Nolan Johnston caps shocking year with 6-11 high jump for second at state meet; Kieran Barnewall breaks own school record and places fifth in 110 hurdles; 4x400 relay seventh

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

He wanted first place and 7 feet at the state track and field meet at North Central High on Friday and Chesterton senior Nolan Johnston fell one inch and one place short of his goals. But that didn’t dilute his remarkable one season of high school track one bit.
Warsaw’s Jordan Randall, the favorite to win the event, showed why when he cleared 7 feet.
Johnston, a low-key, even-keeled type, didn’t show any signs of nervousness and wasn’t doing back flips after finishing second in the state and coming so close to a high school jumper’s magic milestone.
“I really wanted to get 7,” Johnston said. “I really wanted to win. I gave it my all. I mean I’m proud of myself, but definitely not what I wanted.”
This marked the second year in a row that a former JV basketball player joined the track and field team late in high school and became a prominent high jumper. AJ Brandon, a hoops teammate of Johnston’s, won the Valparaiso regional a year ago as a junior with a 6-7 jump. He expanded to 6-8 at an indoor meet in Portage, jumped through injuries during the spring and cleared 6-4 Friday at the state meet, finishing 14th.
Johnston followed in Brandon’s footsteps and in a sense the footsteps of his father in that Jay Johnston also did not go out for track until his senior year, and then won sectional titles in the 100 meters, the 200 meters and ran a leg of the winning 4x100 relay. Jay’s head coach was retired Chesterton Hall of Famer Garry Nallenweg. Nolan’s is Bryan Nallenweg, Garry’s son.
Johnston wasted no time in establishing himself as a state contender. At the Garry Nallenweg Chesterton Relays in He broke Matt Nover’s 6-10 record that had stood since 1987 by jumping 6-10-1/4.
Brandon and Johnston, in that order, both have committed to attend Indiana Tech.
Johnston’s third attempt at 7 feet Friday was his best.
“I was over it by a couple of inches and then my butt dropped into it,” Johnston said.
Sticking to his routine between jumps, Johnston skipped rope to stay warm and loose. He appeared emotionally loose as well.
“I usually don’t get too nervous,” Johnston said. “This was probably the most nervous I’ve been, but still not that nervous.”
The track announcer did a nice job of drawing the crowd’s attention to the high jump once the field dwindled to two competitors. Johnston cleared 6-8 and skipped all the way to 6-11. His adrenaline was crackling by then.
“There’s usually no adrenaline until about 6-8-ish, then the adrenaline starts kick in,” Johnston said. “Then at 6-11 there was a ton of adrenaline.”
It was flowing all over the place on a night that six state records were broken, the most since 1980. Nobody had a better meet than Franklin Central hurdler Ryan Hainje. He set state records in the 110 hurdles with a 13.28 and the 300 hurdles (35.82). The 300 time is the second-best high school time in the nation this season.
Kieran Barnewall, another talented senior on the team that won the DAC, sectional and regional meets, had a bittersweet day. He placed fifth, two spots lower than he did a year ago at state in the 110 high hurdles but did so with a way better time than a year ago.
Barnewall entered the meet with a personal best 13.99, an improvement from the school record of 14.11 that he ran last season. He left the meet with a personal record of 13.85. He didn’t fare as well in the 300 hurdles. His 39.62 placed him 19th. Barnewall will continue his track career at Indiana State. Before moving to Chesterton during elementary school, Barnewall lived in Canada and he likes to run in national meets there.
Barnewall could have run the third leg of the 4x400 relay, but Nathan Vaughan had more left in his tank after finishing 12th in the long jump with a 22-02.75 and 27th in the 200 meters (22.37).
“Kieran’s 110 time would have won state every year except one the last 30 years,” Bryan Nallenweg said.
Every time the 4x400 relay squad ran in the postseason, it bettered its time. The quartet of Aaron Resto, Cal Wisniewski, Nathan Vaughan and Louis Raffin finished seventh with a 3:19.21, the best time of the year for the Trojans.
“It was a fun year. It was the way to end off my season,” leadoff man Aaron Resto said. “I was hoping we’d break the (school) record, but I’m happy with sub-20 and I got nice shiny medal too.”
Resto yet again gave the Trojans the lead with his first leg. According to timingmd.net, he ran 47.019 first lap, followed by Wisniewski (53.112), Vaughan (50.060) and Raffin (49.010).
Wisniewski and Vaughan also ran the third and fourth legs of the 4x100 relay that finished 19th with a 42.79. Weston Moore and Devin Throw ran the first two legs.
Owen Edlen finished 12th in the shot put with a throw measured at Raffin ran a 50.44 in the open 400, finishing 24th.
Lawrence Central won the meet with 47 points, edging Bloomington North (45) and Merrillville (40). Chesterton tied with Churubusco for 13th with 16 points. The state records broken in addition to Hainje's two blazing hurdles races: Westview’s Noah Bontrager ran a 4:02.60 1600 meters, the best high school time in the nation this season.
Monshun Sales of Bloomington North ran a 21.09 in the 200 meters and Dehnm Holt of North Central won the 400 meters in 46.80. Bloomington North’s 4x800 relay team was clocked in 7:37.01.