton Southeastern, 21.31
1600 Meters: Cole Hocker, 12, Indianapolis Cathedral, 4:07.00
400 Relay: Warren Central (Elijah Price 11; Roman Purcell 11; Jordan Hodge 12; Tylan Shannon 12), 41.40
400 Meters: Jahn Riley, 11, Pike, 47.53
300 Hurdles: Malachi Quarles, 12, Franklin Central, 38.10
800 Meters: Cole Hocker, 12, Indianapolis Cathedral, 1:51.48
3200 Meters: Jesse Hamlin, 12, Fort Wayne Snider, 9:04.69
1600 Relay: Fort Wayne South Side (Preshawn Boyd 11; Kaiden Long 11; Deamond Talton 12, Omar Jackson 12), 3:17.19
Discus: Ethan Alyea, 12, North Central, 183-11
Shot Put: Jason Swarens, 11, Terre Haute South, 60-02.50
Long Jump: Pierce Thomas, 10, Brownsburg, 23-11.50
High Jump: Logan Benson, 12, Western Boone, 6-09.00
Pole Vault: Nathan Stone, 12, Lawrence North, 16-06.00

Malachi Quarles of Franklin Central High School Wins Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award
Members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Malachi Quarles of Franklin Central High School as the winner of this year’s Robert S. Hinshaw Mental Attitude Award in Boys Track and Field.

The 2019 state champion in both the 110 meter and the 300 meter hurdles, the senior led Franklin Central to a great showing at this year’s State Finals. Quarles also took home the conference, sectional and regional titles in these events this year as well, while also setting the regional record in the 110 meter hurdles this postseason.

Outside of athletics, Malachi served as class president this year while also working as president of both the Speech Team and the Black Student Union. Quarles received the Cougil Award for the Outstanding Senior Athlete at Franklin Central, the BlakeStrong Scholarship, the FC English Department Award for Public Speaking, and the William Clarke Award for Social Studies.

The son of Ricky and Nancy Quarles of Indianapolis, Malachi will attend Georgetown University next fall to study Government and African-American Studies.

The IHSAA Executive Committee, on behalf of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Franklin Central High School in the name of Malachi Quarles.