Chesterton wins boys track and field regional as high jumper Nolan Johnston and hurdler Kieran Barnewall win titles and break their own school records and 4x400 relay wins

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Yet again blending star power and depth, the Chesterton boys track and field team added a regional title to its growing trophy case Thursday night at Valparaiso and qualified 10 different athletes for the state meet.
Chesterton won the meet with 109.33 points, edging Merrillville (101). DAC schools filled the top seven spots: 3. LaPorte 77.5, 4. Lake Central 33.5, 5. Valparaiso 33.33, 6. Portage 33, 7. Crown Point 32.
The Trojans won their fifth regional title and first since 2016-17 by scoring points in 15 of the 16 events, all but the 3200 meters.
It’s been an amazing season for the Trojans, who set the table for it with a strong culture in 2024.
“Last year, I feel like we always held each other accountable,” junior quarter miler Louis Raffin said. “Even the best guys on the team last year, we wouldn’t let them get away with stuff. We always held each other accountable, especially during the workouts. We’d always push each other, so I think that’s when I knew we really were a team.”
The Trojans won regional titles in two individual events and one relay, and two school records fell on the night they won their third postseason meet in three tries, following the DAC championship at Lake Central and the sectional meet at Portage.
First-year senior high jumper Nolan Johnston broke his own school record when he cleared 6-11, beating by three-quarters of an inch the record he set at the Garry Nallenweg Chesterton relays. His second try at 7 feet was close, but he nicked the bar. Fellow senior AJ Brandon, a second-year high jumper, took second, clearing 6-4.
Hurdler extraordinaire Kieran Barnewall won the regional title in the 110 hurdles with a 14.00, just .01 off the school record he set this season, the record he first broke last season. He took second in the 300 hurdles, running a 38.75 to break the school record he set last season (38.78).
The 4x400 relay runners, Aaron Resto, Cal Wisniewski, Nathan Vaughan and Louis Raffin keeps topping itself (season-best 3:20.16), even while having a different runner filling the third leg. At the DAC meet it Barnewall. Patrick Mochen ran it at the sectional and Vaughan, the busiest athlete on the team, was the one taking the baton from Wisniewski and handing it to Raffin at the regional.
In the final race of the night, Resto did what he always does from the leadoff spot. He handed the baton to Wisniewski with a lead. Resto has yet to be beaten running the first leg of Chesterton’s 4x4.
For the final quarter mile, Raffin, long and lean with quadriceps muscles bulging, and the shorter Tayshaun Williams of LaPorte, waged a battle around the oval that riveted the athletes standing alongside the track and the spectators on their feet in the stands.
Raffin took the baton with a slight advantage. Williams passed him at one point. Then when the race had 100 meters remaining, Raffin put the hammer down. He made like the Batmobile tearing out of the cave, minus the flames coming from an oversized exhaust pipe. That Raffin can shift into another gear at the end of such a physically taxing race is a testament to his strength, conditioning and will. What an athlete.
Raffin did it a week earlier hunting down Williams from behind to finish .03 seconds ahead of him and he did it again Thursday, this time finishing .08 ahead of him.
“He caught me with about 200 left,” Raffin said. “I was actually thinking on the backstretch this is weird being in the lead and then he just flew by me. And then I caught him in the last 100.”
In Raffin the Trojans have an amazing closer, in Resto a terrific starter. They both ran personal best times in the open 400 and Raffin qualified for state with a third-place finish and a time of 49.23. Resto was clocked in 49.40 and finished fourth, one place out of an automatic qualifying spot.
“We ran by far our best time of the year,” Resto said of the relay clocked in 3:20.16. “We’re only going to get better at state because we’ll have more competition besides LaPorte.”
The runners make for great competition for each other daily.
“With workouts and practices we’re always pushing each other,” Raffin said. “We can all hit around the same times, so we’re always getting better.”
The memorable finish to a night packed with stellar Chesterton performances came before the Trojans knew for sure they had won the meet. Shortly after the race’s conclusion, the only remaining event, the shot put, concluded and Owen Edlen locked up six points for third place and a second consecutive trip to the state meet in the event. He placed fourth in the discus to earn five more points for the team.
Even though Vaughan qualified for and scratched from the 100 meters, he was on the track for four runs, including two qualifying heats, plus the long jump. He placed second in the 200 meters (22.26) and third in the long jump (22-4, skipped the last three jumps because he hit the standard) and anchored the third-place 4x100 that ran a 42.86. Wisiniewski was busy as well, running in both relays with Vaughan and clocking a lifetime best 300 hurdles (40.07) for sixth place.
The versatility and heavy workloads carried by Vaughan and Wisniewski are not lost on teammates.
“Cal and Nate are crazy,” Raffin said. “They’re always getting better and doing what they need to do. They do a different four events every meet it feels like. They’re just doing what the team needs, and they do a great job of it. And Kieran is unstoppable.”
Long after the final race had ended and his busy night was over, Vaughan still had a high-energy vibe.
“I haven’t even sat down yet,” he said. “I think it’s the adrenaline of watching Louis run down that last straightaway. Every time he does that it’s awesome.”
Shortly after the team scores were announced, the boys broke into a chant of “Nally! Nally! Nally!” to call attention to their coach, Bryan Nallenweg. It was a night to take pride for Nallenweg and his assistants, in alphabetical order: Luke Eliser, Chris Holth, Tom Moeller, Phil Long, Chris Richardson, Tom Wisch, Nathan O’Connor, Will Shook.
The 10 athletes who will compete at state, by class, with their events, subject to change if anyone scratches to preserve energy for a more promising event:
Seniors: Barnewall (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Brandon (high jump), Owen Edlen (shot put), Johnston (high jump), Resto (4x400 relay).
Juniors: Raffin (400 meters, 4x400), Devin Throw (4x100), Vaughan (200 meters, long jump, 4x100, 4x400), Wisniewski (4x100, 4x400).
Sophomore: Weston Moore (4x100).
Other Trojans who didn’t make it to state but contributed points to the 109.33 total included Spencer Martin, Mochen, Will Morgan, Will Roberson and Zarek Sierazy.