Neville, Bliss and Ranegar bring gold to NWI

BLOOMINGTON -- The crowd was still filing into Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex. The silence only served to magnify Rebecca Neville's jubilant screams in the opening moments of the 36th annual Girls State Track and Field State Finals on Saturday.

The Merrillville senior had no way of knowing whether her third and final attempt of the long jump's first flight of competitors would be good enough to win a state championship (though her hunch was it just might be). All she knew was she had just jumped a personal-best 19 feet, 1 3/4 inches.

As soon as her distance was posted on the scoreboard, Neville couldn't help but break into a brief celebration. As it turns out, she had good reason to be excited.

There aren't many upsets in this sport. But Neville had one of the day's biggest, besting three-time defending champ Erynn Young of Muncie Central to win a state title of her own. Neville, who also placed fourth in the 100 hurdles, was one of three area state champions.

"I wanted to continue the legacy of winning a state championship like my brother did," said Neville, the younger sister of David Neville, who still holds the 400-meter state record.

Neville, who was seeded third behind Young and Ben Davis's Chanel Simmons, was the only athlete to jump more than 19 feet. She knew it was going to take a jump like that to beat Young.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about that," she said. "I knew it was going to be close competition."

Neville also knew she'd have a better shot at winning a state medal if she focused on fewer events. Which is why she dropped the 200 and high jump but still ran the 100 hurdles and 400 relay Saturday.

That didn't give Neville much time to shuffle between the long jump finals and 100 hurdles trials. Fortunately for Neville, she had already cleared 19 feet by the time the call came for the hurdles.

"I'm not going to lie, my form was horrible," Neville said, referring to finals of the 100 hurdles. "I was just trying to finish. But I'm not mad. I'm going away with two medals."

Valparaiso senior Megan Ranegar also took home a state title in the final race of her high school career, winning the 3,200 in 10:43.95.

"This is my dream, and it's finally come true," Ranegar said. "And I couldn't be happier."

Finally healthy, after missing the postseason last year and struggling with injuries during the fall cross country season, Ranegar was able to summon a second gear when she needed it most.

After leading the first six laps of the race, Ranegar was passed on the second-to-last lap by Culver's Wavery Neer.

"Earlier in the season, I would have panicked," Ranegar said. "And I was really nervous before this race, extremely nervous. But I just kind of had to say in my mind, 'This is what you want. You put all the work in. Just go for it.'"

Rangear didn't let Neer hold the lead for long. And when she retook it, just before the final lap, she didn't give it back. Ranegar covered the final 400 meters in 69.4 seconds, pulling away to win by nearly 10 seconds.

"In my workouts, I would always finish as strong as I could," Ranegar said. "I knew, even if it wasn't in the dual meets or the sectional, eventually I was going to have to do give everything I had."

Wheeler sophomore Christina Blair, who is moving to Ohio this summer, took third. Lake Central's Dana Payonk took fifth. And Boone Grove's Jordan Chester, a state qualifier via callbacks, took eighth.

"She wanted it," Blair said of Ranegar. "And she deserved it."

Portage's Tori Bliss was the region's third state champion. The sophomore threw a 46-11.75 to win the shot put by more than a foot.

"I had the intensity that I needed," Bliss said. "I thought about being a state champion today."

Bliss' confidence was bolstered by throwing a personal best 48-2 -- marking the first time she cleared 45 feet -- to win the Chesterton Regional. That gave her the top seed distance at state. Bliss didn't disappoint.

"It's still nerve-wracking," said Bliss, who quit softball to focus solely on track after placing sixth in the shot put as a freshman.

"But I've been here before and know what to expect."

Contact David Robb at 648- 3122, drobb@post-trib.com or visit his blog at blogs.post-trib.com/robb

Bowman's Chayil Henderson competes in the 100-meter trials.

Merrillville's Rebecca Neville won the long jump.