BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Richmond’s Gunner Kovach tied his top effort of the outdoor season as he finished ninth in the High Jump at Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Track & Field State Finals on Friday, June 2.
The Red Devil senior was successful on his first four attempts as the Marian University recruit eventually cleared 6-6 on his first try at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on the Indiana University campus.
Kovach made jumps of 6-0, 6-2, 6-4, 6-6 before missing all three times at 6-7, which was his personal best during the indoor season.
Guuner scored one point with his ninth-place finish, which makes him the second Kovach to accomplish that feat for RHS in the state meet. His grandfather Nick Kovach was second in the pole vault in 1958.
With a leap of 6-6, Kovach won the high jump at the North Central Conference Meet in Lafayette on May 5. He went on to win the sectional title at Connersville (6-3) on May 18, before finishing fourth in the regional at Greenfield-Central (6-4) on May 25.
Kovach’s indoor mark of 6-7 was recorded in the Blue & White Relays at Anderson University on March 18.
Bode Gilkerson of Plainfield won the event as he was the only one to record a good jump at 6-9. He eventually went 7-0.