Date posted online

Date posted online: Sunday, June 04, 2006
Vaulting on the edge
Merrillville's Rambert escapes serious injury
BY AL HAMNIK
ahamnik@nwitimes.com
219.933.4154

BOYS TRACK | STATE MEET NOTES

BLOOMINGTON | The crowd gasped and all eyes suddenly were focused on the crumpled body lying on the track near the pole vault pit.

Merrillville coach Jim Johnston Jr. was the first to arrive, and then a few meet officials. Senior Cedric Rambert had come down hard at Saturday's boys state track finals, bounced off the right end of the mat, and landed on the track, where he didn't move for several minutes.

"It was a bad plant," Johnston said. "When you do that, you go off to one side. It's bad anytime you fall 15 feet and land on your butt. He was very lucky.

"He's gonna be real sore (today)."

On his next vault, Rambert nearly bounced off the mat again.

"I was still tight from the previous jump. And yeah, I was thinking about it," said Rambert, who finished tied for 10th at 14-6.

Party on: Senior Randy Hinton had made it to state and Morton coach Jack Schlesinger wasn't going to let anything interfere with the breathtaking four- hour drive to Bloomington.

"I'm getting married and the guys planned a bachelor party for the day of state without telling me," he recalled. "I told 'em: 'Sorry, men. Saturday, June 3, I'm busy.

"I just knew Randy would be here."

Hinton took 19th in the 400 and the 200.

History lesson: Fresh off its 400 relay being the surprise regional winner at Valparaiso in a school-record 42.96, Calumet coach Ivan Zimmer couldn't have been happier for team members Darcell Ballentine, George Ezell, Fred Abram III and Errol Sherrod - two freshmen and two juniors.

"What sets these guys apart is they really like one another, they have a common purpose, and that's what drives them to be as good as they are," Zimmer said of the school's first relay to qualify for state.

Despite their youth, Zimmer wasn't looking to the 2007 season when he noted: "They're multi-sport athletes and as they mature physically and mentally, they should be better in the future. And the future is (today)."

Calumet placed 14th in 43.17, the highest finish of any area team.

Just win, baby, soon: Northwest Indiana last had a boys team win state in 1991 when coach Roosevelt Pulliam led Horace Mann past Evansville Bosse, 44-37, for all the hardware.

Those Horsemen featured three-time 1,600 champ Eric Smoot, former cross country state champ Anthony Williams, and Richard Mitchell, who won the 800 in 1992.

Ready for launch: They still talk about David Neville's record-setting 400-meter title at the 2002 state meet when the Merrillville star ran 46.99. He remains the only Indiana high schooler to run the 400 in under 47 seconds.

Now a junior at Indiana University, Neville currently owns the Hoosiers' second-fastest times ever in the 200 (20.39) and 400 (45.05).

He will compete in the NCAA Championships from June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.