HUGE shout out to Barry Haworth (head coach at Assumption) for compiling the list of our Kentucky athletes that participated in the slate of post-season national level meets. Below you will find Barry's breakdown with stats and historical references! We all know that Barry is an expert in the history of Kentucky cross country and track & field.
Once again, big shout out to every athlete who qualified for one of these major post-season meets, and made the trip to compete. Congrats to their coaches as well. Again, if I missed anyone, my apologies, but like I said above, I think we all deserve to hear about it - so feel free to follow up.
Everything I've listed below occurred last week or over the weekend. These are all big-time meets, so I think we deserve to hear how our kids have done. My apologies if I missed anyone.
adidas Outdoor Nationals
- Emma Kendall (Collins) ran and won the Girls Freshman 800 at this meet!
- Allison Kopser (Ryle) and Renae Kopser (Ryle) both competed in the 2k Steeplechase. Allison won it in 7:10, a really good time for that event, and Renae finished 3rd. Allison also came back and finished 6th in the Girls National Elite Division 800.
- Alexis Moran (Owen County) competed in the Girls Middle School 800 and Girls Middle School 1 mile
- Audrey Shelton (Grant County) ran the Girls National Elite 2 mile and finished 4th
- Grace Leis (South Laurel) took second place in the Girls Championship Hammer with a throw that converts to 137-9
- Bailey Howard (George Rogers Clark) took 5th in the Middle School Girls Pole Vault with a 10-5 clearance
- Brendan Ruggles (North Oldham) finished 10th overall in the Boys National Elite 800 with a 1:57.55
- Gabriel Vergara (Collins) finished 15th overall in the Boys National Elite 800 with a 1:58.99
- Allie Hungler (Ryle) competed in the Girls National Elite Long Jump
- Malik Blunt (Fort Knox) competed in the Championship Boys 200 and the Boys National Elite 400. In the 400, he finished 3rd with a 48.62
- Caleb Turner (Sayre) competed in the National Elite Boys 800
- Josh Morris (Butler County) competed in the Boys Championship 200
- Ian Hobbs didn't compete for a high school last Spring, but did compete with Thomson Training and got 2nd in the Boys National Elite 1 mile with 4:27, and 4th in the Boys National Elite 2 mile with 9:34
Looks like it was a great weekend for all of these athletes, so congrats to them and their coaches!
Brooks PR Invite
This year, Brooks expanded their lineup to include middle school athletes, and we had 8 middle school kids invited to compete in the 1600m run under Thomson Training. That list included these athletes:
- Addison Moore (Woodford County)
- Elle Cargould (North Oldham)
- Millie Huang (North Oldham)
- Gracie Reed (Barren County)
- Taryn Tracy (St. Michael)
- Ayden Taylor (Christian Academy (Louisville))
- Kobey Yates (Marshall County)
- Kaden Wancket (St Agnes)
Props to all of these kids and their coaches. Addison ran the fastest 1600m time for a Kentucky middle school girl, the boys all ran 3 of the fastest middle school 1600m times ever for Kentucky kids. Millie ran the #1 1600m time in the nation for a 6th-grade girl. They all ran extremely well.
New Balance Nationals Outdoor
- Ciara O'Shea (Madison Central) competed in the Girls Championship 1 mile and 2 mile. Ciara ran the fastest 1 mile and 2 mile times ever for a Kentucky high school girl (4:46 and 10:17), and overall, finished 5th and 6th respectively. I could be wrong, but I believe that's also the best finishing place in an individual championship event at New Balance or Nike that any Kentucky girl has ever achieved.
- Wyatt Stewart (Madison Central) competed in the Boys Championship Pole Vault and finished 2nd with 16-4. I would need to check, but this may be the highest finishing place within a field event at a meet like New Balance.
- Sami Hattab (St Xavier) competed in the Boys Championship 1 mile and Rising Stars 2 mile and most notably dropped a 4:13 mile time.
- Lillian Hodge (West Jessamine) competed in the Championship high jump and finished 6th with a 5-8, and then again in the Rising Stars PV, where she got 7th at 11-3.
- Ryan Hanak, Drew Moore, George Johnson and Joseph Impellitteri (Conner) ran as Hebron TC and finished 12th in the Boys Championship 4 x 1 mile
- George Johnson (Conner) also ran the Boys Rising Stars 2 mile and finished 16th in 9:37
- Joseph Impellitteri (Conner) finished 10th in the Boys Rising Stars 1 mile with a 4:18
- Ella Johnson (Elizabethtown) ran the Girls Rising Stars 1 mile and 2 mile. She finished 3rd in the 1 mile with 4:59, and then 2nd in the 2 mile with a 10:57
- Aly Doyle (West Jessamine) ran the Freshman Girls 400m hurdles and got 8th in 1:06, got 5th in the Girls Rising Stars Long Jump with an 18-4, a jump that would have won the Freshman Long Jump, and then got out to 36-8 in the Girls Rising Stars Triple Jump, where she finished in 4th place
- Drew Masters (Madison Central) competed in the Freshman Boys Pole Vault and cleared 11-7 for 4th
- Chase Satterwhite (West Jessamine) competed in the Boys Rising Stars High Jump
- Sanaa Washington (Bryan Station) competed in the Girls Rising Stars 100
- Charlie Edmondson (Conner) ran in the Freshman Boys 100
- It's also worth noting that while I couldn't find a school affiliation for them, two athletes competed for the Hero Sprint Club based in Louisville. Those athletes were Lyric Steele and Nizaiah Carr, both of whom competed in the 100 and 200m dash.
- Of course, there's another Kentucky State Champion who competed in the 800 at New Balance Outdoor. I'm guessing most people know of this young man, but for those who didn't hear, Cade Flatt just narrowly missed breaking the National Record in the 800 (second near-miss this season). It's been exciting to watch him compete this year, and I believe he still plans to compete at USAs in a few weeks or so. Big shout out to Cade and his coaches for stringing together what must be one of the greatest seasons for any KY HS athlete, regardless of sport.
NSAF Nike Outdoor Nationals
- Adam Patel (North Oldham) ran the Boys Emerging Elite 2 mile and dropped a 9:24
- Sarah Ferguson (Lafayette) finished 7th in the Girls Championship PV with what converts to 13-2.25
- Maddie Reed (Shelby County) finished 6th in the Girls Emerging Elite PV
- Bethany Simpson (Bourbon County) finished in 8th place in the Girls Championship 2k Steeplechase with a 7:19
- Caroline Beiting (Lexington Catholic) competed in the Girls Freshman 1 mile
- Asher Feddock (Sayre) competed in the Boys Middle School 1 mile, finished 20th and ran 4:50
Also, a great job by these athletes and their coaches, but also a huge shout out for being willing to travel all the way out to Oregon for this meet. I'm sure it was a great experience!
HUGE shout out to Barry Haworth (head coach at Assumption) for compiling the list of our Kentucky athletes that participated in the slate of post-season national level meets. Below you will find Barry's breakdown with stats and historical references! We all know that Barry is an expert in the history of Kentucky cross country and track & field.