Whiteland’s local dominance of the shot put and discus events is not gender-specific.
Senior Ryder Emberton is the reigning state champion in the boys shot put, but the Warrior girls have been making plenty of noise with their throws this spring as well.
Junior Micheala Adams and sophomore Reagan Emberton (Ryder’s younger sister) give Whiteland a powerful one-two punch — and on any given day, either can get the Warriors a first-place finish or two.
At the Johnson County meet last month, Emberton took first place in both the shot put (37 feet, 6¼ inches) and discus (112-5), with Adams taking second in the shot (36-6). Yet another Whiteland thrower, senior Rebekah Dorsey, was second in the discus (98-6).
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Two weeks ago, at the Mid-State Conference meet, it was Adams’ turn to lead the way. She was second in the discus (116-3¼) and third in the shot (34-10), while Emberton was close behind in both, placing fourth in the shot (34-9½) and fifth in the discus (104-1½).
The back-and-forth one-upsmanship has helped both to elevate their games.
“We push each other, because we’re so close,” Reagan Emberton said, “so it keeps us going up higher and higher trying to win.”
“Anytime you can have competition at any position, it keeps both people honest,” Whiteland coach Brandon Bangel added. “Because they know they have to come in, they have to work hard, they have to work hard in the weight room, otherwise their teammate’s going to pass them up.”
Both Adams and Emberton will be among the favorites to advance out of today’s Franklin Sectional and on to next week’s regional meet, also at Franklin. Making it to that point is the goal for both girls at this point.
“If we go farther than that, it’s just a plus,” Adams said.
Bangel holds out hope that at least one of his two throwers can move on to the state meet. If not, he’s confident that both have enough room for growth that making it next year is a very reasonable goal.
“If we can do the right things after this year,” he said, “I think next year could be really, really special for both of them.”
The improvements, he says, will need to come in different areas — Emberton, blessed with a ton of raw power, is fine-tuning her technique, while Adams is trying to build some additional strength.
That both could get even better has to be a scary thought for opposing schools — the Warriors are already a force in the throwing events as it is.
“We scored a fourth of our points (at the county meet) in the throws alone, in just two events,” Bangel said. “That goes a long way in a big-time meet like that.”
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A rundown of some of the notable local names to keep an eye out for at today’s Franklin Sectional:
Center Grove: Val Clark (1,600, 3,200); Kylie Falcone (pole vault); Hailey Goines (high jump, long jump, 100 hurdles, 4×100); Kiyah Yeast (100, 200, 4×100, 4×400)
Franklin: Kloie Doublin (long jump, 100, 400, 4×400); Ally Parramore (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles); Emma Treibic (800, 1,600)
Greenwood: Hanna Anderson (100, 200, 400, 4×100); Krista Robinson (800); Olivia Weston (high jump)
Whiteland: Micheala Adams (shot put, discus); Reagan Emberton (shot put, discus); Kerrigan Miller (long jump)
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Franklin Sectional
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Teams competing: Center Grove, Edinburgh, Franklin, Greenwood, Greenwood Christian, Indian Creek, Whiteland, Columbus East, Columbus North, Hauser, Southwestern (Shelbyville), Waldron
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