BEREA INVITATIONAL

September 27, 2014 @ Alumni Field in Berea, KY

Hosted by Berea    

Berea Invitational Recap: Thrilling finish in boy’s race, Selena Mattingly captures girl’s title

 

Boys Varsity

Coming into this race, Aaron Wier of Lexington Christian was the favorite to win the boy’s title but Weir’s absence today created an opportunity for another runner to take home the gold and made for a very exciting finish. This was an extremely competitive race with numerous lead changes. Brennan Perkins of Pulaski County started strong and held about a five second lead at the half mile point. Right behind him was a large pack of runners that included his teammate Sam Smith, Thomas Hill (Lafayette), Scott Kaiser (Lafayette), Adam Huff (Lexington Christian), Garrett Faulkner (Williamsburg), Jordan Carrington (Southwestern), Raymond McKinney (Berea), and Scout Bundy (Jackson County). At this point, there were no clear signs of a frontrunner. At the mile, the landscape of the race changed. Perkins dropped back to eighth alongside Bundy while Berea’s McKinney was battling with Faulkner, Kaiser, and Hill for the lead. The front group came though the mile at around 5:10. Going into the woods, McKinney held on to a narrow lead but it was not a comfortable one. Once the runners came out of the mile long stretch of woods; Faulkner, Carrington, and Smith had all separated themselves from the once crowded front pack. The finish was a classic; Faulkner and Carrington were shoulder to shoulder with about seventy five yards to go. Faulkner made the first move and gained a slight lead but it was not enough as Carrington passed him in the last five yards to edge out a one second victory. Carrington (16:57) and Faulkner (16:58) were the only two runners to finish with sub-seventeen times. Sam Smith finished a close third with a time of 17:05, McKinney who led a good portion of the race finished fourth with a time of 17:32. The rest of the top ten, in order, were Scott Kaiser (Lafayette), Thomas Hill (Lafayette), Connor Hounshell (Oldham County), Steven Engle (Harlan County), Adam Huff (Lexington Christian), and Spencer Brainard (Southwestern). Oldham County captured the team title with five runners finishing in the top twenty two. Lafayette and Pulaski finished second and third respectively.

 

Girls Varsity

The girls finish was not nearly as close as in the boy’s race but the race as a whole was still very exciting. The results show Williamsburg’s Selena Mattingly winning by a comfortable 15 seconds but the results do not do the race justice. Mattingly ran an outstanding race but she was not alone, Sayre’s Maddox Patterson was also in contention until Mattingly pulled away. At the mile it was actually Patterson who held a narrow lead, with a time of 5:48. Mattingly was less than a second behind, both looked very poised and showed no signs of slowing down. Samantha Griffin (Oldham County) was a distant third at the mile with a time of 5:55, while Mary Melhuish (Madison Southern) and Ashley Reyna-Padilla (Oldham County) were battling for fourth. Oldham County had several runners packed towards the front at this point of the race and looked to be in control of the team competition. Once the girls entered the woods, it was anybody’s guess as to who would be leading when they came out. As the girls came down the final stretch, it was Mattingly who took the lead for the final time and she cruised to her second victory of the season. Patterson ultimately finished second with a time of 19:30. Samantha Griffin (Oldham County), Bailey Rosenbarker (Berea), Briana Vance (Oldham County), Ashl Reyna-Padilla (Oldham County), Rheagan Sizemore (Mason County), Sarah Abukwaik (Oldham County), Rachel Gibson (Oldham County), and Mary Melhuish (Madison Southern) rounded out the top ten. Oldham County dominated the team portion with a low score of 22. Mason County finished a distant second, Lexington Christian finished third.