Lexington Catholic poised to defend girls state track title with region win
Lexington Catholic’s defending state champion girls track and field team won its second consecutive Class 2A, Region 4 championship Saturday at Henry Clay High School.
Later at Lexington Christian, the host Eagles won their ninth consecutive Class 1A, Region 5 boys title and its girls team won its first team crown since 2017.
The Class 3A, Region 6 meet, which includes Lexington’s six public schools, will be held Tuesday evening at Lafayette. The state track and field meets will be held May 30-June 1 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Complex.
LEXCATH GIRLS ON A ROLL
Lexington Catholic’s female athletes won eight of 18 events and had the same number of automatic state-qualifying secondplace finishes at Saturday’s regional meet hosted by Franklin County at Henry Clay’s stadium.
“They are just incredible,” Lexington Catholic coach Bernadette Madigan-Dugan said of both her girls and boys teams. The boys team finished third overall. “They work so hard. They’re so dedicated. And they’re just great people. … They’re the total package.”
Cate Conklin, a South Carolina signee, won the 3,200 meters with a time of 11:19.47 ahead of freshman teammate Anna Dawahare. Conklin was also part of LexCath’s first place 4-by-800 relay and finished second in the 1,600.
“We have an amazing team — a lot of nice girls and nice guys and we’re always there to support each other,” Conklin said. “It’s just a really positive environment and, especially, Coach Bernie and all the other sprint coaches.”
Caroline Beiting, a junior who broke the Class 2A state meet record in the 800 last year, ran more than 1.5 seconds faster Saturday in winning the region race in 2:13.02 to finish ahead of teammate Abigail Turner. Beiting also won the 1,600 and was part of the winning 4-by-800 and 4by-400 relays.
Sophomore Joanna Bryant won the 400 in 59.11 and freshman Lauren Counts topped the discus standings with a throw of 94 feet, 8 inches.
Perhaps a surprise to herself and the field, Lexington Catholic junior Kelly Lennon won the 100-meter dash with a personal-best time of 12.82. Lennon, who entered the race as its third seed, had run at longer distances in the past. Her move to the 100 this season paid off.
“I was just a little bit nervous before, but a lot of my family was in town and they were all yelling at me. It pushed me to keep going, and then I just won,” Lennon explained. “It was amazing. I’ve never gotten first in a whole meet.”
Franklin County finished second in the team standings and got wins in the 4-by-100 and 4by-200 meter relays and a 1-2 finish in the 100meter hurdles by Mariah Jackson and TaZyriah Miley. Jackson’s time of 14.70 is the event’s fastest in the state this season, according to MileSplit.com data.
NEW SCHOOL, SAME RESULTS
Lexington Catholic junior sprinter Kaylib Nelson, who won the 200-meter dash in last year’s Class 3A state meet for Paul Laurence Dunbar and swept the 2023 region sprints for the Bulldogs, took first in this year’s Class 2A 100- and 200meter races and was part of the Knights’ winning 4-by-100 relay along with teammates John Moses, Danny Nguyen and Cole Space.
“My goal this year is to break all the records I can,” said Nelson, who ran the 100 in 10.55 and the 200 in 21.19, both among the 10 fastest event times in the state this year, regardless of class. “Every time I put my feet on the track, it’s to do better than what I did last time.”
Covington Catholic topped the boys standings ahead of Bourbon County with wins in six events. Bourbon County won the 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 relays and got firsts from Jacob Ezell in the 400, Asher Mattox in the 300 hurdles and went 1-2 in the pole vault with Tayvon Snowden and Mark Perraut.
LCA TEAMS SWEEP CLASS 1A REGIONAL
Lexington Christian’s girls track team had its best regional showing in years with a sweep of all four relay races and first place finishes in five more events to top Frankfort in the team standings Saturday’s Class 1A Region 4 track meet at LCA.
Eighth grader Kennedy Moughamian won both the 1,600- and 3,200meter distances ahead of teammates Hadley Raisor and June Karis, respectively. Raisor had a second-place finish in the 800 behind teammate Annie Sewell.
LCA also got wins from freshman Lilly Meyer in the 400 with a personalbest time of 1:00.07 and Jenna Raye Hopper in the triple jump.
Of note among other region winners, Paris sprinter Briley Cline, the defending state champion in the 100 and 200, swept those races for the Greyhounds.
On the boys’ side, LCA continued its nine-year run topping the region with the help of wins by Kyle Stickel in the 800 and Cole Roberson in the 1,600.
LCA’s boys also placed first in the 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 relays and had six second-place finishes to automatically qualify those athletes for state.
Among other region winners was Sayre’s Jackson Stuart, who won the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 42.04.
CLASS 2A, REGION 4 RESULTS
Top two finishers automatically qualify for the state meet. Ten more will qualify based on statewide results. Complete results will become available at KHSAA.org this week. GIRLS
Team standings: 1. Lexington Catholic, 171; 2. Franklin County, 98; 3. Harrison County, 94.50;
4. Bourbon County, 87; 5. Western Hills, 42.50; 6. Holmes, 19; 7. Lloyd Memorial, 16; 8. Pendleton County, 6.
Individuals: 4-by-800 relay: 1. Lexington Catholic (Anna Dawahare, Cate Conklin, Abigail Turner, Caroline Beiting), 9:48.51;
2. Bourbon County (Ruby DeAtley, Sarah Scott, Macey McKinzie, Addison Felty), 10:26.75. 100 hurdles: 1. Mariah Jackson, Franklin County, 14.70; 2. TaZyriah Miley, Franklin County, 15.46. 100: 1. Kelly Lennon, Lexington Catholic, 12.82; 2. Kendria Wickers, Western Hills, 12.88. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Franklin County (Deon Echols, Kate Alvis, Hailey Hill, Deloris Boateng), 1:45.31; 2. Lexington Catholic (Joanna Bryant, Kelly Lennon, Ally Nowlin, Taylor Riordan), 1:47.04. 1,600: 1. Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, 5:01.08; 2. Cate Conklin, Lexington Catholic, 5:13.42. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Franklin County (Deon Echols, Deloris Boateng, TaZyriah Miley, Bria Wilson), 50.02; 2. Lexington Catholic (Zoe Cliburn, Ally Nowlin, Kelly Lennon, Mary Hall), 52.18. 400: 1. Joanna Bryant, Lexington Catholic, 59.11; 2. Kendria Wickers, Western Hills, 59.57. 300 hurdles: 1. Mariah Jackson, Franklin County, 47.31; 2. Marleigh Estes, Bourbon County, 47.42. 800: 1. Caroline Beiting, Lexington Catholic, 2:13.02; 2. Abigail Turner, Lexington Catholic, 2:17.75. 200: 1. Kendria Wickers, Western Hills, 25.75; 2. Joanna Bryant, Lexington Catholic, 25.95. 3,200: 1. Cate Conklin, Lexington Catholic, 11:19.47; 2. Anna Dawahare, Lexington Catholic, 11:36.60. 4by-400 relay: 1. Lexington Catholic (Caroline Beiting, Joanna Bryant, Abigail Turner, Taylor Riordan), 4:01.28; 2. Bourbon County (Bethany Simpson, Addison Felty, Marleigh Estes, Sarah Scott) 4:07.99. Shot put:
1. Layla Davis, Harrison County, 30-7.50; 2. Marlie Tolle, Harrison County, 30-2.50. Discus: 1. Lauren Counts, Lexington Catholic, 94-8; 2. Layla Davis, Harrison County, 80-4. Long jump: 1. Khalena Watts, Western Hills, 16-4; 2. Mary Hall, Lexington Catholic, 15-9.50.
Triple jump: 1. Arwen French, Harrison County, 32-11; 2. Taylor Florence, Harrison County, 28-9. High jump: 1. Ja’Nia Johnson, Holmes, 5-0*; 2. Bethany Simpson, Bourbon County, 5-0*; Pole vault: 1. 1. Ava Hernandez, Bourbon County, 10-8; 2. Audrey Roland, Lexington Catholic, 7-6. BOYS
Team standings: 1. Covington Catholic, 169;
2. Bourbon County, 96; 3. Lexington Catholic, 91; 4. Harrison County, 70; 5. Franklin County, 66; 6. Pendleton County, 27; 7. Lloyd Memorial, 24; 8. Western Hills, 12.
Individuals: 4-by-800 relay: 1. Bourbon County (Jesus Mendoza-Solis, Stephen Bryce Perraut, Christopher Wells, Kenneth Salas), 8:27.04; 2. Covington Catholic (Jack Salyers, Jackson Germann, Luke McLane, Luke O’Hara), 8:28.76. 110 hurdles: 1. Tanner Tumey, Harrison County, 14.78; 2. Oliver Sager, Harrison County, 15.91. 100: 1. Kaylib Nelson, Lexington Catholic, 10.55;
2. Ethan Long, Covington Catholic, 10.79. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Covington Catholic (Ethan Long, Jake Heitker, Hank Smith, Jackson Schmid), 1:30.73;
2. Franklin County (Taurean Smith, Elijah Pollard, Carter Richardson, Delano Collins) 1:31.38. 1,600:
1. Will Sheets, Covington Catholic, 4:21.50; 2. Joe Mayer, Covington Catholic, 4:24.84. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Lexington Catholic (John Moses, Danny Nguyen, Cole Space, Kaylib Nelson), 43.55; 2. Franklin County (Taurean Smith, Elijah Pollard, Nicholas Epperson, Delano Collins), 43.83. 400: 1. Jacob Ezell, Bourbon County, 50.78; 2. Ethan Long, Covington Catholic, 51.45. 300 hurdles: 1. Asher Mattox, Bourbon County, 39.32; 2. Tanner Tumey, Harrison County, 39.38. 800: 1. Luke Meagher, Covington Catholic, 1:59.69; 2. Caleb Turner, Lexington Catholic, 2:00.73. 200: 1. Kaylib Nelson, Lexington Catholic, 21.19; 2. Ethan Long, Covington Catholic, 21.60. 3,200: 1. Joe Mayer, Covington Catholic, 9:53.41; 2. Will Sheets, Covington Catholic, 9:53.42. 4-by-400 relay:
1. Bourbon County (Jacob Ezell, Jesus MendozaSolis, Asher Mattox, Mark Perraut), 3:28.59; 2. Covington Catholic (Luke Meagher, Jake Heitker, Will Sheets, Jackson Schmid), 3:30.56. Shot put: 1. Tyler Redden, Pendleton County, 42-6;
2. Ty Taylor, Franklin County, 41-0; Discus: 1. Tyler Redden, Pendleton County, 132-4; 2. Matthew Woolf, Covington Catholic, 128-5; Long jump: 1.
Tanner Tumey, Harrison County, 21-5.50; 2. Will Danneman, Covington Catholic, 19-5.25; Triple jump: 1. Oliver Link, Covington Catholic. 41-3;
2. Danny Nguyen, Lexington Catholic, 39-1. High jump: 1. Mason Edwards, Covington Catholic, 5-8*;
2. Oliver Sager, Harrison County, 5-8*. Pole vault:
1. Tayvon Snowden, Bourbon County, 13-0; 2. Mark Perraut, Bourbon County, 12-6.
*Settled via tiebreaker.
CLASS A, REGION 5 RESULTS
Top two finishers automatically qualify for the state meet. Ten more will qualify based on statewide results. Complete results will become available at KHSAA.org this week. GIRLS
Team standings: 1. Lexington Christian, 187.50; 2. Frankfort, 123;
3. Danville Christian, 42;
4. Nicholas County, 40.50; 5. Burgin, 38; 6. Bracken County, 30; 7. Paris, 20; 7. Danville, 20;
8. Sayre, 20; 10. Trimble County, 11; 11. Carroll County, 9; 12. Owen County, 8; 13. Frankfort Christian, 2.
Individuals: 4-by-800 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Violet Griese, Jenna Raye, Hopper June Karls, Annie Sewell), 10:14.29; 2. Frankfort (Abby Vaught, Kenzie Barber, Jamie Bessinger, Emerson Moore), 10:49.92. 100 hurdles: 1. Katie Norman, Frankfort, 15.94; 2. Laynie Hopper, Lexington Christian, 16.80. 100: 1. Briley Cline, Paris, 12.20; 2. Katie Norman, Frankfort, 12.41. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Mahari Crump, Anna Reese Hopper, Lindsay Joseph, Lilly Meyer, 1:49.35; 2. Danville Christian (Mya Overstreet, Bella Bradshaw, Braxtyn Heck, Isabella Perez), 1:54.72. 1,600: 1. Kennedy Moughamian, Lexington Christian, 5:18.12; Hadley Raisor, Lexington Christian, 5:21.20. 4-by-100 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Mahari Crump, Anna Reese Hopper, Lindsay Joseph, Abbigail Williams), 51.65; 2. Frankfort (Emma Cait Johnson, Rebekah Pires, Maddie Starkey, Savannah Cambron), 53.28. 400: 1. Lilly Meyer, Lexington Christian, 1:00.07; 2. Rebecca Kainer, Trimble County, 1:02.64. 300 hurdles: 1. Katie Norman, Frankfort, 46.52; 2. Laynie Hopper, Lexington Christian, 48.10. 800: 1. Annie Sewell, Lexington Christian, 2:24.06; 2. Hadley Raisor, Lexington Christian, 2:25.77. 200: 1. Briley Cline, Paris, 24.89; 2. Katie Norman, Frankfort, 26.41. 3,200: 1. Kennedy Moughamian, Lexington Christian, 11:36.50; 2.
June Karls, Lexington Christian, 11:58.04. 4by-400 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Violet Griese, Laynie Hopper, Lilly Meyer, Annie Sewell), 4:17.13; 2. Frankfort (Kenzie Barber, Emma Cait Johnson, Maddie Starkey, Abby Vaught), 4:34.00. Discus: 1. Amyah Robinson, Frankfort, 101-2; 2. Madison Guy, Lexington Christian, 94-0. Long jump: 1. Maddie Starkey, Frankfort, 15-1; 2. Jenna Raye Hopper, Lexington Christian, 14-0.50. Triple jump: 1. Jenna Raye Hopper, Lexington Christian, 31-7; 2. Kate Hatfield, Burgin, 31-4 High jump:
1. Kate Hatfield, Burgin, 4-10; 2. Laynie Hopper, Lexington Christian, 4-8. Pole vault: 1. Haylee Harrison, Bracken County, 7-6; 2. Harper Cole, Lexington Christian, 7-0. Shot put: 1. Amyah Robinson, Frankfort, 34-9; 2. Mayani Montanez, Sayre, 33-1.25.
BOYS
Team standings: 1. Lexington Christian, 119;
2. Nicholas County, 102;
3. Owen County, 49; 4. Danville Christian, 36; 5. Gallatin County, 35; 6. Danville, 34.50; 7. Frankfort, 33; 7. Burgin, 33; 9. Model, 26; 10. Carroll County, 23; 11. Augusta, 18; 12. Trimble County, 16; 13. Sayre, 15; 14. Paris, 9; 15. Berea, 5; 16. Bracken County, 1.50.
Individuals: 4-by-800 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Carlos Fukushige, Cole Roberson, Kyle Stickel, Shaun Ware), 8:51.50; 2. Owen County (Tyler Cammack, Colton McDaniel, Joey Newell, Talon Wilson), 8:59.96. 110 hurdles: 1. Benjamin Gant, Burgin, 18.77; 2. Collin Shay, Gallatin County, 18.79. 100: 1. Anthony Cole, Model, 11.23; 2. Paxton Gray, Lexington Christian, 11.32. 4-by-200 relay: 1. Danville (Chandon Carter, Trinden Sellers, Gavin Walker, Demontae Trumbo), 1:32.64; 2. Nicholas County (Luke Davis, Maddox Donovan, Wyatt Clark, Alex Koeder), 1:34.18. 1,600: 1. Cole Roberson, Lexington Christian, 4:34.16; 2. Tyler Cammack, Owen County, 4:49.85. 4-by-100 relay:
1. Frankfort (Da’Kyo Washington, Kamareion Carter, Jaxon Doss, Caden Samuel), 46.09; 2. Danville (Chandon Carter, Demontae Trumbo, Shaden Brown, Trinden Sellers), 46.23. 400: 1. Emmanuel Dut, Danville Christian, 50.28; 2. Aiden Finley, Lexington Christian, 52.03. 300 hurdles:
1. Jackson Stuart, Sayre, 42.04; 2. DJ Cayton, Gallatin County, 43.27. 800:
1. Kyle Stickel, Lexington Christian, 1:59.69; 2. Bruce Hayden, Paris, 2:00.25. 200: 1. Emmanuel Dut, Danville Christian, 22.82; 2. Paxton Gray, Lexington Christian, 22.90. 3,200: 1. Grayson Miller, Augusta, 10:03.18;
2. Bode Byall, Lexington Christian, 10:10.97. 4by-400 relay: 1. Lexington Christian (Aiden Finley, Cole Roberson, Kyle Stickel, Shaun Ware), 3:34.92; 2. Danville Christian (Noah Imfeld, Cole Dadisman, Dre Motley, Emmanuel Dut), 3:35.33. Discus: 1. Wyatt Simons, Nicholas County, 127-5; 2. DJ Cayton, Gallatin County, 122-4. Long jump: 1. Seth Franklin, Carroll County, 20-9.75; 2. Alex Koeder, Nicholas County, 20-4.50. Triple jump: 1. Alex Koeder, Nicholas County, 42-3.50; 2. Seth Franklin, Carroll County, 41-2.50. High jump: 1. Sean Meyer, Model, 6-0*;
2. Jakaven Walker, Burgin, 6-0*. Pole vault: 1. John Campomayor, Trimble County, 8-6; 2. Thomas Sylvester; Lexington Christian, 8-0. Shot put:
1. Griffin Gentry, Owen County, 47-5.50; 2. Hayes Preston, Lexington Christian, 45-8.50