By James Costello Sports Writer
PLYMOUTH — As boys track sectionals open around the state today, several teams will be trying to unseat three-peat champion Plymouth.
The Pilgrims don’t plan on letting that happen, especially on their home turf.
“We have a lot of pride here at Plymouth to defend that sectional,” said Plymouth boys track and field head coach John Barron. “It’s not something we want to give up, but we know a lot of other schools want to come in and take it from us. We’ve got to be ready to go.

“You want to defend your home track, and all those schools coming into our place will be very excited to get to Plymouth and do their best. Those other kids are going to be hungry, but we’ve just got to be hungrier.”
As the state tournament begins, Plymouth athletes have their eyes on not only winning their home sectional, but also putting themselves in position to meet their larger goals down the road in their individual events.
Mark Danielson owns one of the top posted times in the state in the 800, while Austin Hodges looks strong in both the 100 and 200 dashes. Calvin Cook has fully recovered from a hamstring injury earlier this season and is looking to compete in both the mile and two-mile runs, while juniors Curtis Ivy and Leneil Himes are top seeds in the 200 and 400 and the throwing events, respectively. All three of Plymouth’s relay teams are also favored for sectional championships, especially the sprinter-friendly mile and 400-meter relay, where Plymouth has hopes to eventually qualify for the state meet.
“We’ve got some kids and relays that we think can do very well,” said Barron. “That being said, they’re kids and they need to stay focused. They have to be in the right frame of mind not just to compete and win sectional, but seed times for regional are very, very important for placing in state. We respect everybody coming in to our sectional, but we know there are bigger and better things down the road.”
While Culver Military has little chance at grabbing the team title, head coach Michael Chastain hopes his athletes can put themselves in prime position for deep runs in the state tourney as well.
Alejandro Arroyo has been posting some impressive times in both the mile and two-mile, where he was nipped by Plymouth’s Cook last season to finish a place shy of a state berth. Senior Daniel Ching also narrowly missed out on a trip to state in fifth place in the 300 hurdles, and he’s hoping for redemption in his final year.
“We’re not going to be in the team running,” said Chastain. “Plymouth is going to run away with that, obviously, but Alejandro Arroyo has been looking very good in training, and we expect him to do well in the mile and two-mile at sectional and regional. Daniel Ching has had a few injury problems this year, but he’s the defending champ and we’re hoping  he’ll do well... He just barely missed going to state last year, and I think he’s hoping to make it to state this year.”
Also for CMA, Tabari Byrd-Williams is a likely regional qualifier in the sprints as well as the long jump, and Triton’s Joel Meister is a candidate to qualify in the pole vault and the long jump as well as in the 110-meter hurdles, along with Plymouth’s Kent Corsbie, who made it out last year.
While the Pilgrims host Triton, CMA, Culver Community, Argos and a host of other schools at the 11-team Plymouth field today, Bremen, John Glenn and LaVille head up to Penn to vie in a tight team meet there.
After a lopsided girls meet at Bremen Tuesday in which sixth-ranked Penn dominated the team standings, Bremen head coach Kim Kincaid is expecting a battle at the Penn Boys Sectional today.
“It’s an anybody’s game-type of a thing,” she said. “It’s just going to come down to that night’s performances — who’s on and who’s not, and who shines. All we can do is put them in place to do their best and see what happens. I think there’s a lot of potential there, but no guarantees.
“It’s not like the girls meet where Penn scores twice as many points as everybody else.”
One of Bremen’s star performers this year has been senior sprinter Jared Miller, who is seeded in the top in the 200 and 400-meter dashes and near the top in the 100. Miller finished out his junior season at the state meet in both the 100 and 200 events and he’s looking to establish himself again in his final year, but Kincaid said there are no sure bets.
“He’s seeded fourth in the 200, but those are all super close,” she said. “From first to sixth there’s only two-tenths of a second. The 100 has so many variables, whether wind or hand times, so that two-tenths of a second, can spend real quick. You can’t gauge who places where until they’re competing on the same day in the same conditions against the same competition.”
Lions distance runner Nate Avery also stands a shot at making it out in one of his events, but the field is even tighter there with just 10 seconds from first to eighth in the mile, where he’s seeded highest, and five seconds in the 800 between the first to eighth seed times. Kincaid expects the way those distance events shake out will have a big impact on the team meet.
“With them being so close, I think that’s going to be a maker or breaker for every team,” she said.
Pole vaulter Justin Bogart, hurdler/ high jumper Ryan Hessler, and throwers Caleb Martin and Austin Coffell also have chances to make it out individually for Bremen. LaVille’s Jacob Mangus stands a chance to make it out in the half-mile as well as the high jump for his team, as well.